OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Betrayal of Faith" by Mark M. Bello.]

Betrayal of Faith is a shocking, poignant and memorable book written by Mark M. Bello.

As soon as Jennifer Tracey sees her sons, 14-year old Kenny and 12 year-old Jake, when they return from a camping trip with the new assistant pastor of Our Lady of the Lakes Church, she knows something is terribly wrong. As a faithful believer, Jenny turns to the church for help. When she learns the reasons for her children’s altered behavior and the extent of the harm done to them, Jenny starts a crusade against the perpetrator. Her fight for justice, however, is not going to be easy, as the Coalition, a secret church organization that controls or prevents any possible damage to the integrity of the church, is aware of her every move.

Her lawyer hires an investigator who soon discovers that there are two other families in Ohio who may have the same experience as the Traceys’. The families disappear without apparent reason and the only person who might have some answers just ends up dead.

With a fast pacing and told in the third person perspective, Betrayal of Faith is a shocking, touching, and a moving book about religion, faith, love, friendship, abuse and betrayal. It is a story about doing what is right and seeing it through. It is about redemption and vindication and is written in easy to read style. Scenes are vividly described and dialogues are realistically phrased. The author creates a set of well-developed and unforgettable characters with solid back stories from Jennifer Tracey, the fearless and loving mother who seeks justice for her children; Zachary Blake, the lawyer who is trying to get his career and life back and Micah Love, the brilliant and caring investigator, among others.

Aside from the touch of romance which lightens up an otherwise serious and egregious subject, the author also, very considerately, includes explanations of court proceedings apparently for laymen. Moreover, the author, very carefully, describes the effects of abuse not only to the victims but also to the entire family. The depiction is so vividly painful that I find myself fervently praying that this story is not based on actual events but a product of the author’s imagination. It is just too terrible and devastating to be true.

All in all, it is one great and very enjoyable book. However, as much as I appreciate the information about court proceedings, the explanations sound like excerpts from a college textbook instead of passages from a novel. Furthermore, the book features a very delicate and controversial issue against men of the cloth particularly the Catholic Church. Though some readers may appreciate the courage and passion of the author for writing this novel, others may find it offensive to their chosen religion.

I, therefore, easily rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. It is interesting, moving, touching, inspiring and memorable. I recommend it to readers who enjoy a good crime and cover-up story. Some subjects and scenes, however, may not be suitable for young readers.

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Betrayal of Faith
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Like kimmyschemy06's review? Post a comment saying so!

Wow! this IS a sensitive topic. I do also hope with you that this is not based on a real facts, but unfortunately, it is within the realm of possibilities. Thanks for the review!

greenstripedgiraffe wrote:Wow! this IS a sensitive topic. I do also hope with you that this is not based on a real facts, but unfortunately, it is within the realm of possibilities. Thanks for the review!

It sure is sensitive. Being a Catholic myself, I felt sad about the possibility of its being true

kimmyschemy06 wrote:

greenstripedgiraffe wrote:Wow! this IS a sensitive topic. I do also hope with you that this is not based on a real facts, but unfortunately, it is within the realm of possibilities. Thanks for the review!

It sure is sensitive. Being a Catholic myself, I felt sad about the possibility of its being true

I understand. Not much comfort in this, but I think all organized religions should be aware of the possibilities.

Wow, what a wonderful review, makes the book sound really interesting. It is a hard topic but unfortunately there are a lot of cases lately with catholic priests, just yesterday in tv they mention the case of a priest that allegedly abused several children and the court procedings started yesterday. I live in Spain and sadly we hear those news quite often.
But it is really brave to write a book about this topic, let's hope that it helps to make people more concious about this problem.

Gabmenfer wrote:Wow, what a wonderful review, makes the book sound really interesting. It is a hard topic but unfortunately there are a lot of cases lately with catholic priests, just yesterday in tv they mention the case of a priest that allegedly abused several children and the court procedings started yesterday. I live in Spain and sadly we hear those news quite often.
But it is really brave to write a book about this topic, let's hope that it helps to make people more concious about this problem.

Thank you very much. It is a great book. Yes, let's hope that it will raise awareness among the people about this problem in our society.

Great review! Sadly, the author might have based the story on true events. Although the book sounds interesting, I don't think it's my cup of tea due to the disturbing subject matter.

Sounds like an interesting book.

bookowlie wrote:Great review! Sadly, the author might have based the story on true events. Although the book sounds interesting, I don't think it's my cup of tea due to the disturbing subject matter.

Thank you very much. It was a great book but I can't truthfully say I enjoyed reading it exactly because of that.

-- 07 Mar 2017, 21:25 --

Meribooksandcats wrote:Sounds like an interesting book.

It is,indeed. Thank you very much for the comment.

nice good job

booksfun wrote:nice good job

Thank you. Welcome to the forum.

Awesome review! As a parent myself, I'm hesitant to read it. It sounds like one of every parents worst nightmares. It does sound very well written, as you said I hope it wasn't based on actual events.

Acwoolet wrote:Awesome review! As a parent myself, I'm hesitant to read it. It sounds like one of every parents worst nightmares. It does sound very well written, as you said I hope it wasn't based on actual events.

Thank you very much. Parents like us may find this book difficult to read.

I give kudos to the author for dealing with such serious subject matter. It's not easy to write about abuse and horrible crimes. I do like a good crime and cover up story and this book definitely piques my interest. Thanks for the great review!

Another great review. It certainly seems a difficult and emotional subject but an important one to raise awareness of.