Helen King’s childhood was marred by physical abuse and rejection. At the age of fourteen she finds herself in the clutches of a pimp in Gloucester. He lures her into a life of drugs and prostitution. She uses her drug addiction as a way to blank out the memories and it enables her to hide the psychological scarring caused by those that she felt had abandoned her.
Her life was spiralling out of control. Helen’s decision to quit her addiction comes at a time when she has a chance encounter with an old school teacher. This opens up old wounds that had remained hidden and festering deep within her. It also leads to her decision that it is time for payback for all those that she felt had betrayed her. Helen, bitter and twisted, heads to Edinburgh to begin her killing spree.
When the first body is found the police are mystified. When a second body turns up they quickly realise that it is the same killer. They face a race against time to find the connection and the killer.
As the title suggests, there is going to be some events happening where eventually, payback has to happen, either through karma - if you believe in that sort of thing, or through the main characters actions.
Sometimes, I like to read books because at the most basic level, if well written, they can be enjoyable and entertaining. Stories with a dark theme are fine if they are in a fantasy setting.
Betrayal is a hard book to review because it's generally opposite to what I read - it is very hard hitting account of a woman who has been abused by all and everyone around her. Oh, I know the passer by wouldn't necessarily know of her problems, and Helen - our anti-heroine, of sorts, is not someone I immediately warmed to.
That's fine, because your main character should have flaws. If he or she is perfect, how can you root for them.
But Helen was largely unlikeable in the early chapters, and yet, underneath the story I could see that the premise would be amazing if executed correctly.
Here's where author Sharon Brownlie scores very high indeed, and perhaps it is typical of many books. Some start out like a rat out of a trap, and fizzle out after 30 or so pages. Others take there time to grab you. There's a general convention that if a book hasn't hooked you by 50 pages, it's probably not going to. I am fair to all books I read, so I extend this to a 100.
With this book, I really wasn't sure. But it nagged at me for a few days, whilst I finished reviews on others. One afternoon, I read it again from the start, and did not stop until I had finished.
This book has stayed with me for several days after, and as I try to process this review, I'm still trying to make sense of what I've read!
The story is set in Gloucester which is not too far away from where I live, thirty miles or so. These days, the county of Gloucestershire boast beautiful scenery, a stunning cathedral, terrific centre with more shops and restaurants than you can shake a stick at.
However, this story is 1980s Gloucester, ravaged by a poor economic outlook, houses that were crumbling, and a people, like Helen in the story, who appeared to have just given up on life.
But you know what you're in for from the very first line:-
"The man slapped Helen hard across the face and grabbed her by the hair, and threw her onto the bed."
Over the next few paragraphs, we are exposed to such brutal scenes that if this were a film, one would have to look away from the screen, and cover their ears for good measure.
Trying to describe this as hard hitting doesn't really scratch the surface.
Helen had run away from a care home in Gloucester, and her life unravels into prostitution and drugs, drugs and prostitution - a life she cannot seemingly escape.
When the loathsome Addie finds her and quickly indoctrinates her into 'the life', she is initially resistant. Yes, she is dependent on drugs, but does not want to be a prostitute.
Throughout different points in the book, Helen points the finger of blame at many people. It wasn't clear to me if she hated her father more for abusing her, or for those around him that did nothing.
Here's a disclosure of mine - I am a martial arts teacher and (and having gained their trust) for several years taught a group of women who were survivors of domestic abuse. I heard from them stories that I could not believe were real - in the sense that another human could do this to another human. Even now, when I think about it, I can't believe there were any circumstances that justified what happened to these girls.
Of course, this happens to males too. Abuse has no gender, does it?
So Betrayal is no Disney story, and is a very hard read.
Why then should you read Betrayal?
Well, once the story gets going - I mean, once the nasty acts pass and the character motivations become clearer, the story changed from a dark tale of abuse to a taut, gritty thriller that I could not put down.
This is a story you have to take a chance on. It's hard, brutal, unflinching in its descriptive detail. The dialogue changes from stilted in parts to fully understanding what is going on. I blamed part of how Helen talked, on the drugs themselves. But I think she was an extremely frightened young woman who basically life had trampled on from the start.
I rooted for her but not in the way I expected.
The ending is satisfying and yet, still has me thinking some days on!
I know 'must-read' is a well worn phrase, but do give this book a try. It is an examination of the human condition, and a damning report on what humans are actually capable of doing to each other.
A brilliant book that will make you think.
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