The Perfect Betrayal

by Lauren North

'A captivating, suspenseful thriller that draws you in - with a twist that will take your breath away.' TM Logan, bestselling author of The Holiday

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After the sudden death of her husband, Tess is drowning in grief. All she has left is her son, Jamie, and she’ll do anything to protect him – but she’s struggling to cope.

When grief counsellor Shelley knocks on their door, everything changes. Shelley is understanding and kind, and promises she can help Tess through the hardest time of her life.

But when a string of unsettling events happens and questions arise over her husband’s death, Tess starts to suspect that Shelley may have an ulterior motive. Tess knows she must do everything she can to keep Jamie safe – but she’s at her most vulnerable, and that’s a dangerous place to be . . .

***

READERS ARE OBSESSED WITH THE PERFECT BETRAYAL:

‘This book floored me!’
‘I’m still holding my breath.’
‘The ending just hit me right between the eyes.’
‘This wasn’t just good, it was amazing . . . jaw dropping.'
‘I was still reading it at 2.30 am!’
‘Wow - that’s the first word that comes to mind.’
‘This is my number 1 book read this year.’
‘Buy this for yourself, you won’t be able to put it down!’

***

'A heart-rending evocation of grief that packs a devious punch. It left me reeling.' Lesley Kara, bestselling author of The Rumour

'As satisfyingly intriguing and page-turning as you could possibly want.' Emma Curtis, author of One Little Mistake

'The Perfect Betrayal had my head spinning 360 degrees . . . Brilliant.' Sandie Jones, author of Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick The Other Woman

• ISBN10: 0552176087
• ISBN13: 9780552176088
• Publish Date: 27 June 2019 (first published 14 March 2019)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd
• Imprint: Corgi Books
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

[zooloo1983]

I never thought I would say this about a twisty thriller like this but I am crying. My god the wealth of grief in this book is immense but at the same time, it is like a twisty and crazy unlike any other I have read.

Unreliable narrator -check

Crazy going on – check

Dark and twisty – check

Guess the ending – No way!!

In my head, I had a feeling I knew where it was going, but I realised at the end I really did not. Looking back you see how something’s has been laid out for you, in your face but because of how things have been worded you ignore it and take it at face value instead of what is really being said. I was shocked!

Problem is I can not tell you anything about the story of The Perfect Betrayal just that you do need to pick it up, in fact, you must! Like I said it made me cry and my heart wrenched because of Tess, what other thriller have you read that can make you say that?

What North has done here is to create a story where nothing is what it seems. A story where you could see that if you were in that same situation that you may act the same way, and in all honesty, I probably would.

Tess, the main character draws you in from the beginning and this is her story. I am attached to her, her grief is real and raw. What you have is one real story with The Perfect Betrayal as even when the seemingly unrealistic happen, it makes perfect sense in the end and you realise nothing is unrealistic. This is the first time I have read a book by North but it is by no means the last! Her writing is just exquisite and she had me hooked from the opening pages and blew me away and made me cry on the closing pages.

It is totally riveting, and with the layout of the different chapters, I completely fell into the one more chapter trap! We have a countdown to an event, witness statements and a recorded conversation, which is all leading us to the finale, a finale where I have no words for apart from it was perfect. It was perfect because it wasn’t a Hollywood ending, it was perfect because it was life and however much you want someone to change you can’t. It was perfect because a part of me knew I would be the same.

This book has left me breathless and speechless and if a book can do that, then it means it has to be a contender for my book of the year for sure!!