I will not be posting a review of this book. Other people have enjoyed it. Not me.

The Betrayal is a story about two Families told through the four members of one of the Families.It is a story of betrayal, lies and love .This was a different read for me but I did enjoy it .

I have given it a 4.5 stars.

Fiona Neill is a new author to me but I was given the chance to read it, I couldn't resist. The cover, the blurb, everything about this book screamed "WINNER" to me and I wasn't far wrong!

The Betrayals is poignant and thought provoking from the very beginning. I was hooked as we got to hear the same story from four very different characters. In the beginning I did think that reading multiple POV might have been a little too confusing but it wasn't. Each character was so different they just helped to build up a picture of these two dysfunctional family struggling to deal with several betrayals.

The author has delivered a well thought out, highly knowledgeable in-depth story with lots of different elements that were blended seamlessly together to give us a powerful eye opening story, with a few twists and turns that I didn't see coming.

I found it to be completely riveting, I couldn't put it down and that ending! Although the ending was unexpected, I think it was perfect for this book. We weren't given the closure that perhaps we would have liked and I think given the storyline that it was finished off that way to give the readers an insight into the character's feeling after more secrets and betrayals were revealed.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to read more from this author.

A modern day story of life, and the knock on effect in the people around you when betrayals happen. This book is cleverly written and easy to follow as you see what happens to different people involved in the same events. It is interesting to see how the same event plays out differently in the eyes of each person involved. Also a betrayal by one person can lead to another betrayal by someone else. It shows how OCD affects the person who has and why they do the things they do. It also shows you how the OCD affects the family and friends of the person dealing with the illness. I enjoyed this book.

I found this book to be an enjoyable read and well written.. Stories of dysfunctional families can frequently be too full of angst and this was not. I knew only a little about OCD before reading and found the way it was described both informative and very thought provoking, The impact of the illness on not just the sufferer but the family in general was insightful and formed a cornerstone of the story. I do not usually like books that are clearly split into character perspectives but in this instance I thought it worked well.

So why not five star - I enjoyed it, I thought about OCD a lot afterwards but I thought it pushed coincidence a bit to its limits, I was not fully engaged by the characters and therefore it was not wow - I would nevertheless recommend it as a good read.

No review as did not read. Thank you.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Rosie Rankin's best friend had an affair with her husband. Relationships are torn apart and friendships are shattered. Rosie's daughter Daisy has OCD and when a letter arrives it opens up old wounds. Rosie's son Max blames himself for everything that's happened. Her ex-husband has his own version of events. There are four sides to every story. Who do you believe?

The story is told by four members of the same family. The story also covers some sensitive topics. Some included are cancer, OCD, depression, anxiety and alcoholism . The author has definitely spent a lot of time researching these topics. I liked the authors style of writing and the way she quickly got you caught up in the storyline.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Penguin UK - Michael Joseph and the author Fiona Neill for my ARC in exchange for an honest review..

I'm a bit on the fence about this book- on one hand, it was a mostly enjoyable read with well crafted characters and fairly pacey plotting, at least at the start. On the other hand, I found most of the characters unlikable and slightly tedious at times, which dragged the story down for me. The narrative tool of using 4 different points of view to tell the story was interesting but again, it was sometimes jarring to swap perspectives and at times I found it tricky to follow the story. I also starting losing interest part way through and wasn't quite sure where the story was going, to the point that I found it hard to keep reading . My feeling is that this is a book that others with more patience would appreciate more than me.

This book grabbed me and kept me completely engrossed till the end. I don't always like it when the story is told by multiple characters, but this was not a problem, and led to me seeing things from several perspectives. I identified most with Rosie, but many of the characters have likeable traits, and seem totally realistic. This book would be a good book club choice, as it could generate a lot of discussion about truth, loyalty, and of course, betrayals. The book also taught me some interesting things about memory, and the use of social drugs. There were a few twists that took me by surprise.

A wonderful book from Fiona Neill. A fantastic author. A very touching book about relationships torn apart and friendships shattered. A book I simply could not put down and read in one sitting

I adored the writing style, the characters were over all believable and I found myself quite taken by the story but it sort of fell a little bit flat by the end.

Told by 4 different people, we get to see just what happens when lies and deceit take hold in a family, when the truth gets distorted and distractions are the catalyst for subsequent events.

How Fiona writes is rather clever, as the reader you're never sure what the real focus is meant to be on, is it the cheating husband, the daughter with OCD habits or perhaps the other woman who seems to be keeping secrets.

What I think really let the book down was its ending, it was quite frankly anti-climatic, the tale seemed to be eluding to some big reveal, a deeper meaning to what had transpired but none of that occurred and I was left feeling somewhat cheated, confused almost.

Between the depression, the illness, the anxiety and seeing a family trying to stay together even when broken, The Betrayals is a story that doesn't really succumb to any genre.

With all the topics covered, it is definitely a story that keeps you guessing and turning the pages, perhaps the ending was actually the beginning of another story?

This is a well written book on modern family life with all its problems,

The Betrayals, The Richard & Judy Book Club thriller 2017, Fiona Neill,

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: Mystery and Thrillers, women's fiction

I loved the idea of this book, and the writing style was perfect but....as I read it somehow it felt a bit flat. It seemed everyone was playing the blame game - except the two who I felt were actually at fault.
The way we saw events from each persons POV was fascinating, I'd be seeing it from one persons eyes and yet the same events from another person had a very different outlook. 

I didn't really like any of the characters. No-one is ever perfect of course but it was hard to find things in these guys to actually like, and without that my empathy is a bit missing. 
There's lots of to and fro where we see events played out as if now were in the past, and then see how they've affected people and how they act in the present. What happens to us does shape us, and its easy to link some of the traits of certain characters on what happened, but is it ever the sole cause? I don't think so, but its human nature I guess for wanting to find a cause for every ailment, everything wrong in our lives.

There's a bit where Nick says from his studies people change their memories of what happened unconsciously to reflect themsleves in the best light, and I can see that as true. Each time we were in one persons head I was trying to keep that in mind, but its hard not to get pulled in to what they beleive. 

I was waiting for some grand climax, for a big reveal as all the way through I thought I kept getting hints of something huge to come out, a secret or something, and yet when I got to the end I felt nothing, it all felt very flat, and anticlimatic.
I wasn't even sure if what I thought happened at the end did.

Its one of those reads where I can admire the writing style, admire how much research has gone into it, but where the actual story content just passed me by, where I could happily have done without ever picking it up.
Still, others love it and so you may too. I'd try another of Fiona's books happily, it could well be its just This book that didn't suit my taste. 

 
Stars: well, two seems harsh but I really can't give it a three, good book so its two and a half from me.

ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers

Thank you penguin and Michael Joseph for the opportunity to read this book. This book I think is an emotional book on the dysfunctional lives of so many people who are all connected in some way. The sensitive topics in which we see in this book are second to none, it to me didn't feel like I was reading fiction. It's believable as it's a reality that a lot of people face every day, it's a well thought out story, great characters, great writing, all round great book.

A good read and different from my usual genre. I loved how the different character were explored. This book shows what devastation infidelity, OCD and lies can do to a normal family. I don't know much regarding OCD so this book was a brilliant insight.

This book started off well but mid way through I found it quite disappointing and gave up

'The Betrayals' is a gripping and engaging exploration of a family torn apart by infidelity, mental illness, secrets and guilt.

When Rosie's husband leaves her for her best friend, Rosie and her two children (Daisy and Max) are shattered in myriad ways. The consequences continue for years in unexpected ways, and 'The Betrayals' explores the impact on all the characters involved.

The novel explores memory and its fallibility, coincidence, guilt and secrets in a way that means you just can't put the book down until you've untangled the web.

I was given an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest and independent review.
This story is related by different characters in each chapter and is based around a dysfunctional modern day family. It is cleverly written with excellent characters and a lot of the people involved interweave in their connection to each other, by degrees of separation.
The insight into OCD was particularly interesting and upsetting and is a large feature of the book.
A good read.
3.5 stars

I would like to thank Michael Joseph and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Betrayals’ by Fiona Neill in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
Rosie, her husband Nick, and children Daisy and Max describe in their own words how their lives become entangled when Nick has an affair with Rosie’s best friend Lisa, and how it affects not only Daisy and Max but also Lisa’s husband Barney and their children Rex and Ava.
After Nick and Lisa move in together, Rosie and Max struggle with Daisy’s obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) which Daisy believes has been caused by seeing her father and Lisa’s intimacy on the beach near where they live in Norfolk. The descriptions gave me an insight into how sufferers and their loved ones cope with the problems a mental health condition can cause. It also touched on how alcoholism can affect a family.
I thought ‘The Betrayals’ was beautifully written with great sensitivity, Fiona Neill describing the main characters with empathy. The further I got into the story the more I was drawn in. I couldn’t put the book down as I needed to know how the family were going to resolve their problems.

This is a great read and is cleverly written by taking the four different viewpoints on the plot. There is the daughter who is clearly suffering from OCD which is very well portrayed, as well as the other members of the family who look backwards into the events that led them to this point.
It deals with some difficult subjects but with an intelligent and informed basis. Sometimes it becomes awkward to read due to the subject matter but that only adds to the authors skills in my opinion.
Well constructed and engaging, I would recommend this book and will look out for future work by the author.