I really enjoyed the fact that she went from downtrodden to ambitious and I admired her for what she achieved. Betrayal’s themes make it a disturbing read at times, but Lesley Pearse handles them with clarity and sensitivity making it a compelling read. We see that sometimes the people closest to us can hurt us the most and how total strangers can become the best of friends!

Eve’s mother Sandra had died from breast cancer when she was ten, and her father Jack had become a dour, difficult man, so getting married and gaining a home of her own seemed a happy solution. Despite all the nastiness thrown at them, they've chosen to rise above it and make a better life for themselves. With her father in the Royal Marines, Lesley and her older brother spent three years in orphanages before her father remarried and Lesley and her older brother were brought home again.To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. I am a huge Lesley Pearse fan and have read all of her book, I was excited to be asked to read and review Betrayal. I am a huge Lesley Pearse fan and have read all of her books, I was excited to be asked to read and review Betrayal. Betrayal looks at the worst kind of domestic violence and does so with a sharp eye for detail and a sympathetic way of recounting a story which is all too familiar namely that of women who are scared of the consequences of leaving a violent partner. Despite the drifting plotline and a crammed conclusion of events, this is classic Lesley Pearse through and through.

The plot moves along at a cracking pace and events have a disturbing ring of truth for so many women’s lives in them. I personally prefer her older books than the last 3-4 she’s published however would I continue to purchase or read any future books, of course I would… it’s Lesley Pearse! This book didn’t disappoint me either, I do love how how this author has brought her stories and plots upto modern age. I was completely surprised by what occurred and found the storyline that unfolded to be creepy and sinister.Bestselling author Lesley Pearse weaves her writing web of magnetism and lures you in with a tale of hard times, abuse and survival. Fear has made her obedient for far too long and she wonders what would the neighbours say if she left Don? Lesley had an extra-ordinary childhood and skilfully marries the pain and unhappiness of her early experiences with a unique gift for storytelling. I have always enjoyed Lesley Pearse books way back when I was pregnant with my first child and on maternity leave 40 years ago now. They had only been back from their honeymoon in Spain for a week when he hit her for the first time.

Consequently, I was delighted when Courtney Jefferies at ed Public Relations invited me to review for the blog tour for Lesley’s latest book Betrayal. She could not do it for herself, even when they arrive at the women's refuge that a specialist solicitor has gotten them into, Eve's sense of denial is such that she finds it hard to relate her circumstances to the other women there. The story then follows Eve and her children over the years after breaking free but it looks as if the past is always lurking around the corner waiting for the truth to come out and justice to be done. They had all witnessed various bouts of bad temper, but back then Eve always found a good reason for them. It shows how even when trying to leave there is not only a general unwillingness to look at the ugly nature of domestic violence from a societal perspective, even the corridors of justice have little faith that it will prevail, in the way that the male police responders and judge act towards victims.The main character, Eve was a mother, trying to protect herself and two children and how she was pushed to the limit by her husband, Don. There were parts of it that felt a little odd, such as Eve's secret and how it is dealt with when it comes out in the open. Eve, when we first meet her, was timid and shy but through no fault of her own as Don’s actions made her feel worthless, powerless and useless.