Kelsey Byden is finally divorced from her husband after a two-year separation when she discovers that her mother, Naomi Chadwick, is alive and living on a horse farm in Virginia. As a child, she had been told by her father that her mother had died and she grew up living with her father, Philip, an English professor at Georgetown.But the fact is that her mother did not die, but was convicted of murdering her lover and sentenced to over ten years in jail. Her mother contended it was self-defense, but could not get her conviction overturned. She did not want Kelsey to visit her in jail, so she agreed to allow her father to tell her that her mother was dead.Kelsey decides to accept her mother’s invitation to come live with her and for them to get to know each other. Her father and step-mother, who her father married when Kelsey was 18, are not exactly happy and her grandmother, Milicent, is furious. So furious that she tries to cut Kelsey out of the trust that her grandfather had set up for her. Milicent is extremely concerned with appearances and does everything she can to try to control Kelsey’s behavior.Kelsey discovers that she loves life on the horse farm and she is starting to develop a relationship with the owner of a neighboring farm. Then things start to go wrong at some races and Kelsey decides to determine if her mother’s crime was murder, or manslaughter.Once again, I enjoyed this book by Nora Roberts. There was one part that kind of had me wondering though. Kelsey knows how much her grandmother despises her mother and of her opposition to their marriage, I had a hard time believing she didn’t figure out much sooner that it was her mother who pushed the investigation in a way that would find her mother guilty and not her father.
This is one of my all time favorite books that I have read in a long time.True Betrayals is a strong novel with a delicious romance and exciting, nerve wracking suspense. The main character is Kelsey who was raised by her father, chairman of the English Department at Georgetown University. She was taught all of the “proper” ways of living as a lady in the city of DC. She marries because she is “expected” to because of the status of the man and it does not work and ends in a divorce. While she is searching to find her “true” self, Kelsey learns lies, secrets and betrayals’ surrounding her mother whom she thought was dead. She seeks reunite with her mother just to “test” to see if what her very proper grandmother, who things she has to protect their highly thought of name from generations back, tells her all the horrible and terrible personality traits of her mother who has her own very successful horse-racing business. Kelsey goes and finds something totally different than she has been told. Her family in DC feels betrayed when Kelsey tells them she is going to go and stay a month on the farm so she can get to know her mother. From there all kinds of exciting, nerve wracking and romance develops that has so much suspense that will make you not want to put this book down. The ending of the book resolves everything but is a huge shock. I could read it again and just finished it 2 weeks ago!! If you read this book, I truly hope you get the enjoyment out of it like I did. I am in love with this book!
What do You think about True Betrayals (2005)?
Não sei como este livro me fugiu durante tanto tempo. Um livro de Nora Roberts que não me tinha chamado a atenção. Até agora.Mentiras e Traições reúne o mundo dos cavalos, jogos e famílias com membros podres. Disse no penúltimo livro que li que encontrei a 2º personagem a acrescentar à minha lista de ódios? Pois bem, encontrei neste a 3ª. E são todas mulheres. Estranho...Este é um livro bem apostado com uma história complexa, linhas que se vão cruzando durante a trama que no fim descobrimos a sua resolução. Sabemos quem é o vilão durante quase toda a história, mas será que sabemos mesmo? Entre crimes passados no mundo dos cavalos, romance entre dois protagonistas fortes, relacionamentos familiares difíceis e muitas corridas de cavalos temos um livro em cheio. As 4 estrelas estão ali somente porque há livros (incluindo desta autora) que gostei mais. Mas é um livro que recomendo muito :)
—Sara Gonçalves
Kelsey Byden is shocked to receive a letter from her long "dead" mother. Believing that her mother died when she was young, Kelsey finds out that her mother, Naomi Chadwick, was sent to prison for the murder of her lover. Naomi, who now runs a horse farm in Virginia, wants to get to know her daughter. Kelsey decides to give her mother a chance and stays at the horse farm where she falls in love with the horses, and meets the next door neighbor, Gabe Slater. But when a man is murdered and a horse is injured, it looks like history is repeating itself. Kelsey sets out to uncover secrets of the past, and possibly uncover a murderer in the present.One of my favorite Nora Roberts book. Lots of information on professional horse racing and a good romance. Don't miss this one! My rating: 5 Stars.
—Robin
Disappointed in this one, Nora. The reason I love your books is your unique way of inviting us into a character's world and making us feel like part of the family. Your writing is usually heartwarming and funny, but True Betrayals fell flat. The characters were stiff and I didn't get to enjoy getting to know them well. I have tolerance of some stereotyping, but Grandma was a little overboard. (I know, I know, she had her reasons.) Of all the characters, Naomi was the most intriguing and had so much potential for development, but she remained almost in the background. The relationship between her and Kelsey could have been explored much more, and I'd even say I would have read about that with more interest than the relationship between Kelsey and Gabe. I was also hoping to find out more about Naomi's time in prison; what her life was like and how deeply it affected and changed her. I enjoyed this book much more as a mystery than a romance, although the ending felt a little rushed. If you're looking for a really great Nora Roberts read, try the Gallagher siblings trilogy (Jewels of the Sun) and the Quinn brothers (Chesapeake Bay) series.
—Jenny Brown
