Reviewer: Judith
Betrayed by Trust by Ana Barrons
Publisher: Carina Press
Publication Date: July 8th 2013
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense
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Catherine Morrissey is devastated when her sister's body is found on a tiny wooded island on the Potomac. For months, Catherine had hoped that Blair's disappearance would end with the bright, young Capitol Hill aide found safe and alive. Determined to put pressure on the police to catch the killer, Catherine flies to Washington, D.C.

Joseph Rossi, an investigative reporter for the Washington Herald, broke the story of Blair's murder—and ruined his chances with Catherine in the process. They'd developed a warm, long-distance connection after Catherine's sister went missing, but the temptation of the scoop—which revealed some Morrissey family secrets—was too great to resist.

Now together in D.C., Catherine and Joe are thrown into a world of lies, scandal and deadly political intrigue. They must work as a team and learn to trust one another—and their rekindled feelings—if they have any hope of living to see the truth uncovered.

96,000 words

What does one do when a trust friend betrays that trust?  Where does one turn when the friend you thought supported your efforts to find your sister’s killer pulls the rug out from under you?  Such were the thoughts of Catherine Morrissey as she realized that the very person to whom she had opened her mind and heart, with whom she had shared memories and feelings, was the very person who exposed the raw hurt of her family to the Washington, D.C. public.  Now Catherine feels like she is on her own, yet really doesn’t know the insiders and outsiders in American government so she feels like she is traveling blind.  She is even more confused when she receives mysterious anonymous notes giving her advice that scares her half to death.

This is a really scary novel.  It brings the reader into the inner workings of law enforcement and not in a good way.  It introduces the reader to individuals closely connected to the White House who are directing paid killers.  It brings Catherine once again into close contact with Joe Rossi even though she really would rather be anywhere else but with him.  Yet she is drawn into Joe’s life as she accidentally becomes involved as caregiver for his little brother and confident/mentor for a pre-teen girl who is staying with Joe and whose mother is dying of AIDS.

This novel is about struggle:  the struggle with law enforcement that is hiding or destroying evidence and has no interest in finding her sister’s killer;  struggle with the attraction to Joe as a man pitched against the broken trust between them;  the struggle to ferret out the corruption in the highest offices in the land;  the struggle to understand how her sister could have allowed her life to become one big push for wealth and position.  In the midst of all this is the quiet confidence of Joe’s dad and his partner, a retired FBI agent who cares deeply for Catherine and takes up her cause.  There is the quiet but persistent care Joe shows to his half brother who is struggling with abandonment by his mother just as Joe did 30 years earlier, and his good care for a young girl who can’t seem to accept that her mother is dying.  All in all, this is a very emotional novel packed full with feelings and deep thoughts and all the stuff that makes human existence joyful as well as difficult.

I found this novel to be quite compelling.  There are novels that are just good fun reads, and then there are novels like this one that seem to call forth an inner sense of anxiety, knowing it is fiction, but also know that it could all happen like this.  I don’t think being paranoid is healthy but I also believe that fiction allows us to process concerns and think things through more easily because they ARE fiction/fantasy/etc.  Anyway, this novel is a serious book that is written with skill and based on good research and what seems to me to be a very good sense of what people are about and how they respond in a variety of circumstances.

I hope you will consider reading this book.  It is well worth the effort if you are looking for a serious, meaty read.

I give this novel a rating of 4.5 out of 5.

You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place.

This book is available from Carina Press.  You can buy it here or here in e-format.