The Betrayal of Lies

Paradise Valley Mystery #5

by Debra Burroughs

Murder and mayhem are afoot! Feisty private eye, Emily Parker, is finally moving forward in her relationship with the hunky police detective--that is, until a new friend suddenly goes missing. Suspicions are flying that one of Emily's closest girlfriends may be involved. Emily and Detective Andrews are locked in a desperate race to solve the mystery of who abducted the woman and rescue her before someone winds up dead.

The Betrayal of Lies, Book 5: Mystery, romance, murder--think "Sex and the City" meets "Nancy Drew."

Genres: Mystery, Romance, Fiction, Romantic Suspense, Cozy Mystery, Suspense, Collections

199 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 24, 2013

About the author

Debra Burroughs writes with intensity and power. Her characters are rich and the stories are full of compelling suspense and real romance. She can be found, most days, sitting in front of her computer in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, dreaming up and writing about strong women, their relationships with men (good and bad), involved in exciting, mysterious, and romantic situations.

Reviews

[Coco.V]

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[Doina Condrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, quick mystery!!

[Fee (Ebook Addicts) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Safe in the knowledge that Emily and Colin can now get married, Camille has stepped in as her wedding planner – only she drops Emily in it and introduces her to Elise Murphy her new assistant who is going to be handling Emily’s wedding needs. At first Emily isn’t too keen on this but Elise fights for her corner with Camille in respecting her wishes for a small wedding. Emily begins to warm Elise and even Colin joked that she may just become the fifth in their circle of friends.

That is until she goes missing. When Colin gets the call to go to the Murphy household they are met with Patrick – Elise husband, who called her in as missing, The house shows evidence of a struggle and some droplets of blood are found.

The blood belongs to Maggie!! And Emily has a hard time processing that her friend would have anything to do with Elise disappearing, but when a ransom call comes in for $2 million she begins to doubt her friend as she finds out Maggie is feeling the pinch money wise, for which she feels horrible for. As they delve deeper into Elise and her husband there are indications that she may have faked her disappearance to escape her husband.

Just how did Maggie’s blood end up in the house? Did Elise fake her own kidnapping to escape her husband’s grasp? And can Emily and Maggie’s friendship survive the accusations?

[LAKristy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and edited. The books are G rated and the structure of each mystery is a little formulaic, but if you don't read them one after another -- as I originally started doing, but instead read one, move to something else for a book or two, then come back to this series, I think you'll enjoy them more. The series is interconnected, and each book does build on events in prior books, but each stands on it's own and none have cliffhangers.

This book followed many of the constructs of the prior books, including friends who are far too willing to accuse their innocent friends of potential wrongdoing, but that said -- I didn't correctly predict the outcome of this one, which was a really nice surprise.

I'll continue to follow the series and would strongly recommend to anyone looking for books with serious dating relationships, but no sexual content.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Emily and Colin mystery, this time tragedy is interfering with the gangs friendship group, a possible new friend who is now working with Camille as a party / wedding planner is kidnapped and murdered, causing Colin and Emily to question their friends and uncover a secret that one of the group members would rather nobody knew.
Gripping from page 1 I ended up reading this book of the series in one sitting it kept me on the edge of my seat all the way through.

[Carol Simmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic Story

This very talented authors book made it impossible to put down. Meeting Emily and Colin and their unique ability to solve the case. Meeting Camille, Maggie.Isabel and Elise was a terrific story line with lots of twists and turns . It is my plans to read every book this author has written

[Sharon Rudolph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

I have really enjoyed this series! I love the characters and the suspense in the storyline. The only downfall would be the author constantly repeats how Emily's husband died and how she feels. I feel 5 building this series, that is just overkill and she doesn't need to keep bringing it up. I will finish the series.

[PWA Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy the story however Elsie's role is unbelievable. No true police dept or detective would allow her to take over questioning the suspects, the doctor and the CSI, be in interrogation room and basically run the investigation-shes a civilian, a PI. Alittle over the top.

[Rita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the main characters and their relationship to each other. The author lets you feel like you are part of the group participating in everything. The plot is a good one too. I will be reading more from this author too. This is a good series!

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read mystery series. I felt like I was right there as I read this series. Loved the characters, and the strong willed nature of the main character. One of my favorites for sure.

[Sherrie Gallegos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the suspense and intrique but mostly the characters. Can't wait to read the other books in the series.

[Charlene Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

The mystery was fantastic. the characters Are funny and Believable.It's quite a scheme you have to read the book to find out what it is

[Matthew Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed

I really enjoyed this latest book of yours and I am looking forward to the next installment in this series.

[sharon sobzak]

Quick read

The mystery in this one got more complicated but still needs better details to smooth the storyline. A lighter side read.

[Cynthia jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

exciting

Really a great book to read. Didn’t want to put it down. Can’t wait to start the next one
Suspenseful

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mystery and romance

Great plot twist. A little slow moving at times but overall good mystery. The lead characters have more of a twist to them in this segment.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good story but the characters are a bit flat. The end of the story was somewhat implausible and didn't hang together as well as it could have.

[Annette Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

no punch, but ‘nice’

Ok drama written into the story but lacking the punch to engage emotions.Good story
Completely clean. What I would call light reading.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Book

I'm enjoying the Paradise Valley Mystery Series. Book 5 was good but annoyed me a bit. Overall I like the characters and their stories.

[Renee G. Barker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book

Love the characters of Paradise Valley. The Mysteries are always great. The series is a must read series. Great read.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Debra always writes a great story and I reading enjoyed reading this one.

[Kayz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good summer reading material!

I am a new fan of Debra Burroughs. I mistakenly purchased "The Betrayal of Lies" which is book 5 in the Paradise Valley Mysteries series, so now I'm totally obsessed with finding out all the background for Emily, Colin and the rest of their circle of friends! Ms. Burroughs writing keeps the reader interested until the last page. My Kindle will be filled with her books. I recommend her books to anyone who enjoys the murder mystery genre.

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read books 4 and 4.5 in the series and couldn't wait to get my hands on book 5. I really enjoyed the mystery and found that it kept me guessing. Emily and Colin were great as always. I was a bit surprised that the car accident from book 4.5 wasn't mentioned at all, but overall I thought this was a great read. I'm looking forward to book 6!

[Melody Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible book!

I adore this series and I was certainly not disappointed. I love the familiarity of the characters and felt right at home with them. It was heartwarming to watch these friends continue on with their lives, facing whatever comes their way.

I highly recommend this book along with the series. It was a fantastic read.

[Stacei · Rating 5 out of 5]

best in the series

The books in the series continue to get better. This was an interesting story and I could imagine it happening. I am interested in the characters. I want to see what happens next with Emily and Colin and Peter And Maggie. Looking forward to another installment.

[Shan ~A~ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think that this is supposed to be a romantic suspense,but there is not really any romance at all. So mostly a mystery with romantic relationships.

I will say that I may have like it more had I read the other books in the series before I read this one.

[Sharon Gillaspie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who done it?

I was excited and entertained reading "The Betrayal of Lies". The characters are like being best friends. I am looking forward to seeing how the romance between Emily and Colin will blossom.

[T C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Read

4.5 solid. A little love story, mystery and murder is the essence. Nice light reading and very well edited, made it a pleasure to read. Will definitely put this in my favorite authors category.

[Ang · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this good paced read. Kept me guessing & in suspense the entire time. Great & interesting character developement. Good surprises

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting twist to the end of this book.