But then here’s the contrasting thing…the book highlighted some really difficult subjects including marital abuse, grooming and suicide, to name but a few, and didn’t shy away from them, in fact it is a brutal start to the book….which then made the other parts seem so contrasted Amelia had a difficult childhood and is perhaps one of the reasons why as an adult she has allowed herself to be taken advantage off by the friends she trusted. Yet sometimes the best learnings and help come from the people who have first-hand experience of the challenges that hit from time to time. It is this personal experience that guides Amelia’s desire to do the right thing and help others and it is these characteristics that become central to the story. I look forward to a new book from Lesley Pearce she never seems to disappoint, and this is no exception.

Amelia loves to write and her dream is to become a reporter, instead she sells advertising space at her local newspaper. Pearse’s Belle Series debuted in 2011 with the publication of Belle. It was followed by The Promise, where main character Belle is desperate to do anything to make her life better. The third book in the series came out in 2014 and is titled Survivor. Does Belle have the courage within herself to try and escape? Will she have any allies out there in her quest for freedom? Read this exciting book from wonderful author Lesley Pearse to find out! 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. In Eve Hathaway the author has created a feisty and determined woman, who once away from her violent husband, has the ability to make a new life for herself and her children and yet with the shadow of uncertainty hanging above her the author shows just how fragile this new life can be and learning to trust isn't easy as Eve discovers to her cost and that of her family's safety.

Her life is as interesting as the fiction that she writes, and perhaps even stranger. Lesley Pearse has had a very dramatic and eventful life. Her mother died when she was just three years old under circumstances that were tragic. Their father had been at work at sea and a neighbor spied Lesley and her brother outside without coats and that led to finding out that their mother had died. Set in 1970, West London, Amelia White is selling advertising space for the local newspaper but has aspirations to be a reporter. After stumbling upon the body of a young woman dumped among the rubbish piled high on the street due to the dustmen strikes, she is given the perfect scoop to show her budding talents to her editor. When Amelia is horrified by the lies spread about the victim she is determined to find the truth and convinces her editor to report the story. But when another body is found and then another, could she be the key to discovering the killer by working out who the liar is? 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.

Although the crime mystery aspect is at the centre of the action in Liar, Lesley Pearse also includes her trademark element of romance. The love story is more of a side piece, but it offsets the intrigue element of the novel. Amelia’s love interest in the tale is a dashing man, who initially appears to be absolutely perfect, but slowly as the story progresses he loses his sheen. I was quite suspicious of Amelia’s lover from the early stages of the novel and I think this was justified. Pearse does an excellent job of illuminating her central romance in suspicion and deception. It adds plenty of depth to the story at hand. Set in the year I was born, I was very interested in the music, fashion and ambience of that era. I particularly liked the mention of the women’s fashion, from the miniskirts to the kinky boots and the talk about hippies and flower power. Without doubt the author has passionately researched the era well and I felt I was living in the 1970’s as the events unfolded. Eve should never have married Don Hathaway. Yes, he gave her two beautiful children - Olly and Tabitha - but he is a bully. Worse than that, he hurts her. Bestselling author Lesley Pearse weaves her writing web of magnetism and lures you in with a tale of hard times, abuse and survival.

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This new book from popular author Lesley Pearse has all the right ingredients. Eve’s husband Don drinks, and he's violent to her. She says to herself she never should have married him. But they have a girl Tabitha (Tabby), and a boy called Oliver, the children are a joy. Don says he’ll turn over a new leaf, but he'll never change. At one point things become better…. then go bad again so that she starts to think, could she get away? The main character, Eve, is well played and her teenage children are very involved in all that happens to her but then towards the end her daughter does something that for me was totally out of character and changed the whole direction of the book, I just couldn’t buy into her reaction and stance at all A raw, truthful and moving account, building intrigue as Alice gradually uncovers her mother's life of deception, lies - and love' WOMAN'S WEEKLY Also the writing style is written in a way my 15 year old self wrote fan fictions. Just so simple and boring. A strong piece of writing and storytelling that has the power to transport you and invite you into the drama.

There were times where I just wanted to grab Eve and run away..like to hell with this world and all its downsides! Eve Hathaway's husband Don is the worst kind of bully. For years she's put up with his beating and berating towards herself and their children Tabby and Ollie. Finally, FINALLY after one too many instances of the abuse, Eve finds the courage to walk away. The story is based in 1970’s London. Amelia White had a tough upbringing. Her mother is an alcoholic and very cold towards her and her siblings and her father was always using his fists to get out of anything including towards her. As soon as he could she left home. She manages to get a job at the local newspaper selling advertising space. But her dream is become a reporter a novelist.I've loved Lesley Pearse's books from the beginning. It's hard to believe Betrayal is book 31! It's just as good a read as all of the others.