This book was boring and far too slow. There were many many pages where nothing happened.
The ending was very good

First book I have read by this author and it won't be the last. I really enjoyed this book, great storyline, good characters and a plot you don't see coming. When can I have the next one please? .

Fantastic book to read. It had me hooked right from the first page. Great storyline to keep your interest. The book is very well written. Nicely done

I really enjoyed this book, first I have read by the author but look forward to reading more. Good plot & characters & twist you don’t see coming.

Intriguing, unsettling with a twist I just did not see coming....this book had me addicted from the start and kept me hooked until the end.
The suspense is built up perfectly throughout, and the characters are so unique and fascinating... I found this book difficult to put down.

4☆ A Dark and Twisty, Enthralling Psychological Thriller.

Betray Her is a Twisty Psychological thriller about, friendship, betrayal, jealousy, secrets, obsession and revenge.

The story is told between past and present which added depth as you got to understand why things were unravelling the way they were between best friends Jo and Kate. Secrets and jealousy has a way of wriggling to the surface and can be dangerous as they are about to discover.

The characters are complex, flawed and perfect for the storyline.
There are plenty of twists and turns to keep you on your toes, but this is a slower paced read that builds tension layer by layer, so if you do like Pacy thrillers then just a heads up to stick with it.

So if you are looking for a slow, tense, twisty, gripping, psychological thriller that will keep you enthralled to the very end then I highly recommend reading Betray Her!

Thank you to Little Brown Books Publishers for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

This book had so much promise...but in the end I was underwhelmed and disappointed with it! The book is quite slow paced and I really liked the flashbacks to boarding school, reminding me of something like Harry Potter/The Worst Witch or Mallory Towers but less fun but even looking at the childhood of the characters didn't seem to provide enough motivation for the events that later unfolded. I really enjoy psychological thrillers and was excited to try this one, the writing is reasonably good but the plot just flopped for me, such a shame.
Thank you to Net Galley and Little, Brown Book Group for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I didn't realise this is the same book I had already read and reviewed in July 2019!

A good story well written and easy to read. Betray Her is a dark tale, not fast paced but is an intriguing and unsettling read which absorbs you as the story unfolds.
An enjoyable read if you like psychological thrillers.

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!

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. It was a good story with quite a few twists, some of the characters were not very nice but that didn't affect my enjoyment.

#BetrayHer #NetGalley
Its a good read about friendship, exploitation and revenge. Please go for it. I loved its every character. Its narration is simple and intersting.

This book was so well written, I finished it in a day.
Very addictive and I simply couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen.

Jo is widowed and has a school friend Kate, whom she has a strong loyality to. But is it all that it seems to be?

But as her longing for a baby of her own begins to invade her life, she starts to look at her friendships in a different way, especially the man whom she hates and loves at the same time.

Highly recommended book

Thank you to Netgalley and Publisher for ARC

Plot/Narrative

Kate and Jo have been best friends since they started at St.Lukes ( Boarding School) at 8 years of age.
Now 30 years later. 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.

Characters

What stood out for me in this novel is how Caroline has written such engaging, powerful, captivating characters, This is a riveting character-driven novel. I love how two very different girls from different ends of society end up becoming best friends, I love how we follow them from girls to women. How their childhood shaped who they became and also how different their adulthood turned out. And how two best friends keep so many secrets etc from each other and everybody else. You soon learn that you can never truly understand or know anyone 100%.

I love how England portrayed the parts when they were young children and how hard it can be as young girls with other children. How very real bullying is and how this affects children and can shape who they become.

Writing Style/Pacing

This is told from Jo's point of view alternating from past to present day.

Caroline writing style is bloody superb, she knows how to write a cracking thriller that is unbelievably realistic and with some raw emotional dark themes weaved in but sensitivity achieved. This was a slow burner but was a hundred million per cent worth it for the shockingly explosive ending.

I'm still thinking about this book days later and to me, that is one incredible book. A book that still plays on your mind, is thought-provoking and extraordinary.


Themes/Settings

Setting: Ah, the setting was scarily real for me living in and around where this is set, The beautiful Peak District, Hope Valley, Buxton, Lady Bower, Manchester and more. But I can tell you it is honestly spot-on, she captured and described the locations just wonderfully. And one in a particular scene in this book was especially to real for me but so outstandingly terrific. These places may never be the same again.

Themes: Betrayal, Friendship, Loss, Jealously and Murder.

I can't say too much about the theme but it definitely delves into some pretty dark thought-provoking themes which may be triggering to some people most definitely. I don't really do trigger warning as such but I would say be cautious.

Cover

Beautiful cover. I love the blue and pink combo stunning and eye-catching.


Overall Thoughts

'This is a gritty, very dark plot with betrayal, friendship, loss and murder plus oh so much more packed into one thought-provoking psychological thriller.
I absolutely loved this book. And the ending came as quite an impactful shock and it was wholly powerful. Caroline did a brilliant job of weaving this story together and added plentiful of twist and turns throughout. What stood out for me in this novel is how Caroline has written such engaging, powerful, captivating characters. This is a riveting character-driven novel'

Another amazing book from Caroline. Definitely one I will recommend time and again.

I am definitely on the look out for more from Caroline.

Jo and Kate have been friends for years since they met at boarding school when they were eight years old. They appeared to have little in common, had different backgrounds but they supported each other throughout their school years. Both bullied for different reasons and I had sympathy for each of them. The boarding school in the book is nothing like the ones that featured in the books I read during my childhood. I preferred the schools in The Chalet Girl series and Malory Towers, St Luke’s was much more unfriendly.

But it was harder to feel sympathy thirty years later, when you could see how they lived their lives and treated their loved ones. I did prefer Jo, and could see her Barnsley roots even though she tried her hardest to disguise them. Her family were my favourite characters in the book, especially her mother Joyce.

Grief, loss, guilt and alcohol all feature heavily in the book but the more sinister side is more evident in the second half when you also saw betrayal. But I also started to see a warmer side to Jo. She seemed more natural, closer to her family and less willing to be the version of the Jo that the school created.

It’s a good story, with some interesting but not always very nice characters and a twist at the end works perfectly.

The Blurb :
Best friends forever.
That's the pact you made.
You'd do anything for her.
And you have.
She's always had it all.
If you could take it for yourself . . . would you?

My Thoughts :
The blurb doesnt give much away with this story, so I wasnt sure what to expect.
We meet Kate Bayden - Jones and Jo Wragg, having been friends since their boarding school days they are now in their 30’s.
As life has moved on Kate now has it all, a husband Tom, a daughter Alice, a beautiful home and a rich lifestyle.
Whereas Jo doesnt, for her life is very different, her husband Richard passed away and they didnt have any children, for which she longed for.
When Jo becomes obsessed with Kate’s life, we are about to learn how far she will go to destroy Kate’s life or is there more to the story!?.
The story goes back and forth over the time of their friendship from school to present day in flashbacks.
Although I did struggle at first with the characters, I soon became invested in the friendship and needed to know where it went and what happened.
Caroline England grips the reader with her words and style of writing. Full of jealousy, lies and betrayal, Betray Her leaves you turning each page waiting for the next twist and turn in the thick of the action.

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!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. Clearly, I'm missing something with this one as I am very much in the vast minority of readers that just didn't like it at all. I found all the characters insufferable, the plot tediously slow and every narrative point either predictable, cliché, or in bad taste. There's a dubious sex scene that doesn't portray consent well, a gay pedophile, a romanticised affair, among other questionable plot choices which all led to my rating declining. Betray Her was just way too much of a slow burn for me and I never found myself thrilled or curious to know what would happen next.

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*.

What a fabulous book! This is a story about the long life friendship between Jo and Kate from the age of eight up until the present day when they are in their thirties. I am absolutely bursting to talk to people that have read this too because I am quite speechless at the moment, I definitely need a drink in my hand and one on standby!
Jo comes from a Yorkshire family who is a self-made success and they want to give Jo a good education, like they did her brothers, by sending her to boarding school. You get the feeling that her parents' roots are never far away, her mum buying her clothes just a size bigger to grow into. Their wealth has been hard to earn.
Then there is Kate who comes from an established wealthy family, they are lovely but Kate wants for nothing. Kate has the pony, the exclusive holiday’s and every whim pampered.
The two girls have to share a room together at boarding school at age 8 and become inseparable. Where Jo learns to quickly adapt to survive the taunts, Kate falls victim to them but Jo is always there for her, even all these years later.
Oh wow! I was fascinated with these two women’s stories, the lives they had made and the friendship that they had kept going but there was so much more. Yes, this became one of my talkie books as I became quite vocal at times. I loved the gossip, reeled at the shocks and got to know the real them. Then just when I thought it couldn’t give me any more it bowled me over. They say it's not over till the fat lady sings, well she gave one hell of a performance! A little belting read!
I wish to thank Beth Wright of Little Brown Book Group for an e-copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly.