Betrayal

Author: Gregg Olsen

Source: Publisher ARC

Release Day: September 4th, 2012

Summary: (Goodreads) In this action-packed thriller sequel to "Envy," foreign exchange student Olivia Grant is stabbed to death after a party--and the prime suspect is her best friend. As twins Hayley and Taylor Ryan get pulled into aftermath of this Amanda Knox-like crime, they realize nothing is what it seems. Could it be betrayal of the ultimate kind? "Betrayal" features real-life crime-solving techniques, heart-stopping suspense, plenty of red herrings, hard-hitting ethical questions, and information about the Amanda Knox case that inspired the novel. As the crime unravels, so does the twins' past...and they must face off against a family member who may unexpectedly have carried out the worst betrayal of all.

Review: Starting off with the cons, my ARC had a lot of typos and name-switching, so that impeded some of the readability. The finished copy should be better though. Also, this is a part of The Empty Coffin series, number 2, and I have not read the first one, Envy, so I am not sure if I am majorly missing out on something. I felt I understood everything perfectly.

Although the summary is mostly about the murder of Olivia Grant, it appears that this series also has the twins' story as the backdrop. They have what seems to be a paranormal connection with each other and an ability that helps them as they play detective for this and probably the other Empty Coffin books. They are compelling and their story is one that I do want to follow even after the mystery of Olivia's death is solved.

I do not think that one hundred years would have sufficed for me to eventually figure out the killer. It was a huge surprise and quite a twist in the story when the truth was revealed. It fit perfectly, but it was unexpected which kept the suspense up throughout the novel.

The cover is stunning and straight out of the book. It connects with the scene in which Olivia is killed perfectly and is as ominous as the mystery surrounding her death. This was a dark book, but the twins gave a slightly objective perspective to the story while the writing was also very narrative. It was cold more than emotionally devastating which brought out the qualities of the culprit in the end of the novel. Mystery buffs will enjoy the writing style and the rest of the series still holds appeal, although I consider this an excellent stand-alone read.

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5