The Betrayal by Kathryn Shay

ASIN: B004SV2IIY
Release: Mar 18, 2011
Source: I received a copy of this book from the author to read and review

Darcy Weston flees to her grandparents’ abandoned farm after her stepfather rapes her. There, she meets Jordan Mackenzie, a local boy, and the friendship of a lifetime begins. Jordan helps sustain Darcy with food and water, and his company, for months, but eventually her whereabouts are discovered. In subsequent years, the two young people try to stay in touch from their disparate worlds, but eventually they drift apart.

Flash forward twelve years. Jordan is an accomplished teacher and Darcy, an internationally famous, reclusive artist. They meet again when Jordan publishes a book that reveals secrets about Darcy’s past. But they find themselves thrown together first over the scandal his book creates, then over a murder. Once again, they turn to each other for help and comfort as they deal with police investigations, a variety of suspects from each other’s worlds, and a passion between them which won’t be denied.

The Betrayal is the story of Darcy Weston who has been raped by her stepfather at the age of 15. She carefully plans and then runs away from home to a spot that she hopes she will never be found – her deceased grandparent’s farm. During the bus ride to the farm a woman tries to befriend her but she resists the woman’s efforts. The woman, Anna, is concerned and doesn’t think that Darcy’s story adds up. When they arrive in Rockland, Anna shares her concerns with her sister Stella and after seeing Darcy head off in a taxi they decide to follow. They see Darcy being let off at a farmhouse, they decide to check on her the next day. The next day the two women and Stella’s 12 year old son, Jordan, head over to check on the farm house. Although the adults don’t see her, Jordan spots Darcy through a side window and tells her he’ll be back.

This contact starts a friendship that continues off and on for the next 12 years. I don’t want to spoil any of the story for those of you that want to read this book – and I hope lots of you will!

This book was quite different from anything that I’ve been reading lately. I thought at first that it was a YA book, but it’s too steamy to be YA. It’s a romance with a HEA at the end. It deals with difficult situations. As you can read, we find out right at the beginning that Darcy is raped by her step father and runs away because of it. This is a traumatic event for anyone, especially a 15 year old who has no support at home. She finds Jordan, who although is only 12, serves as her confidant. Predictably, Darcy is sent home to her now separated mother, but her situation really hasn’t changed much. She has lots of money, but no support and not much guidance. Periodic visits to Rockland and visits of Jordan to the city serve as Darcy’s contact through the years. It seems that Stella serves as the only mother figure in Darcy’s life.

Just when things seem to settle down in this story, there is another turn. I couldn’t predict the ending of this book even from 25 pages before the end. It was well crafted and kept the reader turning the pages. This book takes the reader through many emotions. Obviously, horror at the rape of a young girl, but many others as the story progresses. The reader cheers for some characters, boos for others. Several of the secondary characters are exceedingly well crafted to make the story have a realistic feeling to it. Although the reader feels a great deal of compassion for Darcy, the character of Jordan is excellent. I loved his consistent values and the steady determination that he shows in this story. I remember at one point thinking that Stella must be proud of her son. The remembered that this was a story not real life!

All in all, a great story, very well crafted characters, twists and turns that keep the reader turning the pages and a two kleenex ending. What more could you ask for?

So…..I have to say that I absolutely loved The Betrayal. There is, however, a funny and somewhat embarrasing story that goes with this book! I was asked by the author to review this book and when I agreed she sent me a digital file. Some time later, I loaded the file onto my Nook and when I opened the book the font was so small that all I could see was a blur on the page. I then took the file and fussed with it – trying to use Calibre to convert it amongst other things. Guess it was a technologically challenged day for me as I just kept getting error messages. I was now at the point where the file wouldn’t even open on my Nook. Tail between legs, I sent a note requesting another file with apologies. After a very gracious note, comments about this book being a page turner, and a different format of the file, I loaded it onto my Nook and settled down to read. I was quickly caught up in the story, which by the way, I quickly found out is a page-turner. Motoring along, I was reading as fast as I could. I got to page 26 and hit the next page button and got a blank screen. Not to worry, I hit the button again – another blank screen. Starting to panic, I kept hitting the next page button seeing blank screen after blank screen. CRAP!!! I so didn’t want to go back to the author and beg for another file so I gently put the nook down and walked away. Several hours later, after I had calmed down, I reloaded the file and found that the rest of the book was present. YAY!! I then happily read the rest.

Be prepared to clear a block to time, however, as this book certainly is a page-turner!

Kathryn Shay can be found at her website, and on Facebook.  For a chance to win a copy of this book, leave a question or comment for Kathryn and fill out the giveaway form on the next post!

For a limited time, Kathryn has The Betrayal, as well as some books from her back list on sale for 99 cents at Smashwords and Amazon.

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$34.99 (as of January 19, 2025 15:26 GMT -08:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)