I was so gripped to this book that I read it entirely within one evening! At the start of the story we find out that Tess is in hospital and her son Jamie is missing. From these very first pages I had so many questions about why her son was missing, what really happened to her husband who has passed away, and who can be trusted in these events?

Tess appears to be very vulnerable and completely out of control throughout the book. The reader can begin to understand how Tess is still considering the voice of her husband, Mark, to help guide her through the events she is experiencing. But with this feeling of being so lost, can she even trust herself?

Shelley has come to assist Tess as a grief counsellor, and this relationship becomes very informal and friendly very quickly. I had expected slightly more professionalism, but instead Shelley enters Tess's life more as a friend - which made me question what her real motives were.

We also meet Ian, Mark's brother whom is constantly on the scene seeking to support Tess with arranging his brother's finances. Under these circumstances the reader is drawn to become very suspicious of Ian quite quickly, and I never really warmed to him.

The different chapters made this read a very interesting one in that there are excerpts from some kind of session within a hospital between Tess and another person. Is this a police officer, a doctor? It is very unclear from the onset. But what I found strange was that during these times of distress, Tess's plea to find her son were never validated which gave me the impression that perhaps he was not missing after all and infact was safe and well. I even guessed that perhaps Tess played a part in his disappearance! 

The timeline leading up to 'Jamie's birthday' had me gripped to know what was going to happen.. the countdown was clearly very important - but why?

Then.. that final twist.. WOW!!! I did not see it coming, and for me this is the part I loved most about this book. I don't like to give away any spoilers, but all I can say is that I suddenly saw all the characters in a completely different light. I was somewhat humbled by the ending and even had a tear in my eye.

I was really taken in by this read, and feel like the twist just completely made it for me. I was left thinking about it for ages afterwards, and feeling somewhat guilty for the judgments I made about some of the characters. A very well deserved five star debut from this author!

I read The Perfect Betrayal by Lauren North in one sitting, finding the writer's style easy and the way she uses the countdown to Jamie's birthday to heighten the tension gripping.
Lauren North tackles the subject of grief delicately and you can almost feel Tess's pain at suddenly losing her husband and wanting to fiercely guard her son from any further tragedies.
With the right amount of heroes and villains, but not being sure which are which, The Perfect Betrayal is the perfect psychological thriller.

I happened on this book by chance as much as anything. Having the need for a new book, I happily cracked open the cover and dived in.

Boy am I glad that I did. Lauren North has crafted a fine tale, with hints of today laden with tales of before that keep the brain on its toes. The book is not overly complicated to follow, but has the reader thinking they know the next twist and then sending us diving down the wrong rabbit hole. The second seat on the airplane was a massive wrong guess by me; it is difficult to review the book without giving away the story and the ending, so I will not comment further on the content, other than to say I was probably so near the end before I thought I knew the ending that it didn't matter that I guessed one of the twists, as I still missed the obvious character ones that were still unrevealed.

My favourite psychological head-funk book for a long time.

A chilling dark story about Tess, who is failing to cope following her husband Mark’s death in an aircraft accident. Tess is lost in a foggy secluded world where nothing seems worthwhile any more, apart from her son Jamie, and is sinking into a deep bottomless pit of depression. Made worse by Mark’s brother Ian telling her that Mark had borrowed money from him, and he wants it back.

She is befriended by Shelley whose bright and energetic personality brings a small degree of light into her life, and the story explores their developing friendship with her and Jamie, her son.
As the story progresses, strange events start to happen – Tess hears footsteps outside her secluded, dark country house at night-time, telephone ringing with no-one there, along with other threatening events, and she becomes deeply afraid. What is going on? Is Ian responsible, Shelley, or someone else is collusion?

A chilling compulsive read, which had me gripped from beginning to end. A terrifying thriller which had me on the edge of my seat, unable to put the book down. Characters are skillfully drawn and well rounded, without being overly sentimental. I couldn’t have predicted the ending, it was definitely unexpected! Highly recommended read.

After the sudden death of her husband, Tess is drowning in grief. All she has left is her son, Jamie, and she'll do anything to protect him - but she's struggling to cope. When grief counsellor Shelley knocks on their door, everything changes. Shelley is beautiful, confident and takes control when Tess can't bear to face the outside world. But when questions arise over her husband's death and strange things start to happen, Tess begins to suspect that Shelley may have an ulterior motive. Tess knows she must do everything she can to keep Jamie safe - but who can she trust?

The write up on this book promises a thriller of a read, sadly it wasn't. Whilst I found the book OK, it was repetitive and the characters irritated me. For me, it didn't live up to the synopsis.

I enjoyed this book, it has suspense and twists. Who can Tess trust, Shelley or her brother in law. The book has sadness, grief and relationships that human drama fans will love. I didn’t see the twist at the end immediately but it slowly dawned on me - a good ending.

Utterly heartbreaking but so brilliant. Beautiful written working through dealing with loss and loss. Thank you for writing this book. It will stay with me for a long time x

In what is already proving a good year for debut crime novels, Lauren North has produced a gripping and highly readable story which tells of a woman whose husband was killed in a plane crash and how she struggles to cope with the aftermath while bringing up her son on her own. For me the book was somewhat let down by the twist in the tale but it is enjoyable nonetheless.

A heartbreaking read. A look at how our minds can help us cope with too much loss. Twists and turns and a duly poignant ending.

An incredible and poignant story of how grief can overwhelm someone.

Tess Clark has recently moved into her husband’s mother’s house in a secluded spot. She is struggling to adjust to her life away from her friends but has a happy marriage and an adored 7-year-old son Jamie.

Her world is torn apart when her husband, Mark, is killed in a plane crash. He was on his way to a business meeting in Frankfurt but the pilot suffering from mental health problems decide to commit suicide by crashing the plane.

The only thing that keeps Tess going is her son Jamie whose protection and happiness become Tess’ only objective in life. She is stumbling from day to day unable to deal with any tasks just managing to get Jamie too and from school each day when suddenly Shelley comes into her life.

Shelley is a vibrant, confident, smart lady, who is also a grief counsellor. She takes Shelley under her wing, manages to make her go shopping, has coffee, take her son to the beach, simple things that Tess has stopped doing. However, Shelley is suffering from her own tragedy, her son Dylan had died of cancer at the age of 2, he would have been Jamie’s age now and slowly but surely Tess begins to think that she is planning to take Jamie away from her.

Mark’s brother, Ian, is hassling Tess about sorting out Ian’s estate claiming that he is owed £100,000 which Mark had borrowed just before his death. She becomes paranoid about people following her and receiving nuisance telephone calls and is convinced that Ian and Shelley are working together. As she becomes more suspicious of everybody and everything a situation comes to a head in her kitchen with Ian and Shelley where Tess ends up being stabbed in the stomach although it is unclear who actually inflicted the wound.

The book veers between the build-up of Tess’ paranoia and the conversations between her and Elliot Sadler in the hospital whom she is convinced is a detective.

The ending of this book has not one but two twists that were just breathtaking and so sad, This book is beautifully written and an absolute page-turner. It is frightening how grief can affect a person’s life so much and the author really makes you feel a part of this poor lady’s life. I cannot recommend it too highly, a brilliant read.

Dexter

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

As this book opens, Tess is in hospital following a violent incident at her son Jamie’s birthday celebration. Jamie is now missing and nobody seems to be able to tell her exactly what is going on. We then go back to the weeks leading up to the birthday, and discover that Tess is dealing with the sudden death of her husband, Mark, in a plane crash. As she tries to navigate through the fog of grief that engulfs her and Jamie, Tess meets Shelley, a grief counsellor who tries to help her through this horrific time. With Shelley’s support and care, Tess begins to make progress, but she is troubled by the strange behaviour of her brother in law, her strained relationship with 7-year-old Jamie, and an unsettling feeling of being watched and followed. As the situation becomes darker, Tess begins to question Shelley’s motives and uncover secrets in Mark’s life.

It would be impossible to say more without risking spoilers, but this is a compelling read full of twists and turns - and it’s the first time in ages that I’ve read a book of this kind and not seen the biggest twists coming.

Great book that centered around a brother in law and grief councillor. Who can you trust ? Neither of both ? Great thriller with a twist I didn't see coming

I loved everything about this book! It consumed me from start to finish - a masterfully-woven domestic noir tale which piles on the tension. Consumed by grief after the death of her husband in a plane crash, Tess struggles to keep life normal for her young son, Jamie. Having recently moved into Mark's old family home, she's cut off from her old support network. When grief counsellor Shelley offers to help, Tess thinks she's found a friend but as events unfold she's forced to ask herself how well did she really knew her husband, is she being followed and is Jamie safe? The story's told in different viewpoints and with some transcripts from interviews while Tess is in hospital, which I found very effective. I'd highly recommend this to fans of Claire Douglas, Lucie Whitehouse and Louise Jensen

Wow absolutely wow read this in two days as I couldn't figure out what was happening and why it was I need to know I've told all my friends to look out when it's published this is one book youdont want to .miss I don't want to say much about the story line because I'm always worried I'll give the ending away so just read it I don't think you will be disappointed I certainly wasn't would definitely recommend reading this!!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. I thought it was a bit hard to get into at the beginning. It was confusing a bit. But I’m so glad I kept going. This book had me hooked. It’s a very heartbreaking story. The characters and the storyline where absolutely brilliant. You think you know the ending and then something changes. I expected the ending, but at the same time I wished for different. Heartbreakingly brilliant book. Hard to put down but wanting to get to the end. Definately worth 5stars and more.

Another twisty tale and it was a twist I was not prepared for. Characters were believable and story really tight and realistic. Enjoyed this a lot and thought it ended on quite a sinister note! Would recommend!

A very compelling book, easy to read, but that said, almost ‘unputdownable’ , after the death of her husband Tess is finding it hard to cope, a new ‘friend’ and her brother in law, both have expectations of Tess. “What is it they want? Each page I am thinking that I have the story sorted, then the next I think something else. The end was quite a surprise (no spoilers). Read and enjoy.

This book had me hooked from the get go. It continued to intrigue me all the way through. I felt at times I knew where the story was taking me but it twisted and turned in different directions and left me wanting to read later than I should to see where it landed next. The story has many levels and it was difficult to not to feel sad at times and if someone has gone through a situation like this it may probably help get perspective. A loved the book

It's very difficult to review this book without revealing the story. What I will say is that I loved it! It had me hooked right from the beginning. I was really drawn to the main character, and in turn found myself disliking others, in protection of her I think.
The ending just hit me right between the eyes, I did not see that coming & I am just more protective of Tess more than ever!
A really good read, you find yourself thinking one thing & then you find out you were wrong all along. Stayed with me long after I had finished it.
Highly recommend.
Thanks to Net Galley for this title.

It took me one week to read this. I know many readers will demolish a book in one sitting but I don’t think I’ve ever done that in my life. For me to finish a book in a week it has to be good – really good.

This wasn’t just good, it was amazing. It left me with my mouth agape, jaw dropping, I just never saw that ending coming.

I thought it sounded really interesting from the precis but that was all I read. Half way through and I saw a review of this book appear on Twitter but I wouldn’t read it, I didn’t want to know anything. I wanted to savour every page without knowing anything at all except what I was reading.

It keeps you on the edge, at one point it made me physically jump and my heart lurch when something happened. It’s that unnerving. It is of course very emotional in places. Tess is newly widowed and all the turmoil and the heartache and the immense sense of loss is all there and is very raw. At the same time there are other more menacing things for Tess to deal with on top of her grief.

There are so many things I could say about this story, about Tess, her son Jamie and Shelley who becomes more than just a grief counsellor but a friend too but I don’t want to give anything away. Suffice to say this is more than a psychological thriller. It will keep you interested all the way through, you’ll be trying to work things out, who’s doing what and why but will you ever guess? Read it and find out.