Review by Soonerchick656 -- Betrayal of Faith

[Soonerchick656]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Betrayal of Faith" by Mark M. Bello.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Two boys, Kenny and Jake, are brutally raped by their parish priest; the act being actively covered up by a secret society called "The Coalition". Jennifer Tracey, the boys' mother, decides to hire an attorney and file a lawsuit against the priest and the church. She hires attorney Zachary Blake, who has fallen on hard times since he last worked for the family when Jennifer's husband had died. Jennifer hires him on, though she has some second thoughts about his ability to do the job. Jennifer decides that in order to make sure that the priest is never able to do this to another child, she decides to publicize the entire process. This is a story of religion, faith, love and law ... and amidst it all is the centralized story of children who are being taken advantage of by those in authority over them.

Betrayal of Faith was a hard book to read just because of the weight of the story and what happened to these boys. During the course of the trial young Kenny is called to the witness stand to give his testimony and has to give his version of what happened to him and his younger brother. It was absolutely heart wrenching to imagine this young 14 year old boy having to give a recount of these horrific events. Before Kenny can even finish his testimony the young boy loses control of his emotions and then goes into a state of shock and is placed in the hospital. This would be difficult for some readers to endure and could be a trauma trigger for anyone who may have dealt with these issues in their past.

The book was hard to read and yet it was hard to put down at the same time. There was a good storyline and the author, Mark M. Bello whom is an attorney in his own life, was able to explain all the legal situations going on throughout the book. There was a lot of legalese which was a bit difficult for the average reader to get through and kind of made the story drag on some. The ensuing trial was very exciting; like something you would see in a movie. I enjoyed reading this part of the book and it kept me on my toes with all the twists and turns that occurred. Just when I thought something was going to go one way it would turn around and go a completely different direction.

I was able to get a great feel for each characters including those involved in The Coalition. The members of The Coalition are kept secret throughout the entire book until the very end, where only two members are identified, one surprisingly so. Even with the secrecy I was able to get a good visual of members of this society sitting around discussing what would happen to those that would give away their "secret". The story didn’t focus a lot on Kenny and Jake and I felt this was very appropriate because of the trauma that happened to them. It felt like the author was in a way trying to protect them and their innocence.

I would give this book 4 out of 4 stars because it is well written with thorough descriptions of legal actions and characters and I did not find any spelling or grammatical errors. I am a reader who enjoys books that make me feel what the author is trying encapsulate in his story. This story didn’t make me cry but I did get angry at the priest and felt great empathy for those children in what they went through. I felt the mother’s anguish and guilt over what happened to the boys and what they had to endure while going through the trial. For this I felt this was an excellent book and would recommend it to other readers. I believe this book was exceptionally and professionally well edited. I do not believe that young children or those who are easily trauma triggered should read this book. The book was very enlightening; however it was a very deep and dark subject to cover and could cause quite a bit of discomfort to read these actions occurring against a child. I believe that a more mature audience would be more suitable to read this book.

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Betrayal of Faith
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Like Soonerchick656's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Prisallen]

This sounds like a very heart-wrenching story that probably does need to be told, considering how much abuse has been uncovered. Unfortunately, I think I would have difficulty reading it as it would really bother me a lot. Thank you so much for a wonderful review!

[Artizi]

This sounds like such an emotional, moving book. I'm not ready it would be my cup of tea, as I get anxious while reading about abuse, so I think I'll pass on this one. Kudos on the great review!

If you wouldn't mind, I'd appreciate if you checked my review as well! Thank you so much in advance.

[Aniza Butt]

Seems a good effort of the author. Hope the boys get the justice at the end.
Thanks a lot for an i sightful review

[Kelyn]

Sometimes the best books are the ones that are "deep and dark." Although it would be difficult to read about this happening to young children, I don't believe it would stop me from reading such an intriguing book reflecting things going on in today's world. You wrote a gripping review that really seems to capture the essence of the book. Great job!

[Charlie19]

This is an interesting story of two gentleman, i want to read this. Great review