Betrayed [Paperback]

Brendan Dubois (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 17, 2003

When a bedraggled stranger turned up on the doorstep of Jason Harper's comfortable New England home, it takes him some time to accept that it is his brother who had disappeared over thirty years before on a bombing mission over Vietnam. Why had he not come home earlier? Where had he been? Why had he not told his own family that he had survived? Before Roy can begin to explain what he has gone through they are interrupted by a pair of men who seem intent on removing them both - and Jason's wife and child. Within the space of half an hour Jason's well-regulated, ordinary life is destroyed and his loyalty to his lost brother forces him to take his family on the run as he battles with the fact that the American government had 'hidden' hundreds of MIAs. Now the two brothers have the knowledge to expose this outrage, but first they have to prevent the other survivors from being summarily executed, and a very professional organisation is determined that they will achieve neither aim. Visit his website at www.brendandubois.com

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

DuBois, whose Resurrection Day (1999) had JFK's Bay of Pigs debacle actually starting WWIII, sets up another frighteningly plausible scenario in his latest smart and heartbreaking thriller. Suppose a group of Vietnam MIAs had been secretly shipped to the Soviet Union, where intelligence agents grilled them constantly for almost 30 years? What would've happened to these men when the U.S.S.R. fell apart? In DuBois's version, one of them-Capt. Roy Harper, a bomber pilot shot down in 1972-makes it back home to Berwick, Maine, where he promises to tell his younger brother, Jason, the fantastic story. But before he can continue, two heavily armed Russian mercenaries break in, kill the family dog and threaten Jason, his wife, Patty, and six-year-old son, Paul, with a similar fate. Then things get really exciting and fascinatingly believable as the Harper family splinters. Jason goes off with his idolized brother to confront an American official who can prove Roy's story, while the tougher, more pragmatic Patty reluctantly goes into hiding. DuBois has a way of taking stock characters-the endlessly resourceful hired killer, the mother who'll do anything to protect her child-and surprising us with fresh insights into their behavior. As we learn what happened to Roy and his fellow MIAs, and as the Harper brothers try to get the story out to the world via a New Hampshire TV station, readers who lived through the Vietnam era will be hard pressed not to be tightly gripped and moved to tears.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Three decades after his B-52 was shot down near Hanoi, Jason Harper's older brother, Roy, appears at Jason's door, bringing bucketloads of trouble. First, there are questions: Is the man at the door really Roy? If so, how did he survive for nearly 30 years as an MIA? Most pressing, however, is another kind of question: Why are Jason and his family apparently under siege from a group of unknown villains? DuBois' latest is something of a mixed bag. The premise-- ordinary man thrown into a world of deadly international intrigue--is clever, if not wildly original; the characters range from sympathetic (Jason in particular) to one-dimensional; the dialogue, similarly, jumps from perceptive to cliched. Yet the MIA issue is handled well, positing interesting scenarios concerning the fates of the more than 2,000 American soldiers who never returned from Vietnam but whose names did not appear on any list of prisoners. A workmanlike thriller in which the narrative can't quite support the subject matter. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Little Brown P/B; First Edition edition (April 17, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0751534188
• ISBN-13: 978-0751534184
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,336,745 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Brendan DuBois of New Hampshire is the award-winning author of twelve novels and more than 100 short stories. His latest novel, "Deadly Cove," will be published in July 2011 by St. Martin's Press. His short fiction has appeared in Playboy, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and numerous other magazines and anthologies including "The Best American Mystery Stories of the Century," published in 2000 by Houghton-Mifflin and edited by Tony Hillerman and Otto Penzler.

His short stories have twice won him the Shamus Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, and have also earned him three Edgar Allan Poe Award nominations from the Mystery Writers of America.

Visit his website at www.BrendanDuBois.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very competent thriller, February 26, 2004

By 

Larry Gandle (Tampa, Florida) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Betrayed (Hardcover)

After a disappearance of almost thirty years, Roy Harper rings the doorbell of his brother, Jason. Roy was MIA during the Vietnam war and has not been seen since. Before Roy could tell Jason what happened, two crazed assassins come to the house threatening the lives of not only Roy and Jason but Jason's wife and child. This sets up a cat and mouse scenario where Jason's family must try to hide while Jason and Roy go on one final mission. The problem for Jason is that he has no idea what they must do.
Brendan DuBois writes a very competent thriller. Suspense is created and sustained by alternate POVs. Characters are reasonably well sketched but villains are stereotypic. The problem is the length. The book really could have been cut over 100 pages. The bottom line is a very entertaining thriller and worthy of a reader's attention.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strong Stand Alone Thriller: Betrayed by Brendan Dubois, April 13, 2004

By 

Kevin Tipple (Plano, Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Betrayed (Hardcover)

In his latest novel, which is a stand-alone thriller and a break from his very enjoyable Lewis Cole series, the author uses the legacy of Vietnam MIA's as a backdrop and theme for an incredible story. As in his series work, individuals within the U.S. Government who seek to profit off of others are once again the target of the author's wrath as well as the fact that the MIA issue remains unsolved due to sheer political greed.

In 1972 Roy Harper was shot down over North Vietnam. He survived the crash, was listed as Missing In Action, and thirty years later arrives home and on his brother's doorstep. His brother, Jason Harper is married with a young son and is a small town newspaper editor as well as co owner of the small paper with his wife, Patty. When his brother arrives in the middle of the night seeking his help, Jason lets him in against the wishes of his wife who isn't convinced that the scruffy man is really Roy.

By doing so, Jason unleashes a wave of terror on his family and friends. Roy is a target of a hit squad with instructions to kill him as well as anyone he goes to seeking help. There simply can't be any record of his astounding story or any witnesses left alive. Roy, Jason, and his family are soon on the run with a determined team in their wake. Assuming they can stay alive long enough, it will be one heck of a story about the past and corruption at the highest levels of American government. But they need proof and there is at least one witness who knows all that must be found first. Then there is the question of whether Roy is really Roy as he claims or someone at random that has drawn them into his nightmare.

It is extremely tempting to attempt to draw links between these fictional characters in this 372-page novel and certain high profile public officials in and out of government service. Certain hints are planted in regards to some of the characters and one gets the feeling that a majority if not all of this book is a thinly fictionalized veil over the truth. If so, the fact that the events depicted or something similar could happen is appalling and if it got out and was proven true, would shake the foundations of American Government far more than anything that has happened in the past.

If it is fiction and nothing more than fiction, the book is reduced to being just an incredible read. Full of complex characters, intrigue, plot twists and plenty of action, it also reminds this reviewer of early Robert Ludlum work. This novel certainly deserves the "Thriller" designation even though it is not marketed as such. As in his other books, Brendan Dubois once again writes an intense character driven novel that is a very good read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great ride, August 15, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Betrayed (Hardcover)

The author knows how to spin a fantastic tale that always just skirts along the edge of totally believable. Unlike so many political "thrillers", this one feels like it could be true, and this is directly because of the author's ability to pull us along for the ride. He makes the mountains of New Hampshire ring with menace and intigue. It is a great book, and I heartily endorse it to anyone who doesnt want to get any sleep for a night or two!