Betrayal
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4.4 • 5 Ratings
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- £4.99
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
For businessman Hugh Wellesley, the violent waking nightmare begins with the sparse report in the morning newspaper. A woman's body recovered from the River Dart in Devon . . . identified as that of Sylvie Mathieson . . . the corpse stabbed and bound . . .
Should he admit that she had once been his lover? Or let others discover the truth for themselves? Sylvie had always been exotic, unconventional, alluring. Now with her death comes an unexpected betrayal - as another truth emerges which will take even Hugh by surprise.
'Nail-biting . . . the sort of suspense-charged book that has your eyes still glued to it at four in the morning . . . a gripping good read' Daily Mail
'Plenty of suspense and a satisfyingly black denouement' The Times
'Clare Francis has serious crime-writing talent' Mail on Sunday
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A tinted review in adult Forecasts indicates a book that's of exceptional importance to our readers, but hasn't received a starred or boxed review.BETRAYALClare Francis. Soho, $25 (384p) Sometimes it takes a while for a good fish to swim all the way across the pond. Originally published in England in 1995, this psychological suspenser from crowd-pleaser Francis (Night Sky) is just making it to shore here. While caught up in the tensions surrounding a possible buyout of the glass company he inherited from his father, Hugh Wellesley hears news reports of the murder of his mistress, Sylvie. Unwilling to come clean with his sickly and devoted wife, Ginny, Hugh lies to her and the police. When he's arrested anyway, Ginny covers for him so thoroughly that the police believe her guilty and arrest her instead. Hugh also has a doctor brother, David, who tells his share of lies. And David's wife, Mary, deceives, too. As the trial draws nearer, it becomes apparent that the only way to save Ginny is to discover the truth behind Sylvie's death. Francis explores betrayal on many levels here: business partner against partner, brother against brother, husband against wife, lover against lover, even doctor against patient. The delight for the reader in this cynically dishonest world lies in discerning that every behavior, however altruistic on the surface, is suspect. Even Hugh, as first-person narrator, behaves so suspiciously that the reader doubts him. The only flaw in this quietly taut white knuckler is the ending, which is a trifle sweet given what has gone before.
