Review - Mask of the Betrayer - Dark Mystery, Brutal Content

Mask of the Betrayer - Sharon Ann Donovan

Beneath all the bright lights, glitter, and glamour of Las Vegas beats the heart of a sociopath.  In most novels you have to wait until the end for the “whodunit,” but in Mask of the Betrayer, you know who from the beginning, but must keep reading to learn why he’s killing off all his family members, and how someone is going to finally stop him.

Michael Deveccio is a billionaire who wants for nothing.  He has it all, or so it seems.  Raised by Uncle Carlos who fell victim to the very method of killing he taught his nephew, Michael is the sole heir to the Deveccio Dynasty.  All he needs is the perfect wife to bear a son to carry on the kingdom.

 Poor Margot Montgomery has no idea the type of man she’s fallen for  and marries.  Their castle-like home is filled with all the demented memorabilia that proves Uncle Carlos’ warped mind, but Michael seems to cherish everything about his uncle. His devotion to family only deepens her respect for her new hubby.

Michael worhips the ground Margot walks on, at least in the beginning, and having a family tops his list of immediate desires.  Margot is pressed to have a son.  A daughter wouldn't be good enough to head the family business; he must have a male heir. She has a career of her own and isn't in a hurry to become a mother, but Michael's insistence that she'll never want for anything carries some merit.  Margot has moments when she doubts her husband’s motives and suspects him of foul play, but his charm assuages her fear.  Too bad, there’s a death star in his pocket with her name on it, along with the signature mask he leaves on all his victims.

Mask of the Betrayer is filled with so many twists, turns and surprises, you’ll be hooked from the first chapter.  An amazing cast of characters lend to the tension and suspense, and even if you read with an editorial eye, you probably won’t mind that the POV shifts from one paragraph to another in places.  Supposedly, only NY-rated writers could pull this off, but Ms. Donovan proves that rumor to be a fallacy.  If forced to nitpick, one might find Michael’s “tapping of his cigarette three times” to become rather redundant along with a few places where you’ll find  repeated information, but the pace of the story moves so quickly, you‘ll just absorb it again and keep reading.  Trust that you won’t be disappointed with Ms. Donovan’s captive and descriptive style.  Be warned, this story is not for the squeamish.  If you don’t like violence and mayhem, this isn’t for you, but if it fits the bill for you....dig in.  

You can find this book for sale at Whimsical Publications.

You can find out more about this awesome author on her website.