A good read, interesting characters and dark but good paced book. I would recommend it if you want a good story and good fast read as felt I wanted to carry on reading.

An enjoyable read about two dysfunctional families with many themes, cancer, OCD etc. and we follow their story over eight years as we go back and forth unravelling events that occurred. I enjoyed this read with an unexpected ending.

I found this book incredibly slow and nearly abandoned it several times and don’t get me started on the ending which was a complete anticlimax!

It is about 2 families Nick and Rosie with Daisy and Max, and Lisa and Barney with Ava and Rex.

Barney’s career is failing and he is drinking more and more, when Lisa and Nick get together this pushes him over the edge and also has a massive impact on Daisy and her chronic OCD.

The story is told from several view points and switches between past and present. I found it quite depressing and dreary.

Sometimes there are four sides to a story – but which one will you believe?

The Richard & Judy Book Club Pick 2017

HOW COULD LISA DO THIS TO HER BEST FRIEND?

Eight years ago Rosie and Lisa were best friends, they had been pregnant at the same time and their daughters were best friends……….that is until Lisa had an affair with Rosie’s husband Nick! Suddenly their worlds were blown apart, Daisy her daughter developed a very severe form of OCD and Max her son spent half his childhood trying to look out for Daisy. Rosie is shattered by the betrayal she had not seen it coming at all…..but then out of the blue 8 years later Lisa writes a letter saying she has cancer and she wants to meet Rosie to tell her something important.

This letter has an effect on several members of the family who are worried about what is about to be disclosed and the potential consequences if it is what each person fears. Opening old wounds that are still very raw, taking them back to the events of a summer holiday more than 8 years ago that changed all their lives forever.

The story is told from four different viewpoints – those of Daisy, her mother Rosie, father Nick and brother Max. Each one casts a different light on events and shows how easy it can be to interpret what happens in differing and often mistaken ways. The central characters have their own distinctive voice’s. From Daisy, we see how her OCD controls her, from Max we find out about the guilt he has been carrying around since childhood, from Nick we discover how he uses life to justify his weaknesses and from Rosie we see that she is unable to make new romantic attachments following being betrayed by the two people she trusted most.

It is interesting to see how the same event plays out differently in the eyes of each person involved, and exploring the way that we form memories and how memories shift and change over time.

I often found I couldn’t decide whose version to believe, whose memories are truly factual?

This book shows what devastation infidelity, OCD, cancer and lies can do to a normal family and the devastation of friendships and family relationships through deceit and betrayal, how it affects everyone, some a lot more profoundly than others.

Rosie is a cancer specialist so we get an in-depth look at cancer and it’s effect on all those who come into contact with it. The research that has gone into this book makes the characters very relatable, exploring the reliability of memory, the nature of mental illness, the realities of OCD, alcoholism and even self-proclaimed cancer healers!

It is from the self-proclaimed cancer healer that brings some light relieve to the book and provides us with some really good and funny dialogue between Nick and Gregorio who is treating Lisa with utterly bizarre therapies. At one point Nick describes him as a “human bonsai” 🙂

The complex relationships in families has been carefully written about and they are very believable, as are the causes and effects within the families and their relationships and the devastating consequences of betrayal and secrets. There are plot twists that are probably not so hard to guess but compelling none the less.

This book is dark, funny, complex and thought-provoking and there is so much here that pulls on the heart-strings. A lot of hurt, confusion and upset all from betrayals, and is an interesting look at how a parents actions can have a lasting effect on their children no matter how old they are.

Definitely not a lighthearted read but it is definitely the perfect book for a book club, the topics this book has delved into will cause a few different opinions and the ending will be different in everyone’s imaginations, as to what happened next. It would be interesting to find out what other people imagined after the book ended!

I am sure there will be a lot of us that can relate to this book and have been touched by some of the topics in one way or the other and everybody has secrets they keep hidden and things they regret having done! We all deal with things differently and I think that is what kept the book so compelling, seeing it from 4 different view points.

This can be purchased now from Amazon UK or Amazon.com

I really struggled to get into The Betrayals, it sounded a fab book but it wasn't for me.

Well written story about families and the fallout after divorce. Subjects covered include OCD, breast cancer and adultery. Told from the viewpoints of individuals involved, which is the truth? With the addition of research into memory and how it changes over a period of time, whose memories are truly factual? I found the story line somewhat depressing, if intriguing.

I was engaged with the characters and enjoyed the plot but some bits were a bit crude and not in keeping with the style in general

I had a hard time rating as I did enjoy it but my expectations left me disappointed.
The writing made this a very quick easy read which I loved. I just expected some intense twist that sadly didn't happen.

This is an ambitious book that seeks to reflect the different perceptions that 4 family members have of the same series of events in their past, and the ramifications they have on their individual and collective lives. The characterizations means that the author has to display a wide understanding of medicine, psychology, location and family dynamics. She does this well and I thoroughly enjoyed the book, despite it being quite bleak at times. The examination of the fallibility of memory was thought provoking too and I think this would make a great recommendation for a Book Club read.

Hmmmmm, well this book was ok but nothing really happened! It is a story told from the four perspectives of family members who are all dealing with one event that shaped their lives 8 years ago. It is interesting to see how each person had different memories of the same event.

An interesting and absorbing novel tackling various themes such as adultery, mental health, OCD and alcoholism. Rosie & Lisa have been friends for years, raising their children and enjoying holidays together with their respective husband's. During one fateful summer Rosie's husband Nick and her friend Lisa grow closer and begin an affair which eventually leads to both leaving their spouses to be together.
The story follows the resulting impact on both families and the damage done. I very much enjoyed this book although I didn't feel drawn to any of the characters.
I have given 4 stars as the ending felt a little rushed and ambiguous to me but overall a good read.
Thanks to Netgalley, Penguin UK for advance review copy in exchange for an honest review.

A really interesting read. The complexities of the human brain and the way people really are.

I didn't know much about this book when I sat down to read it - but I was intrigued by the cover and the title. Within the first few pages I was deeply engaged in the characters, the story and most of all in Fiona Neill's wonderful writing.
The premise is wonderful - and very well executed. Four different members of one family - which disintegrated seven years before - are forced to look back on the events of the summer when the break up happened. Each of them has their own take on the events which lead to the family breaking up, and the fall out afterwards.
Nick, the father in the piece, works in researching memory and how it works and this makes for a fascinating addition to the book. Each of us will remember key events differently and over the years will rewrite memories in our head so that what we may think happened can become distorted with the passage of time - although our belief in our memories being accurate will be as strong as ever.
It is fascinating to see how four different people recall the memories of one summer - and how events, perhaps misinterpreted, have had irreparable knock on effects for all of them. At times this book is just incredibly sad - this is a family, even now, still in crisis.
Fiona Neill's writing is evocative, intelligent and gripping. The characters are fully formed and it is impossible not to feel for them - in particular for the two, now adult, children Daisy and Max who are bearing the scars of their past in very different ways.
If I have any criticism is that I would have liked to see where the story goes for Daisy.

This is a strong read that offers much to think about.

Not so much a thriller as a book about family, relationships and how different perception can be. I found it to be an ok read, could be ‘cause I waited for the thrill. But it was interesting enough to keep me reading. If you don’t mind reading about some sensitive topics (cancer, OCD, adultery) then this might be a suitable book to give a try. I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK!

A story about family life, deceit and adultery. Not my usual genre but a good holiday read. The story is about two families and one husband having an affair with the wife of the other. It explores the impact of the betrayal on the other family members. An episode of Jeremy Kyle! I do like the writing style but my feelings about the book are mixed, especially the ending. Thanks to Net Galley for my copy. I reviewed on Goodreads and Amazon.

Sorry this is only 2 stars. The story was quite depressing and I didn't like any of the characters. I do however praise the author for her research on ; OCD, breast cancer and false memories. Everyone in the book was damaged and unhappy and as a reader I feel that I am looking for a book to enjoy and feel excited about!

I received a free ecopy of this book in return for an honest review. Many thanks to Netgalley and and the publisher for the opportunity.

Written from the alternating viewpoints of the members of one family, this book is insightful with so many subjects, not just obvious central adultery plot and its impact on the families, but also cancer, OCD the nature of memory.

The book begins with the arrival of a letter for mum, Rosie from her one time best friend Lisa. Lisa set up house with Rosie’s husband eight years ago after having an affair with him. Lisa now has cancer and wants to speak to Rosie before she dies. Rosie is a cancer specialist so we get an in depth look at cancer and it’s effect on all those who come into contact with it. Also, perhaps more disturbingly, an up close and personal look at the Tinder app. Lisa’s letter is initially intercepted by Daisy, Rosie’s daughter and causes her to relapse into her OCD condition. Not only do we get a very perceptive look at OCD but we also get an unexpected side look at the nature of magical thinking which I suspect most people are guilty of to some degree. We all think we can influence events with our personal superstitions. Dad, Nick, is a memory researcher. Early on, though we see that he is not so perceptive with regards to Daisy and son, Max who he completely misreads.

The differing nature of each person’s memories is demonstrated when, after examining the impact of current events, we are pulled back to watch those early events unfold. We learn everyone’s guilty secrets. Brought back again to the present day we are presented with twists we never saw coming.

I was reeled into this book almost against my will, drawn in by the irresistible visions of other people’s thought processes. The only fault I would find was that it ends so abruptly. By then I was like a train moving at full speed with the brakes suddenly thrown on. My own brain continued filling in the story after it ended. If a sequel popped up I would grab it with both hands.

My true rating for this would be 3.5 stars. This is the story of two families that are torn apart by an affair between Rosie's husband and her best friend. None of the characters in this book are particularly likeable but the writing is strong. The daughter of Rosie has OCD and I personally feel like this is a very realistic portrayal of OCD and the effect that it has on the people around them. Also it was an interesting portrayal of how a parents actions can have a lasting effect on their children no matter how old they are. There was not quite enough to keep me turning the pages but this is probably because I am used to reading thrillers. The ending was surprising, not at all what I was expecting.

The book started on a familiar premise - what happens when one best friend goes off with the other's husband? As I know people this has happened to, I know this premise is fairly accurate. It causes shock all around and great disturbance in their children. Throw into the mix one of the children's propensity towards OCD, which is greatly exacerbated by the trauma between her parents, and what happens as a result of several practical jokes which go wrong, and you are in for a great story. It is intelligently written, with some good insights. My only criticism was that the end, whilst it was somewhat inevitable, left many questions unanswered. I would really have liked a 'three months later' or 'one year later' epilogue to tie up the loose ends.

This book both broke my heart and uplifted it in other places. I can relate to the subject of Daisy's compulsive behaviour and her OCD as I suffer myself and so does my best friend who is also called Daisy and ironically we are from Norfolk where the book is based. This was a gripping read and I loved the depth of characters and the plot line was very clever and well written