Lesley Pearse’s new book Betrayal tackles many difficult, hard hitting subjects and it’s a lot darker than I had expected it to be. She is naturally reserved having being brought up not to tell tales but finally she garners enough courage to go to the police and report what has been happening to her. 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.

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. 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.The impact of constant change and uncertainty in Lesley’s early years is reflected in the recurring themes in her books: how emotional damage inflicted on children impacts the rest of their lives. It starts off with small but still inexcusable harm which soon escalates to Eve needing medical attention for broken bones and other injuries. Gone is the scared women who was afraid of change, meeting new people or even trying to do things for herself as in indulging her passion of curtain making and interior design. With Lesley Pearse ‘s reputation for grippy, gritting stories that never shy away from the seamier side of life, I was expecting distressing themes here. Marianne goes on to be a role model/mother figure for Eve always offering good advice and being there for her when she needs it.

The hardships, traumas, close friends and lovers from those early years were inspiration for her beloved novels.However as I’ve loved all her other books I really wanted to give this one a chance and I’m really glad I did. I didn’t mean to hurt you,’ he said almost as soon as he’d attacked her, and he got a bag of ice to put on her already swelling eye. She does not begin in adversity and simply end up in success, but Lesley Pearse puts her through all manner of trials and achievements that make Eve feel vivid and real. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others.

This is an emotional roller coaster read that had me fully invested from beginning through to the end. Setting up a new life for herself and her children isn't easy for Eve but with sheer grit and determination she takes them out of poverty and into a more settled existence except that Eve is burdened by a dreadful secret which overshadows her future happiness. In this book, we see just how strong and resilient women can be even when things literally "beat" us down! But then the last quarter or so of the book, things really picked up and god did the book veer off in a direction that I hadn’t seen coming but really looking back on it the clues were there for the reader to see if they had looked hard enough. The reader is forced to sit up and start forming their own judgements and it was fascinating to see how things were unfolding.

Despite all the nastiness thrown at them, they've chosen to rise above it and make a better life for themselves. I have read all of her books and I have always loved the way she portrays strong women within her books. Every year I find myself extremely fortunate to be gifted an early addition of the latest Lesley Pearse book to review.