Lesley has a reputation for writing gritty, confronting stories that don’t shy away from distressing issues. In this book, we see just how strong and resilient women can be even when things literally "beat" us down! We see that sometimes the people closest to us can hurt us the most and how total strangers can become the best of friends! 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? 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.

Eve should never have married Don Hathaway. Yes, he gave her two beautiful children - Olly and Tabitha - but he's a bully. Worse than that, he hurts her. But after one drunken rage too many, she has the courage to leave him. Eve is worried that it's a difficult path, yet she needs to give her children hope for the future. Don, however, is bitter. And getting away entirely from him proves impossible. Until the day. Eve tries to teach him a lesson - and it all foes horribly wrong. She goes to the police and gets in touch with a social worker who helps her leave London to flee to a refuge in Sidmouth. But after the divorce goes through, she can finally return to her home. Only, Don isn't capable of moving on, instead he harrases her every night until she decides to teach him a lesson - which goes very, very wrong.Despite some flaws, I found Eve to be a strong and brave protagonist in many ways. All she wants is the best for her children, even if she's weighed down with such a burden that she can't share. This also means that's she has surpressed trust issues and can't fully commit to another romance in the future.

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.

Before I jump into this review, I must stress that Ms Pearse doesn't shy away from the distressing themes in Betrayal. Not only does domestic and physical abuse recur heavily, there are also graphic descriptions of peodophelia/grooming and suicide. So please be aware before choosing to read. Despite the drifting plotline and a crammed conclusion of events, this is classic Lesley Pearse through and through. Betrayal is a great read, if a tough one. There were times where I just wanted to grab Eve and run away..like to hell with this world and all its downsides! 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 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