It is master gameship, The Betrayal

The Betrayal 
by Kate Furnivall
Paperback, 400 pages, Expected publication: November 2nd 2017 by Simon & Schuster Ltd

The dogs of war are on the horizon as twin sisters, Romaine (Romy) and Florence DuChamps find themselves caught up in a game of espionage that is being played on the streets of Paris. Both sisters have secrets from each other, from their friends and from the political and social circles they keep.
The story commences with a younger Romy standing in the study and covered with her father’s blood. Trying to reason what has occurred, has she murdered her father or has something else happened? She has no memory of what has happened. Florence comes to the rescue and concocts a story that will save Romy from the guillotine.  This singular significant event snakes its way through the lives of the two sisters and creates a crescendo of events that influences their entire lives.
Furnivall has taken an interesting period of history to set the novel in. As you have groups of people, all wary another war is coming and desperately trying to position themselves on what they believe is the right side of argument. It is pickings as you have a numerous characters both real and fictional in which to assist both sisters traverse through this period of history.
Romy is the central character, she is flawed and complexed. Struggling to come to terms with the death of her father, she fears to sleep, as the nightmares will return. She is on a path of destruction by regularly drinking herself into a stupor, gambling and taking inordinate risks as a pilot. Her involvement in flying to Spain to assist the rebels brings her to the attention of Nazi officials and places her life in peril.
Florence is a success, married and with a young daughter, her life on the surface is seemingly perfect. She worries about Romy’s behaviour and dotes on her husband and child. Florence supports her husband’s involvement with the Nazi’s believing it will provide a more secure future for France. Yet as the story progresses, you learn that Florence is far more complicated and mired in secrets.
Having both sisters diametrically opposed in political beliefs but linked by a strong familial bond creates great tension.
The amount of subterfuge between characters is just glorious. Each character has their own personal and political agenda and sometimes they clash. The tension between characters is skilfully captured on the pages. It is a gripping read and you are deftly drawn into Romy and Florence’s world.
I had not read any of Kate Furnivall’s work before and this was a great introduction. Her writing is crisp, the pacing is superb and it is a wonderful read.
For more about Kate please check out her website.

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