When she realises she has been sexually assaulted by a colleague, Lucy Howard decides to make a stand and to see that the perpetrator gets what he deserves. At twenty two years of age she can't imagine what effect this will have on her work life.

Lucy's story is played out against the backdrop of sexual promiscuity among her colleagues, of corruption in the police force and the even larger backdrop of corruption in Tasmanian politics. The story in THE BETRAYAL is told from not only Lucy's point of view but from twelve others. This was a structure that worked well in Erskine's 2011 debut THE BROTHERHOOD. It works well here.

THE BETRAYAL exudes authenticity and realism, and can't help but make the reader consider what he/she would do in these circumstances. Would you report the rape regardless of the consequences for yourself? Where would you stand if a colleague reported she had been raped? Would you side with her or would you check the lie of the land?

A very strong sequel to Erskine's 2011 debut THE BROTHERHOOD. (A Davitt Readers Choice Award winner in 2012) There are some links to the earlier novel, also available through Amazon. Story threads left hanging in that novel are tied off. Y.A. Erskine is certainly one to put on your list of Australian authors to note and read. ( )

"The Betrayal" follows Erskine's first book, "The Brotherhood" and there are many similarities. Both take place in Tasmania, both focus largely on the police force (Erskine was a member for eleven years), both focus on a gut wrenching case, and both use a rather unique structure to tell the story, namely 10-12 chapters each told from the POV of a major character in the story, e.g. victim, assailant, prosecutor, journalist. The structure worked very well in the first book and I rated it a 5.0. "The Brotherhood" was particularly well written and maintained a high level of tension throughout. So I had high expectations for "The Betrayal" but I was disappointed. The story focuses on a date rape, particularly the aftermath. Will justice be served? As in so many such cases, it becomes a "she says, he says" situation. There is an investigation, and evidence is discovered. But there are also "dirty tricks", blackmail, paybacks, closing ranks. There is no hero here, and not much of a climax. Erskine's stories seem to be somewhat deeper than the case at hand and I read into this one another example of the difficulty women have in crashing though the glass ceiling, in surviving "good old boy" networks, and just being treated fairly. But none of that is new, and Erskine's conclusion didn't suggest to me much in the way of answers, or even hope. In the story she describes an area of Hobart, Tasmania, as a "grim montage of bleakness"; the same can be said for too much of this story. ( )

Date rape isn't a subject that I've come across a lot in my crime fiction reading, so combine that with an Australian setting, a very dark outlook and a number of quite damaged, imperfect characters who crash towards an unusual ending in the second book by local author Y.A. (Yvette) Erskine and it seemed like it could be a winning package.

As with the first book, THE BROTHERHOOD, the story is again told with a shifting viewpoint per chapter, unfortunately this time the outcome is a rather drawn out, disconnected feel. I'm not convinced it served the main victim, Police Constable Lucy Howard, particularly well. Whilst her viewpoint is scattered throughout the narrative, there's an arc of character development that suffers from a lack of continuity. As Howard goes from timid, apologetic victim of what is undoubtedly a dreadful experience - through to a self-assured, determined strong young woman who can accept an outcome that is questionable there were gaps in her progression that left me unable to shake a feeling of convenience at best, a suspicion of reader emotional manipulation at worst. Somehow, somewhere I suddenly realised that whilst I was feeling sympathy for what Howard experienced, she was increasingly distant and off-putting.

To be fair though, there are things that really do work well in the book. Even with all the negativity there are some fascinating portrayals - interestingly mostly of the men doing wrong; be it the perpetrator of the rape and his casual disregard for his victim; Howard's only vocal supporter who has his own questionable sexual behaviour supposedly, in support of his wife; through to the Police Commissioner with his preoccupation with his own corrupt behaviour. It is in the very nastiest of the characters that there is a distinct sense of realism and identification. Skin-crawlingly realistic to be frank, but whilst I'm normally a huge fan of the dark, there were points in the narrative where even these characters became overly cynical, tedious, often bordering on annoying. Something it took me quite a while to recognise was the two different possible motivations for betrayal - be it unintentional or active treachery. As those distinct differences became clearer in my mind, then the voices of some of the more annoying characters started to make some sense, albeit they remained very unpleasant people.

For this reader, reading crime fiction isn't always just about entertainment, nor is it about retribution, vengeance, or justice always getting it right. It's often about exposing the darker side of human behaviour, it's often about the way that things don't always end happily for everybody. In that THE BETRAYAL casts a powerful, bright, no-holds barred light on a crime that's under-discussed, under-exposed in crime fiction, the book is worthwhile. In the way that it casts light on the very worst of human behaviour it is interesting. It's just not a book that you're going to put down and walk away from without a sneaking suspicion that there's an awful lot wrong with parts of this world.

http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/betrayal-ya-erskine ( )

Linked to The Brotherhood, the stunning debut by Australian crime author, and ex-police officer, Y.A. Erskine, The Betrayal is as equally compelling.

"Not drunk. Had sex. No hangover. No memory."

It's been two weeks since Constable Lucy Howard shared a celebratory drink with a trusted colleague, Special Operation Group officer Nick Greaves and woke up naked in his bed with no idea what happened in between. Blaming one too many drinks Lucy fled, disgusted with herself for betraying her boyfriend and decided to forget it ever happened. It's not until she is taking the statement of a victim of sexual assault that she realises that Nick had drugged and raped her and takes the extraordinarily brave step of making an official complaint against the popular constable. In a case of he said/she said, Lucy's allegation rocks the Tasmanian police force to it's core, exposing an ugly vein of misogyny, corruption and betrayal.
The Betrayal is linked to The Brotherhood primarily by its cast, Lucy Howard, for example, was the rookie constable who was partnering Sergeant John White when he was killed in the line of duty. Erskine also picks up threads of the story left unfinished in The Brotherhood, giving us some insight in to the longer term fall out for those involved in the case, including the perpetrator. The same format is used to tell the story, a third person narrative divided amongst thirteen characters, many of them familiar such as Detective Will Torino, the journalist, Tim Roberts, and Constable Cameron Walsh. As the story unfolds, the shifts in view provide a different perspective of not only the case involving Lucy and Nick but also a wider view of the force as Erskine continues to explore corruption in the police force.
The Betrayal is as confronting as The Brotherhood, perhaps more so because of the nature of the incident and Erskine's brutal honesty about the legal outcomes for victims of sexual assault. Lucy is well aware that prosecution is unlikely but decides that as a police officer, and for her own peace of mind, she must report Nick no matter the consequences. As an elite member of SOG, Nick has an enviable status amongst the force, on top of which he is handsome and charming. Much like in any sexual assault case, stereotypical attitudes come in to play and are exacerbated by the status of the defendant. Lucy is accused of false reporting, targeted in a smear campaign, harassed and physically threatened. Nick's mates rally to protect not only his reputation but also their own secrets and I honestly felt sick at a scene where a few of Lucy's female colleagues trash her gleefully. When I learnt that the initial events of The Betrayal are a thinly veiled admission of an incident in Erskine's own eleven year police career I was stunned. Erskine confesses she decided not to press charges against her assailant, certain her case wouldn't have stood a chance and unwilling to be further victimised by the media, the system and her colleagues. Lucy's story then is a case of 'what if?' and unfortunately, as disturbing as it is, I think it's entirely possible it would have been much worse than what Erskine has imagined.

The Betrayal is a confronting but utterly compelling novel, Erskine exposes the underbelly of policing that society prefers to remain ignorant of. Dark, gritty and raw I was fascinated and repulsed in almost equal measure. This is a stunning piece of crime fiction and I recommend The Betrayal, and The Brotherhood, without reservation. ( )