Review: Betrayal

Title: Betrayal
Author: Gregg Olsen
Release Date: September 4, 2012
Source: publisher

In this action-packed thriller sequel to Envy, foreign exchange student Olivia Grant is stabbed to death after a party–and the prime suspect is her best friend. As twins Hayley and Taylor Ryan get pulled into the aftermath of this Amanda Knox-like crime, they realize nothing is what it seems. Could it be betrayal of the ultimate kind?

Betrayal features real-life crime-solving techniques, heart-stopping suspense, plenty of red herrings, hard-hitting ethical questions, and information about the Amanda Knox case that inspired the novel. As the crime unravels, so does the twins’ past…and they must face off against a family member who may unexpectedly have carried out the worst betrayal of all.

Nancy’s Review:

Gregg Olsen has done it again. He has written yet another great piece of young adult literature that captures the reader’s undivided attention. I could not put down Betrayal. After having read Envy, I knew that I needed to get my hands on the second book in the Empty Coffin series. I am glad to say that just as I expected, I loved Betrayal.

The story dealt with something different than Envy; this time the book was inspired by the story of Amanda Knox, the foreign exchange student in Italy accused of murdering her roommate. Though I don’t know much about the Amanda Knox story (I was a bit confused with all the mixed reports on what actually happened), Olivia Grant’s murder was just as captivating as the story that inspired it.

One of my favorite things about reading Envy and Betrayal has been the author’s writing style. While he does delve into the key issues and terrifying atrocities that humans are capable of doing, he also managed to incorporate humor and everyday life into his books. I loved the fact that there were so many contemporary things mentioned that made the story seem even more real. Kim Kardashian’s super short marriage was among the things mentioned. I found them all to be very funny! I even got a few weird stares from my sister, as I laughed out loud (LOLed haha) while reading Betrayal. I kept telling her “you have to read this, you have to!” I think she’s going to start ignoring me from the constant harassment she received.

I don’t want to spoil the story for anyone by giving away too much, but seriously…. this book was just as good as Envy. I can’t even decided which one I liked the most. The fact that both stories took place in the same town, with some of the same people featured in the first book, was awesome. I was able to jump right into the story, knowing who many of these people were, and immediately focus on trying to figure out who killed Olivia Grant. Betrayal was a great sequel and it was very well written, it kept up with the exciting pace of Envy and I am now anxiously waiting for the next book in the series!