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Betrayal: a Gritty Novel


Book Review: Betrayal

by Sharon Brownlie

Growing up, Helen King was let down by people who should have protected her. A father. A teacher who looked the other way when Helen was desperate for help. A social worker who didn’t believe the young girl’s stories of abuse. At twenty years old, she is a prostitute and drug addict who is filled with rage and consequently seeks revenge on people from her past.

While trying to clean up her act, she heads to Edinburgh to hunt down the teacher who looked the other way when Helen was clearly suffering at the hands of her father. Miss Gloria Bryson ignored the cigarette burns on her young student’s body, the bruises, too. Although Helen is anything but likable, she elicits sympathy from the reader, which is difficult to accomplish when a character has little redeeming qualities.

The young innocent child tugs on the reader’s heartstrings while the young woman—who is a cold-hearted killer—sends chills down the reader’s back.

Even in this dark, gritty world there are glimmers of humanity. There are also laugh-out-loud scenes, which give the reader a break from the darkness. Although I felt some scenes didn’t move the plot forward, this psychological thriller moves at a fast pace and leaves the reader satisfied in the end. Well done!

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