The Betrayals
by Fiona Neill
Pegasus Books, New York, London
(September 2018)

Sometimes there are four sides to a story. Which can you believe?  British author and well-known journalist, Fiona Neill, insightful story of a family in crisis in her latest novel, THE BETRAYALS (Pegasus Books, September 2018). In this audio interview, the London Sunday Times bestselling author discusses her fourth novel.

In this AUDIO interview, Fiona talks about her fascination with what motivates people, how memories of one event can be construed in different ways by each individual. She also talks about the difficulties in writing her fourth novel and what she believes it takes to be a published author. 

In the book, best friends Rosie and Lisa’s families had always been inseparable. But this family dynamic is torn apart one summer when Rosie Rankin’s best friend has an affair with her husband, Nick. None of them would forget that week on the wild Norfolk seacoast. As the consequences reverberate down through the lives of both families, the reader not only witnesses but experiences the relationships fracture and disintegrate.

As long-repressed memories begin to emerge, the past has never felt so close and the truth so evasive.

Eight years later, when equilibrium is almost within reach, Rosie’s daughter Daisy’s fragile hold on reality unravels when a letter arrives reopening all the old wounds. Teenage son Max blames himself for everything that happened that long, hot summer. And Nick must confront his own version of events.

As long-repressed memories begin to emerge, the past has never felt so close and the truth so evasive. Told through the eyes of the Rankin Family, Fiona Neill takes an unyielding look at contemporary family life. The Betrayals is a delicately written story rife with lies, bad faith, raw desire and how perspective and memory intertwines two families and causes them to crumble.

In our Authorlink AUDIO interview, we asked Fiona about her writing process, what inspired her to write this story? What were the most difficult aspects of her writing task? What would she do differently in the finished product if she had it all to do over? What does the novel have to say about forgiveness? And what does Fiona have to say to encourage fellow writers in their quest for publication?  

 “A vivid and insightful view of a family in crisis…”–Gillian McAllister

Advance Praise for The Betrayals

 “A vivid and insightful view of a family in crisis; Neill’s writing is incisive, smart, and at times darkly funny. A writer at the top of her game. I will be telling everybody I know about this book.”

—Gillian McAllister, author of Everything But the Truth

 “I thoroughly enjoyed this brilliantly observed novel about a family in meltdown. I have never read anything by Fiona Neill before, but after reading this totally absorbing tale, that is a situation I intend to rectify.” —Kathryn Hughes, author of The Secret

 “Exquisitely drawn and perfectly realized. No one writes about modern family with more truth

and authenticity than Fiona Neill. She nails it every single time.”

 —Lisa Jewell, author of Then She Was Gone

 “Neill’s plotting is beyond compare. Weaving an utterly absorbing account of deception and desire, Neill leaves you asking the question: Which voice can you trust?”

—Nicola Moriarty, author of The Fifth Letter