YOU BETRAYED ME

 4 stars out of 5

This is a book with no really likable characters, which means

two things to me: First, it's a rare opportunity to root for a bad guy (or gal), and second, I really didn't care who got bumped off.

This is the third in the author's "Cahills" series, but it's my first; that said, I never felt as if I should have known something that wasn't here, meaning it stands alone just fine as far as I'm concerned. The Cahills, for the record, are obscenely rich; most of the remaining family, whose lives are riddled with scandals of various kinds, reside in the San Francisco area. One son, James, is a relatively successful businessman in Washington state; he expects to inherit a bundle of dough at some not-too-distant point. And he is the central player in this book.

Speaking of players, James is an active participant when it comes to romance. As the book begins, he's trying to divest himself of current girlfriend Megan - sister of Rebecca, with whom he (gasp!) had a prior fling. Megan has learned that she's being cast off for Sophia, another young beauty, and she's none too happy. But suddenly, Megan goes missing - and James wakes up in the hospital with fairly serious injuries but no recollection of how he got them. Even when he gets a visit from Sophia, he doesn't remember who she is (or so he claims).

Detective Brett Rivers and his partner, Wynona Mendoza, are charged with solving the case and finding the still-missing Megan. The only sure thing at this point is that they aren't convinced that James isn't faking his memory loss. Megan's sister Rebecca breezes in from her Seattle home - Megan was on her way there when she and her car disappeared - and she's determined to find her sister with or without help from the detectives.

The chase goes on - and on - and it takes several tantalizing directions before the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, is revealed. All told, it's an action-packed adventure that kept my mind off political rhetoric for a wonderful half-dozen hours or so. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for providing me with an advance copy to read and review.

You Betrayed Me by Lisa Jackson (Kensington Books, October 2020); 470 pp.