The Marriage Betrayal by Shalini Boland
Genre: Psychological thriller
Read: 6th July 2019
Purchase: Amazon
(release date: 8th July 2019)
★★★★ 4.5 stars
Shalini Boland is THE Queen of psychological thriller twists! I don't think there has been a book of hers I haven't thoroughly enjoyed. She draws you in right from the very first page and you can't put it down till you've finished. Of course I did take one break to make dinner, but after that I delved straight back into it...and didn't return to the land of the living until I'd finished!
Faye Townsend has planned a surprise trip for her husband Jake's birthday. A week's holiday with their son Dylan, sister Lainy and her husband Tom and their two daughters, Poppy and Annabel in the seaside town of Swanage in Dorset, where Jake and Lainy grew up. The siblings have never returned to the little town since they left when they were teenagers, and their discomfort as soon as they set foot there is apparent.
The old gothic Victorian terraced house they have booked for the week looked a lot more inviting on the website than in reality. Upon opening the door, there is the subtle smell of damp and it looks as if little has been done to maintain the property. Then they are surprised to be greeted by a strange woman descending the stairs upon their arrival. It appears the owner wanted to be there to greet her guests when they arrived...but it left the couples feeling a little spooked. And a bit weird.
While Dylan and the girls raced upstairs to claim their rooms, leaving the adults to settle in theirs, Jake and Lainy showed little excitement. They'd both become quiet and withdrawn and neither appeared to want to talk about it.
Faye and Tom secretly arranged this holiday as a surprise and are disheartened to see their good intentions have fallen flat with their spouses, who look anything but thrilled to be back.
The holiday mood doesn't improve and they decide to return home the following afternoon, after Jake and Dylan return from their planned early morning excursion to see the dolphins. Whilst they are out, Faye and the others decide to head to the beach for a paddle and a picnic, sending Jake a message to let them know where to meet them. By 2pm after reveling in a seaside Punch and Judy show, Faye becomes concerned that the boys haven't returned. By then, they have been gone for 8 hours.
A police search is then underway for both Jake and Dylan - on the clifftop, in the woods and in the water - leaving Faye both frantic and fraught with worry. Tom and Lainy do their best to keep her spirits up but Faye can't help but imagine the worst. And then Dylan's baseball cap and some blood are found on the clifftop...
What happened to her husband and son? Are they injured? Did they fall? Or is this all just a ruse, and they left of their own accord? And if so, how well does Faye truly know her husband?
THE MARRIAGE BETRAYAL is Shalini Boland's eighth thriller, I believe, and her knack of of drawing you in, keeping you in suspense throughout and then throwing in a twist that blindsides you will keep you on the edge-of-your-seat and reading into the night in this compelling thriller. One of my favourite authors, Shalini never disappoints as she delivers another thrill-ride that will have you enjoying every moment.
Told primarily from Faye's perspective in the present day, we are fed pieces of the puzzle in flashbacks to Jake and Lainy in their teens when they lived in the seaside town. It is obvious something happened here, but what? There is also an anonymous narrative that is peppered throughout which leaves us wondering who it is and how it is connected. But true to form, Shalini loves to play with her readers' minds and has us tying ourselves in knots trying to work out where it is all leading.
And then...just when you thought you knew where the story was going...there is yet another twist that takes another huge detour...leaving the reader breathless!
I did not see that final twist coming. At all! Well done, Shalini! You've done it again!
THE MARRIAGE BETRAYAL comes out on 8th July. Put it on your TBR list. You won't be sorry!
I would like to thank #ShaliniBoland, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheMarriageBetrayal in exchange for an honest review.
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