Betrayed by R.P. McCabeMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I'll be honest, I did not expect to enjoy this book. From what I read in the synopsis, I had pretty much made up my mind that reading this would be one of my harder reads as I wasn't instantly pulled in by the promised story line and I usually don't make the effort with books that don't instantly grab me. In this case however, I had promised the author that I would read it and when I make that kind of promise, I will stick to it. So, it is with massive surprise on my part that this book turned out to be so much more than I thought and, in my opinion, totally deserving of the five stars I've given it.
There is no doubt in my mind that R.P McCabe treated the writing of this novel as a labour of love. The depth that he has gone to, to describe the many scenes and emotions is immense. The story line unfolds slowly - which if I am honest, in the beginning had me wanting it to speed up - but I am glad I stuck with it because I was left with a concise picture in my head. The characters and their surroundings perfectly vivid in my imagination.
Wally Stroud, the protagonist, is like your father, your uncle, your husband. There is no amazing attributes that sets him apart and it was the creation of this totally human character that had me reaching out to him and wishing everything would work out, had my heart breaking for the ordeal that he and his wife were going through.
Betrayed is unlike many books that I have read in that its not the good guy versus the monsters, but the good guy turns into a monster in order to fight back, yet you keep on loving him, mostly because the author has written such a tender hearted story that no matter what the underdog does, you still want him to do it - regardless of how dark and sinister those actions may be.
The thought process that R.P McCabe must have gone through in order for the protagonist to pull off what he did was certainly impressive and he pulled no punches when it really mattered, which meant that I didn't want to stop reading, even when mine was the next stop on my daily bus commute.
I will not go on too much more about what happens as I would not want to include any spoilers here but Betrayed was one of those books that I thoroughly enjoyed, even more so because I didn't think I would. It is very well written, if lengthy in some parts but it is also one of those books that when you read the last word, you are left feeling satisfied, and in some small way, even vindicated.
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