The question posed in the blurb is - who would you believe? I guess the answer is the truth always prevails, regardless of how people perceive it. Good read, would recommend!

This is a gripping read with interesting, well shaped characters. It is told from the different perspectives of four family members, which works well and gives a clear picture of where and how the betrayals have taken place. It's a real page turner and I felt especially drawn in and sympathetic to some of the characters. It presents very human dilemmas, the most essential being' how do you respond to a letter from the woman, your former best friend, who destroyed your life, and now wants to see you?

This is a great story about two families who’s lives are under stress and change. It is about friendship, trust, love, loss, memory, mental health and betrayal.

It is in the main about a point in the lives of these 2 families , seen by different members of this group and how their memory of this event have changed their lives. I particularly liked the description of Daisy and her struggles with anxiety and OCD, and how we remember things as a child and how we take those memories into adulthood .
It is written with warmth and understanding plus also a little lighthearted humour along the way.
An enjoyable read.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

The idea of this story was a compelling one. Seeing both sides of a betrayal, seeing how something hurts both side and seeing all the repercussions. The reality of the story was far less compelling.
Coming in on the middle of a story and leaving in the middle left me feeling I was missing something with the story and the book. The characters felt drab and deflating, perhaps this is contemporary characters and their lives; have we become bland?
I read the book feeling like I never got the full story behind anything or anyone and as a result failed to connect with the characters or the story.
However, the characters are well written. They are not flat and idealistic examples of modern people, no we see behind their perfections and view their flaws and faults.
The settings could be any groups of friends, perhaps even your group of friends, a fact that can make for uncomfortable reading
I left the book feeling that the only one betrayed was me as the reader.
Normally I'd recommend a good place or time for this book, but with this book I was tempted to suggest skipping it altogether. However, pick this book for a reading club and perhaps different perspectives or discussing the story with others will give you a better insight, understanding, or appreciation of the story.

In hindsight I suspect i'm not the demographic this book is aimed at. Perhaps it is more for ideal of the contemporary, modern woman, perhaps that woman would be more drawn to the story and characters. In honesty this was not the book for me.

Thanks to Net galley, the author and the publisher for this book in exchange for a honest review.
It’s took me a few days to digest what I thought of this book before writing a review.
Rosie,successful consultant, two children,apparently happy marriage is destroyed when husband Nick and her best friend Lisa embark on an affair.
What transpires through this book is an enlightenment of the different views of all involved and the effects it has had upon them.
The complexities,overlaps and reflections of life before ,during and after make at times heavy and distressing reading., particularly Daisy’s viewpoint.
This is not a light ,by the pool read in my eyes but it is well written and the characters feel so life like you are emerced.
It’s a bit difficult to therefore give it the stars it deserves for the ability of the author but the uncomfortableness and discomfort I felt for Daisy made me want to stop at times. I suppose that is a good book because I still kept going back.
3.5 stars

This is a complex, layered look at two families who have become inextricably linked not just by long-standing friendships and children growing up together, but by an extra-marital affair. The story is told from the perspectives of several of the family members, and each one is extremely well-written. I was particularly drawn to the examination of the young woman who suffers from OCD; as someone very close to an individual with a serious psychiatric diagnosis, I felt that the author dealt with this sensitively and with a great deal of insight.

The intricacies of each character's situation are cleverly explored, and the whole novel is beautifully-written. My only disappointment was with the ending, which I found unsatisfying. The story just slipped away, rather than coming to any kind of conclusion. Despite that, this was an enjoyable and very worthwhile read.

Excellent Novel with an engrossing plot, dealing with serious contemporary issues and laced with delightful humour:
An excellent book: dealing with some very serious modern life issues made highly readable by generous doses of humour, principally in the interaction of two characters: Nick (Rosie's former husband and Lisa's lover) and Gregorio. In fact my favourite character was definitely Gregorio.
Gregorio, is an "Alternative Medical Practitioner", who, despite a lack of any empirical evidence to support his questionable rôle as a curer of terminal (or indeed any) illness, manages to exert a hypnotic influence over his patients. This is much to Nick's horror and chagrin.
The novel starts in the present day and then flashes back and forth to events which occurred some 8 years earlier. It is written from the perspective of several key characters. The reader can note the differing mind-set of each. This in turn reinforces Nick's own professional hypothesis expounded in the book that memory is altered by personal perspective, priority and time. Memory is inconsistent and often not as reliable as we think.
But to the story: When Rosie's husband Nick leaves his family to live with Lisa (Rosie's best friend) both Nick and Lisa leave in their trail two families torn asunder by their decision to live together. The impact is most obvious in the effect it has on all four kids (two in each family) who feel abandoned. Every child's life is affected in different ways as they try to cope with their own emotional trauma whilst supporting their remaining parents (Rosie and Barney).
In the following years there is only limited contact with their estranged parents: Nick and Lisa.
Eight years pass and Rosie, a leading Breast Cancer Consultant, receives a letter from Lisa. She (Lisa) has been diagnosed with Breast Cancer(Stage 3). Lisa suggests they meet up. But will Rosie agree to this request? Will Rosie, as a leading Breast Cancer expert, assist her former husband Nick, in his battle to pry Lisa away from her pursuit of an Alternative Medicine cure (and almost certain death)? Will Rosie forgive her friend and indeed go one further: offer her one of the last few remaining places on a clinical trial which would offer Lisa a great chance of surviving.
Nick and Lisa announce they are to be married. Who will attend the nuptials? Meanwhile Daisy regresses in her previously successful battle against OCD.
At the heart of this novel for me lay the disparate attitudes to life personified by Rosie and Nick. Rosie embodies selflessness and rehabilitation whilst Nick's is obsessed with self-gratification (although not until the end does the reader realise just how much).
The plot is an engaging one and manages to cover many modern life issues in considerable depth: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (Daisy); Alcoholism (Barney); Alternative Medicine (Lisa); and the true worth of trust and friendship. The dangers of Social Media (in the form of FaceBook) and the role that dating Apps play in many lives (Tinder) are also woven into the story. The humour alone contained within the pages of the book makes it a treat to read.
With any novel of worth, you should feel the better for having read it: either through learning, laughing, being entertained, educated or made to question existing opinions. In my view this novel ticks all these boxes and falls into the "must read" category. "Becoming Strangers" successfully highlights the fragility of contemporary family life. We all possess the ability to make choices at key moments of our lives. Some of us consider the impact on others before making a choice. And others do not.

Daisy's parents separate when her dad Nick hooks up with her mum Rosie's best friend Lisa - this all leads to Daisy's life becoming ruled by anxiety and her OCD routines. Now she intercepts a letter from Lisa to her mum, unleashing all the anxieties again. The story of the past and the present is explored through the narrative of Daisy, her brother Max, Rosie, and Nick - all with a different take on what's really going on - the perception of memory and how we can all remember differently are key to the development of the story. I enjoyed this book, and I didn't foresee the ending (which is always good!). A nice easy holiday read which will stick with you.

I couldn't really get into this as all of the characters were so unlikeable. The insight into OCD was interesting, but I think has been explained better before in other books. An interesting premise, but not particularly well executed.

I’m so angry that I wasted a week reading this book. I found it extremely long but was mildly interested in the story so persisted. Even though there isn’t one likeable character in there.

The end of the book was so rushed it felt like the publisher had omitted the final pages. I read it on the Kindle so knew I was nearing the end but didn’t realise I was on the final page and actually sat there for a few seconds in incredulous irritation.

The Betrayals by Fiona Neill tells the story of a broken family. Rosie and Nick had a quite, normal life with their two kids, Max and Daisy. However, their normal, little life was shattered when Nick left Rosie for her best friend, Lisa. Through alternating POVs by the four family members, the story unravels about life before and after the marriage ended.

This book is character driven. It is entirely focused on the four MCs. I was immediately drawn to Daisy who was struggling with different issues including OCD. I have never read a book that covered OCD in such detail. Her obsession with numbers, repeating certain phrases and constant worry broke my heart but also taught me more about the condition. For instance, I knew about the repetitive actions like people who lock the door a certain number of times but I didn’t know why. I also liked Max who was very close with his sister. It was clear to see how affected he was by everything going on especially his sister’s illness. My feelings for the grownups in this story kept changing. I’ll not say much about them so as not to reveal too many details about the book. However, let me just mention that the character development in this book was done quite well.

This is a story about family. It tackled different familial relationships and the effect of a break in the ties. It is also a story about friendship. The story highlights on Lisa and Rosie’s friendship before the betrayal. It also gives insight into the friendship afterwards. That’s not the only friendship at the heart of the story though. I really enjoyed reading about these two themes and this book made me think how I would have acted in similar situations. As I have already mentioned, mental health was also a key theme in the narrative. A recurrent theme intertwined throughout the story is betrayal.

Given that this was a character-led story, it was a bit slow. However, this doesn’t mean that it was boring. The pace was perfect for the narrative. This was also a quiet story. It wasn’t about action and shocking twists but it still did have some mystery and I was especially curious about what happened in the characters’ past. I found myself completely immersed into the story and the lives of the characters. I used to look forward to spending some time with Daisy, Max and perhaps Rosie.

If you enjoy character-led, family drama, multiple-layered stories then The Betrayals by Fiona Neill is definitely for you.

What a phenomenally well written cast of characters! Review to come on my YouTube channel.

An absolute gripping read I have so much admiration for Fiona Neil this truly is a 5 star read could not put this down.

Narrated by Daisy Rankin, her brother Max, father Nick and mother Rosie, this book is about the consequences of Nick’s affair with Rosie’s best friend, Lisa and how it affects each member of both Nick and Lisa’s families. The concise title is clever and exceptionally fitting, as although the plot focuses on an obvious betrayal – of marriage vows – the plural is there for a reason; each character is betrayed / the betrayer at some point, whether they realise it or not.

Taking a closer look at the interesting mix of characters: Max, the youngest family member never knowingly does anything that will hurt others and feels a high level of responsibility for his sister. This is due to Daisy’s Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, which she tries desperately to keep under control and not let run her life.

OCD is just one of the serious issues that this book doesn’t shy away from tackling. Rosie, a cancer doctor, is dedicated to her work and we see just how consuming this disease is to both those that have it and, like Rosie, those trying to find a cure.

Rounding up the Rankin family is Nick, he is a (at times wonderfully sarcastic) memory specialist and his profession is a theme that is intricately woven throughout the book. Several times we are presented with contradicting versions of events by different characters, but who is recalling the truth and is anyone purposely twisting the past for their own gain? This exploration of how much can memories really be trusted to give an accurate account of the truth is an engrossing narrative element.

Overall, I was completely drawn into this dysfunctional family tale. Neill does an excellent job of creating and balancing the thoughts and feelings of the four family members. I found that as each put their point-of-view across, I empathised with them, yes, they contradicted each other, but all presented reasonable-from-their-point-of-view opinions. The ending was more abrupt than I was expecting, but upon reflection, for a book that deals with the disjointed, unpredictable nature of life and being part of a family, this was the perfect way to complete this novel. It means, as I write this a few days after finishing it, I’m still thinking about that ending and wondering what the characters will do now. Always a good sign.

Lisa has betrayed her best friend Rosie in the worst possible way, she has stolen her husband.

The two couples and their children holiday together every year until the year when Lisa and Nick develope a liking for each other.

Rosie's daughter Daisy has anxiety and OCD and these events are the start of a downward spiral for her and it nearly kills her mother coping with it. Her brother Max has always been her protector but as he gets older he realizes that by helping her he is also enabling her continue with her OCD.

Years later and Daisy is well again but a letter that comes in the post from Lisa to her mum sets off her illness and no one feels able to cope with it all over again.

This story is told from four different viewpoints so we get perspective on how things are interpreted by each person. I learned quite a lot about O.C.D which must be horrific to live with. Nick,in the story is doing research on memory and how it works and it fitted in with the story well as we learn about false memory and how people who recall everything in great detail from the past aren't always right.

I sympathized with Max and the heavy weight that his sister's illness has placed upon him as well as his own grief over his parent's divorce.

I did find this hard to put down and I enjoy books where I learn something. It also has a surprising ending. This is the first book I've read by this author but she has a few published on Amazon.

A thought provoking family drama full of emotion centring around a family breakup.

This is a story about family relationships and deception. It tackles some very sensitive topics including adultery, divorce, cancer and OCD. The characters were not particularly likeable but I thought that the writing was very good.

When a letter arrives for Rosie, from her ex best friend who ran off with her husband, Daisy feels out of control and the need to protect her mother. Max, her brother feels he needs to protect Daisy. But soon they will all come together, and each will give their version of events of a joint family holiday so many years ago. Will the years be kind to their memories? And will they finally forgive each other before it’s too late?
Daisy struggles to control her actions.
Max

The Betrayals

I really enjoyed The Betrayals. Told from four different viewpoints, Fiona Neill explores the troubled relationships of two families, torn apart by infidelities and deep rooted issues.

This is a deeply powerful and thought provoking book that will chill and entertain you at the same time! Four stars from purplebookstand.

A tale of family betrayal, adultery, terminal illness and OCD. The story is told from the point of view of Nick, Rosie, Daisy and Max. Nick and Rosie are Daisy and Max’s parents but are now divorced. Nick had an affair with Rosie’s best friend Lisa. Daisy suffered with OCD after this and the only one who truly helped her was younger brother Max. To be honest I really struggled with this book and didn’t find the characters all that likeable - think I would have preferred it if it was from one or two people’s point of view. Found the ending very disappointing too.

Thanks to Netgalley, Penguin UK and Fiona Neil for the opportunity to read and review this book.