A Woman Betrayed

Rating:
Summary: Same over and over
Review: The story line was very good except the book was very repeative and draged on and on telling the same thing over and over. I liked the characters and the plot but not reading the same thing over and over.

Rating:
Summary: Spoilers! Spoilers! A bad ending wrecks the whole novel!
Review: The whole premise of this Barbara Delinsky novel, is that the reader wants to find out what happens to Laura Frye's husband. The book opens with central character Laura Frye's husband abandoning her, and as the book closes, Laura's husband is still on the run, (he's running from the Authorities on a Tax Fraud charge, but also wanted out of the marriage) but has simply changed his name.

I'm not saying this woudn't be a worthwhile read for hardcore Delinsky fans. But it seemed like nothing was tied up at the end. There is no real payoff for making it through this rather longer Delinsky novel. I just don't know how wise it is to construct a long novel around a single problem, drag your readers endlessly and repetitively through that problem, right up till the end, and then not even satisfactorily tie things up in a definite manner. I like a definite and absolute happy ending, like in Barbara Delinsky's 1998 novel "Coast Road".

In all fairness, this was an earlier effort of Delinsky's written in 1991, and it was one of those straight-to-paperback novels written before Delinsky was even writing hardbacks.

There are some situations that are hard to believe here, also. For instance, central character, Laura, is not only betrayed by her missing husband, but also by her best friend, Daphne. Delinsky didn't provide enough back-story on, what seemed to me, to be a very together lady-lawyer (Daphne) and how it was that she (Daphne) a smart and educated lawyer, could come to seem so flaky by the end of the novel via her "betrayal" of central character, Laura.

Even Laura's Mother comes across as cold and unfeeling towards her daughter during this tragic time. Does everyone and anyone simply have it in for poor Laura? Well, not everyone. Certainly not Laura's lusty brother-in-law, for whom Laura engages in a steamy affair with. This is a Barbara Delinsky novel, and an early one at that, so you know there are going to be racy sex scenes. Couldn't do without those.

Again, I would say this is not one of the better Delinsky novels, those being: "Three Wishes" "Coast Road" and "Shades of Grace"---all which are much better reads than "A Woman Betrayed".

Rating:
Summary: Spoilers! Spoilers! A bad ending wrecks the whole novel!
Review: The whole premise of this Barbara Delinsky novel, is that the reader wants to find out what happens to Laura Frye's husband. The book opens with central character Laura Frye's husband abandoning her, and as the book closes, Laura's husband is still on the run, (he's running from the Authorities on a Tax Fraud charge, but also wanted out of the marriage) but has simply changed his name.

I'm not saying this woudn't be a worthwhile read for hardcore Delinsky fans. But it seemed like nothing was tied up at the end. There is no real payoff for making it through this rather longer Delinsky novel. I just don't know how wise it is to construct a long novel around a single problem, drag your readers endlessly and repetitively through that problem, right up till the end, and then not even satisfactorily tie things up in a definite manner. I like a definite and absolute happy ending, like in Barbara Delinsky's 1998 novel "Coast Road".

In all fairness, this was an earlier effort of Delinsky's written in 1991, and it was one of those straight-to-paperback novels written before Delinsky was even writing hardbacks.

There are some situations that are hard to believe here, also. For instance, central character, Laura, is not only betrayed by her missing husband, but also by her best friend, Daphne. Delinsky didn't provide enough back-story on, what seemed to me, to be a very together lady-lawyer (Daphne) and how it was that she (Daphne) a smart and educated lawyer, could come to seem so flaky by the end of the novel via her "betrayal" of central character, Laura.

Even Laura's Mother comes across as cold and unfeeling towards her daughter during this tragic time. Does everyone and anyone simply have it in for poor Laura? Well, not everyone. Certainly not Laura's lusty brother-in-law, for whom Laura engages in a steamy affair with. This is a Barbara Delinsky novel, and an early one at that, so you know there are going to be racy sex scenes. Couldn't do without those.

Again, I would say this is not one of the better Delinsky novels, those being: "Three Wishes" "Coast Road" and "Shades of Grace"---all which are much better reads than "A Woman Betrayed".

Rating:
Summary: Lots of twists and turns.
Review: This is the first novel by Barbara Delinsky that I have read and I must say that I am impressed!

This tale of suspense centers around Laura as she finds her perfect world shattered when her husband disappears. After many years of a marriage that she thought was blissful, she begins to question her life and those around her. For instance, did her husband, Jeff, meet with foul play or could he possibly have orchestrated his own disappearance? Are her friends really loyal? Is Laura, herself, as capable as she once thought?

As the story progresses, the web of intrigue begins to unravel, starting with the whereabouts of her husband, what he has been up to (I will leave that a secret for you to find out) and what role his brother, Christian, plays in Laura's life.

The story is about illusions and that they are just that-illusions.

Rating:
Summary: More than a romance novel
Review: This is the story of what happens to a family when the husband/father one day fails to come home from work. Worried sick, Laura imagines the worst. Turns out it could be worse than an accident or kidnapping: her husband of 20 years, Jeff, actually willingly walked away; the IRS, who had been investigating him, then freezes all her assets and she has no money or credit history of her own. Sure, eventually the love of her life comes back to her rescue, but this book carefully analyzes the relationship between lovers, friends, parents and children. Sometimes it's highly predictable, but it certainly beats the usual damsel in distress, one note soap opera. There's even one additional couple in the story. My only regret was that the kids, who were so much present throughout the book, are barely mentioned at the very end.

Rating:
Summary: What happens when your world falls apart how do you go on
Review: When black becomes white and up becomes down. Laura's husband Jeff has come up missing and she fears an act of foul play but there just might be more to this. As the story slowly takes flight unraveling at every turn of her life Laura finds herself not knowing who to trust and how to go on.

Delinsky gives us a good story with likable characters that find themselves in a difficult situation. Will Laura be able to pull this together, and is there love in her future? Only time will tell. I would give this one 3.5 stars. Kelsana 9/11/02