Customer Reviews

A Woman Betrayed

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the first book I have read by this author and was not very impressed. I am sure her others are better or maybe I missed something here, whatever the happenings, it lacked sizzle and suspense. Being a suspense/romance it made for a somewhat dull read. The female lead of Laura Frye was a little too whiny and I felt as though she thought people 'owed' her. The missing husband Jeff was weak and we never got to know him very well. I thought she brought in the long lost 'wild' brother Christian a little too late to be interesting.

~A seemingly perfect 20 year marriage falls apart when Laura's devoted husband Jeff mysteriously disapears without a trace. He has left behind two kids and alot of questions. As the days go by Laura finds her 'perfect' life was not perfect by any means. What had Jeff been doing all those years behind her back? Was he really missing? Or did he take off? The pieces begin to come together as information arises from his dirty dealings and Laura's life slowly erodes. She is left with a shocking image of her 'true' husband's persona.
Looking for a way to cope and get her life back, she turns to Jeff's elusive brother Christian Frye. A wild and free spirit. He shows her love and life again. What she thought she had lost so many years ago, she finds once again, but will the past secrets come to tear them apart? Are her friends, truly her friends? Should she be looking more closely?

What started out as a promising mystery, turned out to be a dull look into a jilted woman's life falling apart and her immediate yearning for her husband's brother. It would've been much better had Jeff been in the story longer and there was less of Laura's whining and self-pity. In short, I expected more. It started out great and sort of fizzled as it went on. In my opinion, the side romance between her best friend and the cop was much more interesting.

Tracy Talley~@

This is the first novel by Barbara Delinsky that I have read and I must say that I am impressed!

This tale of suspense centers around Laura as she finds her perfect world shattered when her husband disappears. After many years of a marriage that she thought was blissful, she begins to question her life and those around her. For instance, did her husband, Jeff, meet with foul play or could he possibly have orchestrated his own disappearance? Are her friends really loyal? Is Laura, herself, as capable as she once thought?

As the story progresses, the web of intrigue begins to unravel, starting with the whereabouts of her husband, what he has been up to (I will leave that a secret for you to find out) and what role his brother, Christian, plays in Laura's life.

The story is about illusions and that they are just that-illusions.

I have been a Barbara Delinsky fan for years but this one held me like no other one has before. The combination of characters and story theme, I think, is fantastic. I definitely hope she writes more that can be this realistic and entertaining. Try it, you'll like it!

Story line was interesting from start to finish. Could feel what the characters were going through. Would recommend to anyone.

Story line was interesting from start to finish. Could feel what the characters were going through. Would recommend to anyone.

It's not very often that I get so caught up in a story that I have dreams about it. But this time it happened. I got very little else done during the time I was reading this novel. I could not put it down. And then at night I'd have dreams about the main characters----Laura and Christian especially. I am a true romantic.He was her "knight in shining armor"------came to her rescue. But the way Ms. Delinsky told the story, it was done in such a way that you were unable to put the book down, unable to go to sleep at night, unable to stop thinking about the story----the betrayal, the hurt, the strength in a woman---so many facets of this story. I truly loved the book. I hated to see it end, even though I can now get work done---finally. It's a story that will stay with me forever. This was a novel. However, it's a story that has been true in real life. And for many of us, escaping "real life" is also a dream at times. Maybe we don't want to escape a crime---but to just get away, start over somewhere else, as someone else. But reading this lets us know the mess and hurt that it leaves in the wake. And that will haunt many forever.I'll never forget it.

I have long believed that to bring out a book which was originally available only in mass-market paperback as a hardback was a way to rip-off consumers who think it is a new book from one of their favorite authors instead of an older one (think Sandra Brown, Linda Howard). Usually these books are not up to snuff, the author having grown as a writer in the intervening years. A WOMAN BETRAYED is an exception to this. Written in 1991, it is a bit dated as it mentions nothing of the technological gains of the following ten years we have come to take for granted such as the internet, caller ID, and cell phones. But the story itself is compelling and just as good as anything Delinsky has written in recent years.

As a wife, mother of two, and business owner, Laura Frye seems to have it all but finds her life crumbling down around her when her CPA husband of 20 years fails to come home from work one evening. At first Laura believes it has to be either foul play or that Jeffrey has had an accident of some sort, but when she discovers the IRS has been investigating Jeff for tax fraud, it becomes all to clear that he left on his own accord. As a part of the investigation, Laura's assets are frozen. How is she going to make mortgage payments or college tuition payments for her son let alone pay her employees at the restaurant she owns?

Things get worse before they get better with a new revelation that Jeff was having an affair, her son being arrested, and Jeff's brother Christian, Laura's early love, returning. There's also Laura's interfering mother who doesn't think Laura can do anything right, and the local newspaper who continues to try Jeff's case via editorials and front page headlines.

If you have enjoyed Barbara Delinsky's later novels such as A WOMAN'S PLACE, COAST ROAD, LAKE NEWS, and THE VINEYARD, you are sure to also enjoy A WOMAN BETRAYED. This is highly recommended as a book difficult to put down once started. The devastating effects Jeff's actions have on his wife, children, mother, brother, business partner, and friend are well-documented. Surprises revealing motivation for not only Jeff but other minor characters keep the reader turning pages. In addition, the reader is treated to the budding romance between Tack Jones, the IRS agent investigating the case and Laura's best friend and attorney, Daphne. Delinsky has done a wonderful job of bringing this vast array of characters to life via the pages of this book. Being a fan of Barbara Delinsky since 1992, I wonder how I missed this book the first time around but am glad I finally found it. This is a must-read for fans of Barbara Delinsky.