Betrayal

I really enjoyed "Betrayal" by Clare Francis. As the story begins, we see the signs of a marriage on the rocks. The husband, Hugh, is overly busy managing a corporate buyout and his sickly but socially-aspiring wife, Ginny, wants and needs him to pay more attention to what's happening at home. An explanation is offered fairly early on that Hugh has had a short-term affair with a woman from his past. What makes "Betrayal" so different is the author's effective treatment of the aftereffects of this affair as she examines what both Hugh and Ginny are willing to do to repair their relationship. They become entwined in a web of lies so complex that Ginny is willing to cover up for what she sees as Hugh's murder of his mistress. The major characters in "Betrayal" are flawed and I really enjoyed Clare Francis' treatment of the extended family relationships in Hugh's life. As other reviewers commented, the whodunit element is tied up rather neatly (resulting in my 4-star rating) but overall this was a thoughtful mystery and I look forward to more from Clare Francis.

Hugh Wellesley struggles with business decisions that could put a lot people out of work as a major corporation wants to buy the family glass company and shut it down by breaking it into pieces. However, Hugh's concentration on doing the right thing is deflected when he learns that the murdered corpse of his lover Sylvie was found ashore by the Dart.Fearing how his ailing devoted spouse Ginny will react to his cheating on her, Hugh hides his sexual involvement with Sylvie from the police. His lies fail to keep the police from charging him with murder. Ginny provides a shaky alibi for her beloved, which make the police turn their attention to her as the prime suspect and soon arrest her for the killing. Feeling guilt and affection for his wife, Hugh knows the only way to prove Ginny's innocence is to uncover the identity of the real culprit.This psychological suspense is built on the premise that everyone lies to cover betrayals that seem a way of life in the relationships that abound throughout this terse thriller. The story line hooks the audience as transgressions pile on transgressions whether it is legal, criminal, business or family. Clare Francis paints a cynical world of deceivers in which the audience will seek the real motive behind innocent actions as much as behind the lies. It is this realm of mendacity (not Washington this time) so deftly made real by a solid glib cast that makes the ending a so mockingly sugary final deception.Harriet Klausner

Clare Francis's new novel, "Betrayal" is about Hugh Wellesley, a well-to-do English businessman who is very much on edge. One reason that Hugh's nerves are frayed is that he is in danger of losing the family business that he inherited from his father. Worse still, Hugh hears that Sylvie, his former lover, has been stabbed to death. Hugh knows that sooner or later the police will question him about the crime. He does not want the police to delve into his personal life, and he wants to avoid a public scandal at all costs. Hugh's fragile wife, Ginny, is an asthmatic who does not handle stress well. Soon, she is caught up in Hugh's troubles and the police start to question both Hugh and Ginny about Sylvie's death. Did Hugh or Ginny kill Sylvie? Or is there another person who had reason to want Sylvie dead?Francis effectively depicts Hugh's torment and guilt over the mess that he has made of his life. Not only has Hugh neglected Ginny in order to expand a business that may now fail, but he has embroiled his wife in a homicide investigation. Even if Hugh is not charged with Sylvie's murder, he may not be able to salvage his marriage or his business."Betrayal" works much better as a character study than it does as a mystery. Hugh is basically a decent individual who has made some very costly mistakes, and Ginny is a beautiful but insecure woman who wants nothing more than to win back her husband's affections. The author depicts Hugh, Ginny and a large cast of secondary characters deftly. The lively characters are a major strength of the book.Unfortunately, the mystery element of the novel is not as strong. "Betrayal" is replete with red herrings, but an astute reader should be able to figure out the solution long before the end. Nonetheless, I recommend "Betrayal" as an engrossing character study of a desperate man trying to save himself and his family from ruin.

Betrayed by his business partner and harried by a hostile takeover of his family business, Hugh Wellesley has betrayed his fragile, high-strung wife with Sylvie, an old flame burning anew, now murdered and thrown into the river near his family's summer cottage in Devon. Insisting to the police that he hardly saw Sylvie that summer, he falls under increasing suspicion as the web of lies begins to unravel.Between interrogations, frazzled conversations with his wife, brusque exchanges with his country doctor brother, sympathetic advice from the doctor's wife (and his former business partner's sister), and cut-throat buy-out negotiations for his family glass company, the reader learns that Hugh was obsessed by Sylvie, betrayed by her and without an alibi.But Hugh's wife, Ginny, and his brother and sister-in-law cover up for him so thoroughly that Ginny is arrested instead. Unable to cope with his business reversals, Ginny has been tearful and touchy all summer, possibly unstable, even suicidal. Murder is not out of the question.The betrayals mount as the psychological tension builds. Suspicion cripples intimacy and stifles communication, undermining a deeper core of strength and resiliency which adversity has uncovered in their marriage. Francis ("Deceit") ratchets up the suspense as the atmosphere grows more claustrophobic and the secrets crawl out of dark corners. Veteran mystery readers, however, will see the solution coming and may be a bit disappointed in Hugh.