Cover Image: Betray Her

Betray Her

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Member Reviews

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience

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Took a while to build up and I found the end 10% or so the best part of the story but an enjoyable read of life long friendships and betrayals.

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A great psychological thriller.

I’ve read this author before and loved her books. I think the appeal is her beautiful writing and ease to read.

The characters have wonderfully been built and gave depth which create an enjoyable backstory to build the books plot upon.

Great book that I really enjoyed

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A cautionary tale of just how devious people can be , manipulating others so that outcomes favour them constantly. I was totally horrified that a woman could behave like that towards another woman.
A tale of betrayal with an incurrent of manipulation but also of enduring love x

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This was definitely a slow burn and it took me so long to get into it that I almost put it down several times. I enjoyed the writing but found the premise a little too 'convenient' and predictable.

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Couldn't get in to this one unfortunately. I tried and got to 35% but found myself putting it down far too much to do other things. I'm sure it's great but something just wasn't there for me.

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My thanks to NetGalley and Piatkus for a copy of “ Betray Her “ for an honest review.

This is my first book from Caroline England and I was intrigued by the write up .Overall I found this was a decent read but I thought it was a little overlong.The ending made up for the slowness of the story , so taking the book as a whole I would still recommend this.

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I have read a few of this authors books and this was a very similar vein to those.
Betrayal, revenge, love and broken friendships.
I did get confused with all the characters, but I just skimmed back.
All in all a reasonable book.

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BETRAY HER is a psychological thriller, a tale of lust, secrets and revenge by Caroline England. This is a riveting character-driven novel.

Her Novels include:
The Wife’s Secret (previously Beneath the Skin) (2017)
My Husband's Lies (2018)
Betray Her (2019)
Truth Games (2020)

Jo and Kate were best friends forever, since meeting at the age of eight at boarding school. They would do anything for each other…but their relationship was full of jealousy and manipulation. They come from very different backgrounds; Jo's family are from Barnsley, her father is from working class stock and his successful construction business allows him to provide what he believes is the best education for his children, whereas Kate - or Catherine Bayden-Jones, is from old money.

The two women stay best friends for the next 30 years. Kate is married to the handsome Tom with a 6-year-old daughter, Alice. Jo widowed 2 years ago when her husband, Richard passed away suddenly and unfortunately wasn't able to have children which she so desperately wants.

This psychological thriller is set in both past (boarding school) and present, with a gradual buildup of tension with a realization that not everything is as it seems. To say more would be to risk spoilers.

The complex flawed characters are well drawn and realistic. I found myself racing towards what turned out to be an explosive and exciting ending, a twist that I didn’t see coming! Looking forward to reading more of her novels. Very enjoyable read.

Many thanks to the author and The Book Club Reviewers request group (FB) for my digital copy.

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I loved My Husband’s Lies and this didn’t disappoint. Interesting characters and shock ending. I couldn’t put it down

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As thrillers go, this is pretty standard, albeit enjoyable. An unpleasant cast of characters with secrets and lies take the reader through a string of twists and turns leaving you wondering what's going to happen next. The ending was a big surprise!

Overall, a good read.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

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Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

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I loved the blurb for this book and was excited to read it. Sadly though I struggled through it and found it quite a slow and not very exciting read.

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When I saw psychological thriller I was automatically inclined to read this book. Then I saw it was between two friends who have been through the ringer and I was in clutch!

With alternating timelines between past and present with plenty of jealousy, betrayal, friendships gone bad. Who can say no to seeing how this ends up? Slow pacing sets the stage with plenty of tense layers built through out the pages.

This was plenty full of intrigue and will keep you reading until the very end!

Thank you to the publisher, author, and Netgalley for the gifted review copy. All opinions are my own.

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I enjoyed this book, I found it pretty slow at times and it was hard to keep up with all the characters but I finished it.

Many thanks to netgalley and Caroline England for the advanced copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

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Betray Her tells the story of Jo and Kate, who met at a boarding school called St Luke’s when they were eight years old. Joanna Wragg is from Barnsley and the daughter of Joyce and Stan, a former butcher, who has built up his own business, Wragg’s Construction, which has enabled him to send his three children away to private school. Jo has two older brothers called Nigel and Ben.

Catherine (Kate) Bayden-Jones is from Barton in the Beans in Leicestershire. She has two older sisters, Clare and Annabelle, and they all have a pony each! Her family are a lot richer (the established wealth) than Jo’s nouveau riche family but the two girls become firm friends after being put in the same dormitory together.

The girls had a rather torrid time at school and were both bullied for different reasons: Kate for being chubby and Jo for being common. The ‘ragamuffin from Barnsley’ learns to adapt and transforms herself. Jo is tough and clever and knows she has to change to survive the harsh school life. The girls’ friendship is rather one sided in some ways and they were more like rivals at times; competitive and jealous of each other.

The novel is set in 1988–89, when the girls first met, and in the present day, 30 years later, when Kate is married to Tom Heath, with a six-year-old daughter, Alice, and they live in a converted farm called Petersfield in the village of Hope in the Peak District. Jo is widowed after her husband, Richard, died suddenly two years ago. She lives in a flat in central Manchester.

Kate and Tom’s relationship seems perfect to the outside world – the ‘golden couple’ – but when Jo goes to visit them one weekend, she discovers that things aren’t all they seem. Kate is drinking heavily and Tom seems distracted. He owns a construction business and has moved on from doing up houses to running several wine bars in the local area.

Jo, a popular-science writer, is still grieving her husband and she is desperate for a baby despite her situation. The couple hadn’t been able to conceive and Jo is afraid that there is something wrong with her. She’s quite a tough character – she always tries to have a stiff upper lip at all times and never shows her feelings or any weaknesses or even cry in front of anyone.

Jo and Kate are rather complex, flawed characters, who have both been shaped by their pasts. As the story progresses, little by little, we learn more about their time at school and some of the awful things they experienced. Their friendship is more fraught than it first appears – there are lots of niggles and things happened that have shaped how they behave towards each other in the present day.

Tom also holds a lot of anger and resentment; he’s upset by the way the women treated him when they first met 20 years ago when he was helping to build a garage extension for Jo’s dad. His relationship with Kate isn’t very healthy and the couple and Jo have lots of unresolved emotions and history from the past.

I was never really quite sure who to trust, if anyone! Both Kate and Jo seemed to have a dark side and Tom was rather menacing at times too. It all created a rather toxic mix with lots of secrets and, as things came to a head, I wasn’t sure which way it would go but I couldn’t see things ending well!

I liked the mention of Ladybower Reservoir and the village beneath the water – I read about this in another novel recently and it sounds fascinating! I also enjoyed the sections with Jo’s brothers, Ben and Nigel, which were eye opening and touching, respectively!

Overall, I really enjoyed this well-plotted, dark and intense read. The main characters were rather unpleasant and all felt envious of the others. There were several twists and turns and illicit affairs and this gripping book built well to a rather surprising ending!

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Betray Her has such a chilling prologue that I actually got goosebumps when I read it. We then read the dual timeline story of school friends Kate and Jo who met at boarding school in 1988. Jo's accent and Kate's weight make them easy targets for the other girls to aim their verbal and physical abuse at. This adversity makes them life-long friends and we rejoin their stories when they're both married women.

I thought all-girls day schools were bitchy but they're a walk in the park compared to an all-girls boarding school. This is no Mallory Towers, that's for sure! It's so infuriating to read about bullying and how it can stay with you and shape your life; Jo's accent is the easiest to change but Kate's struggle with her weight is more disturbing. Caroline England doesn't dwell too much on this and very much like the real-life struggle, it lingers in the background and tries to remain hidden.

There's quite a lot of individual and shared histories to dig through as the story builds and both their lives intertwine over the years. Add a man to the mix and you've got a naked flame in a firework factory. I was going to say that they both love the same man but I'm not sure that they do. It could just be a case of wanting what the other one has and they both had him at one time or another. The poor man! I did feel a bit sorry for him; he's an unwitting pawn in their game and there can only be one queen left on the board.

Although for some reason (and I think maybe it was just me) I couldn't quite get into the rhythm of the book but there were so many twists and turns in the storyline that it easily held my interest. It's quite a slow-burn as there is a lot to unearth in Jo and Kate's history, especially the disturbing event in the chilling prologue.

Betray Her is a very intriguing story that is as much about friendship as envy, which are both often shockingly sides of the same coin; this is one green-eyed monster that has lain dormant and is about to awaken with a mighty roar. It's dark, disturbing and positively brimming with tension and Caroline England has one or two surprises up her sleeve to keep the reader on their toes. A really enjoyable read.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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This book is different to other books by Caroline England but it is another very well written, compelling read. .

It is a story about friendship, love, lies, manipulation and ultimately betrayal.

It is a cleverly woven psychological thriller with well drawn characters and I highly recommend it!

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Betray her by Caroline England.
A psychological Thriller. A very good read. I did like the start. Great story but wasnt sure how I felt about the characters. 4*.

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Perfect easy read and gripping book. I couldn't put it down after reading the first page. A story of friends, secrets with twists and turns around every corner. Definitely one to read if you love a Thriller, Drama and mystery book.

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