Title: Betrayal
Author: Margaret Bingley
Date of Publication: November 4th 2014
Synopsis:
Set in the second half of the
twentieth century, Lisa Green comes from a world of privilege, but only in the
way of wealth, not in love. When a turn of events leaves her single, with an Autistic
child to raise, without the means to support herself, Lisa gets stuck in an
abusive new relationship that she is desperate to get out of. BETRAYAL catalogs
one woman’s search for love without conditions, sexual or otherwise, in a world
that seems bent against her.
Review
5 stars
It took me a while to come up with something to write in this review that will do this book justice and still keep it spoiler free. So here goes...
Holy Mother of all plots!!!
There are so many elements to this book, its impossible to figure out where to begin. Lisa is an adopted girl raised by a couple who apparently had her life planned out. There were a lot of people in on this, except for Lisa. She was betrayed and hurt over and over again from the time she was 7 years old and beyond. The things this girl goes through are just incredible and appalling, yet realistic. There are so many layers to this story, I know I have to read it again to fully capture everything. Every character brings an immense amount of drama and plot twists with them. Every single one brings an insane amount of drama, hurt and betrayal for Lisa. Just when you think a character is bad, there's another one even worse coming. Just when you think what else could go wrong, something else does. Plot twists and surprising turns are present in every chapter. To my surprise, even with everything that goes on , and trust me when I say it's a LOT, Lisa keeps her head on straight. She manages to keep a clear mind, stay strong and my favorite thing about her, she's NOT whiny!!! Yes, she has her meltdowns once in a while, but I could absolutely get where she was coming from. In an era where autism wasn't well known or documented, she faces indescribable hardships raising her daughter. Throw in the fact that she has no means of supporting herself and depends on Neal Gueras, a man who seems to be charming and rich , yet Lisa knows has a dark and violent side. Oh yeah... Neal despises her daughter. With a passion. This alone makes for a ton of drama. That doesn't even scratch the surface of everything that goes on.
As I started reading, I quickly knew two things: it was going to be an amazing book and I wasn't going to be able to put it down.
Remarkable characters that stayed with me and evoked deep feelings in me, a superbly written story, nail-biting drama, heart-wrenching events and a very satisfying ending. A book that demanded my attention and swept me up in the time and settings.
Spectacular 5 star read.
Buy the Book!
Excerpt
Neal Gueras wasn't a patient man and he wasn't used to being held off. Despite his initial good intentions he found that sitting next to her, with her slender body close to his and her perfume drifting up to him, he simply couldn't wait. He had to kiss her, and so he gripped her tightly by the
shoulders, turned her body towards him and covered her mouth with his.
She instinctively went rigid, closing her lips against his tongue and pulling away, trying desperately to free herself. Images of Roger and Toby flashed through her mind, and she remembered how Toby would hold her by the shoulders before forcing her down on to the bed and doing things that he knew she hated for the sheer pleasure of hearing her scream.
Because he wasn't Toby, Neal had left her arms free and was totally unprepared when she slipped off one of her navy pumps and began hitting him round the head and shoulders with it.
'What the bloody hell… ?' he shouted, pushing her away and leaping to his feet. Then, looking down, he saw her crumpled up and sobbing uncontrollably, still clutching the shoe tightly in her right hand.
He sighed and turned away, knowing that it was his fault and he'd only made things worse. Lisa continued to cry, and the sound of her sobs woke Jessica who decided to join in so that when Mike tapped discreetly on the front door, Neal was highly relieved to see him.
'Carry that child upstairs and put it in the cot next to the bed,' he instructed. Mike, after one quick glance at the rumpled, tear-stained Lisa, did as he was told.
Neal sat down carefully next to her and gently removed the shoe from her hand. 'It's all right,' he said quietly. 'That was my fault and I'm sorry. I'm going to get a doctor to come and see you. He'll help you get over everything you've been through these past months. You won't mind that,
will you?' She shrugged. All that she wanted was to be left alone, which was totally unrealistic, so she forced herself to shake her head.
'Good girl! I'll be off now but I'll ring in the morning. Have a long lie-in if you can. And, Lisa… '
She glanced up at him. 'Yes?' 'I'm sorry.'
She bit her bottom lip. 'It's my fault. I'm the one who should be apologising. It was only that… '
'I do understand. Now go upstairs and get some rest. Have you any sleeping pills?'
'One or two.'
'Then take one. Goodnight.'
About Margaret Bingley
Margaret Bingley was born in
Sutton, Surrey and educated at Sutton High School for Girls GPDST, where she
won the school English prize, and then at Rickard’s Lodge Secretarial College
in Wimbledon. After that she went to work at the BBC in London, and later moved
to work for The Heinemann Group of Publishers at Lower Kingswood in Surrey,
where she met her future husband, Alan.
In 1974, Margaret and Alan moved
to Grantham in Lincolnshire and In 1976 their son, Alex, was born. One day,
after reading a particularly boring book, she decided to try and write one
herself and eventually, after many trials and tribulations, her first book THE
DEVIL’S CHILD was published. Much of the book was based on those early, halcyon
days of motherhood.
She continued writing steadily
from 1983 onwards, and in February 2000 she also started writing a weekly
column of 400 words for the local paper, The Grantham Journal, entitled ‘The
Way I See It’.
Apart from her work, Margaret
enjoys reading, opera, dry white wine, Foyle’s War (or anything else with
Michael Kitchen in it!) and gardening.
She does not like reality TV
shows, ‘alternative’ comedians or Political Correctness.
Giveaway
No comments:
Post a Comment