Official Review: Betrayal in Black by Mark M. Bello

[Melchi Asuma]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Betrayal in Black" by Mark M. Bello.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Betrayal in Black, by Mark M. Bello, is a weird novel. This is because it is a legal thriller with no antagonist. The antagonist recognized, admitted, and repented of his mistake quite early in the book, almost immediately it was done. What's even weirder is that the book still reads quite nicely even without the presence of the antagonist.

Marcus Hayes is shot in his car by officer Randy Jones during what the officer expected would be a routine traffic stop. The murder was filmed by Marcus' wife, Sarah Hayes, and was also captured on the officer's body cam. This murder brings a lot of questions, including the question of racial discrimination since Marcus was black and Jones was white. The widow, Sarah Hayes, believes that her husband was killed because of his race. Attorney Zachary Blake gets involved when the widow seeks his help to sue the city and police department. However, in a strange twist of events, Jones commits suicide. This does nothing to stop Blake and Sarah from seeking justice for Marcus. The book explores major themes surrounding racism and the use of excessive force by police officers on citizens. It raises major discussions which seem to work for a while but, in a final twist, things go back to how they were before.

I have always loved Mark's books. He has a way of narrating a story that makes it seem as if you are there. He transports you to a world where everything is possible if you have Zachary Blake as your attorney. This was the main thing that drove me to pick up this book. Having read Betrayal of Faith and Betrayal of Justice, I had very high expectations of this novel which, for the most part, were met.

However, I disliked the idea of killing off the antagonist and making all the characters agree. Even though racial killings are a sensitive topic, some people have conflicting ideas. This was not depicted in this book as everyone seemed to come together and agree. It made the story monotonous and a bit boring, to be frank. Also, the author portrayed the main characters as superhuman. Despite being only six years old, Aisha Hayes managed to escape from his abductors all on her own. That is very impractical. The impracticality and illogical nature of the novel was the one part I disliked most about it.

Regardless, I did enjoy reading the book. Mark is a great writer who knows how to tell a great story. I found no grammatical errors which I attributed to the professional editing of the book. I felt that a 3 out of 4 stars rating fits this book. It shall be enjoyed by lovers of legal thrillers.

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Betrayal in Black
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[AvidBibliophile]

Racial discrimination, questionable law tactics, loaded legal complexities, and murder?! I've never read any of Mark's other books, but he certainly sounds like an author worth checking out. Thanks for this thoughtful review!