Pulled over in America? When you’re white, you might get a ticket. When you’re black, you might end up dead.In a fictional Michigan town, a man is pulled over by the local police. The driver wonders: “What did I do wrong?” The officer asks for I.D.; the driver casually mentions he legally carries a gun. The officer panics—confusion reigns—shots ring out—an innocent man lays bleeding to death and … death and the incident is captured on video.
The shooting becomes the national headline—the dead man is black—the shooter is white. A community is thrown into chaos. Protestors on both sides of the racial divide take to the streets.
A widow struggles to make sense of senseless tragedy. She turns to high-profile trial lawyer, Zachary Blake. Together, they dare to fight city hall. Will police lie to protect the status quo?
”Small Great Things” meets “The Hate U Give” in Mark M. Bello’s explosive new social justice legal thriller, Betrayal in Black.
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This is my third of the six Bello books and all of them are extremely interesting from beginning to end. This one, however, was the hardest of the three to read. The premise is very familiar and somewhat harrowing still. It reminded me of the death of Philandro Castile on July 6, 2016.
While being a work of fiction, the details are all there. With this kind of story there can only be a bittersweet ending. Happy endings are wonderful, but in most cases, not particularly realistic.
Human life is life’s most precious gift anyone can receive, and not everyone is afforded that beautiful opportunity. Others will never be old while still others will live to be like Susannah Mushatt Jones (116) and Jeanne Calment (122).
The story did a very good job to differentiate between the people out for their own gain and those who actually cared for and took care of the others around them. Zachary Blake is written well and the character’s progression through the series is consistent and complex.
I also enjoyed the nuances of the story. Several people die along the way in the story and the deepest cut for me was that, automatically, everyone who did die was immediately politically categorized and sectioned off into separate groups. Human life is beautiful. Why must we segregate things like political playing cards, pulling the right one at the right time?
It was a good book. Another thing that struck me was that it was published pre-2020 and yet, is all the more relevant as the days go by.
I am volunteering an honest review for the benefit of others.
Betrayal in Black, book 4 in the Zach Blake series is another incredible read! Each book in the series handles a different topic, this book centers around the issue of race and I appreciate the author’s ability to handle race with objectivity and sensitivity. This book felt more emotional than the others.
I have really enjoyed reading a series that is full of suspense, action, and drama that is centered around current events. Knowing how to handle a situation and see the point of views from all sides is important and being able to get that in a novel is incredible. This is a wonderful way to create conversation.
Mark M. Bello knows how to craft characters that are perfect for his, often realistic feeling, story. He is able to convey feeling, drama, excitement, fear, twists, and suspense to move the story forward to a satisfying conclusion.
Highly recommend!!
Mark M. Bello’s Betrayal series covers attorney Zack Blake and a series of cases pertinent to the political and social environment today.
This novel is about a white cop stopping a black man, pulling him over because “he didn’t fit it” in the neighborhood. The officer claimed that he was stopping the car because the passengers resembled suspects in an robbery. The only resemblance was that they were black. This novel examines the trauma in a community when the police aren’t trusted to behave appropriately and when things are racially motivated.
Bello’s novels are very timely in light of our current environment. I think his works are an important statement on our world and give a great perspective, although the novels are just novels, and can have a judgmental feel to them.
#BetrayalInBlack # MarkMBello
Mark M. Bello is a bold author that is attuned to the conflicts that trouble the American people. Betrayal in Black is the novel that affects everyone. We all have powerful feelings about the rights of all Americans, and Mark M. Bello puts it in your face as an attorney would. Zachary Blake handles his hardest case yet, defending an American whose husband was killed by a police officer. Was this a racial act or a nervous cop doing his job? Will this case be tried fairly without all the groups jumping on a bandwagon for their agenda?
Betrayal in Black sits close to home as our country faces similar trials. Mark M. Bello is fierce in his writing. His characters face tremendous obstacles and walk on a thin line of justice. Zachary Blake is an aggressive champion of justice whose powerful and resourceful team step-up to recover the truth. Overall, I love reading novels from this author. This book stirs up emotions, yet seizes your attention. I can’t wait to read Betrayal High.
Mark M Bello once again manages to touch such strong topics with his stories, with such 2020’s problems; the police force, the racism, the justice system, the despair of the families; this book is heartbreaking, the living situation in the US only makes this book more real.
A black man has been shot in front of his family, in any other circumstances police would have just pull them over and let them go, but this time, the wrong color, the wrong word choices is what pulls the trigger and makes this story the living mirror of the situation in US news. This book was perfectly executed by an amazing author.
The plot of this book regarding police brutality against people of colour is obviously a very delicate subject and has been portrayed perfectly by Mark M. Bello. The lead up to the event gives a real sense of impending doom and the emotive writing following this really gets under your skin. The suspense and unpredictability of the story creates so much tension. Another brilliant book from this author.
These books have been a favourite of mine from the beginning of the series. Amazing crime thrillers with stories that feel like they have been plucked straight from the news. This one especially will hit hard for most because of the current situation in the U.S. and all around the world. This is a heartbreaking read and will evoke strong emotions in everyone that reads it without exception. Giving readers the chance to see points of view from all sides is Bello’s speciality and although everyone has their stance on such a topic it can still be eye-opening to get a different view, from a family unjustly torn apart to a police officer dealing with the guilt and remorse of the murder he has committed. I can’t recommend this book highly enough.
Michigan author Mark M. Bello is an attorney and a justice advocate, having earned his BA in English Literature from Oakland University and his law degree form Thomas M. Cooley Law School. He spent forty years in the courtroom with high profile legal cases, and now offers his knowledge on his website Legal Examiner and Injury Board writing posts about safety, fairness and justice in the civil justice system. Mark consolidates his experiences in this series of novels – THE ZACHARY BLAKE LEGAL THRILLERS, of which BETRAYAL IN BLACK is Book 4.
One reason Mark M Bello’s legal thriller series is so absorbing is the manner in which he draws parallels to contemporary controversies. In this series Bello has tackled the Church and clergy sexual abuse, white supremacists and the President of the US, law enforcement, and now racism. Though this book was written in 2019, it is uncanny how prescient are the author’s observations in novel format – ideas that are currently consuming the media and our minds and lives at this moment in time with BLM.
By now, those who follow the Zachary Blake legal thrillers know the primary characters and the unique mode of communicating a story line that make these books so memorable: the need for introductions is less important, but Bello adds new personnel in this volume and in doing so stirs even more reflective thoughts!
The synopsis is a fine guide for this fast paced story – ‘Pulled over in America? When you’re white, you might get a ticket. When you’re black, you might end up dead. In a fictional Michigan town, a man is pulled over by the local police. The driver wonders: “What did I do wrong?” The officer asks for I.D.; the driver casually mentions he legally carries a gun. The officer panics—confusion reigns—shots ring out—an innocent man lays bleeding to death and the incident is captured on video. The shooting becomes the national headline—the dead man is black—the shooter is white. A community is thrown into chaos. Protestors on both sides of the racial divide take to the streets. A widow struggles to make sense of senseless tragedy. She turns to high-profile trial lawyer, Zachary Blake. Together, they dare to fight city hall. Will police lie to protect the status quo?’ And once again the story rings true, especially in view of contemporary news.
After reading the first three volumes, the central character Zachary Blake is now a substantial legal hero, and the manner in which master craftsman Bello manipulates his character’s movement and development is a witness to both the depth of his legal knowledge and his eloquent prose. The language is appropriate for each character, and the manner in which the multiple characters interweave is mesmerizing. This legal thriller series is of the first caliber! Highly recommended.
All of Mark M. Bello’s book reference current events, but ‘Betrayal in Black’ could have been taken straight from the news. A black man has been shot and killed in front of his family by a white police officer in a traffic stop. His widow Sarah wants justice for her husband and approaches lawyer Zachary Blake to sue the police. But, in a country where a blatantly xenophobic and racist man sits in the oval office, will the justice system really be n her side.
This novel draws attention to institutional racism, the uncertain political climate, and most importantly to the Black Lives Matter Movement. The plot was confronting, honest, and uncompromising, whilst still managing to handle the difficult subject sensitively.
I’ve read all four of the ‘Betrayal’ series of books in a little under a week, and I’m not sure how I’m going to wait until August for the next installment, but it is definitely on pre-order.
This has got to be the most hard-hitting and emotive book of the series and not just because of the current situation in the U.S. right now. Before I even started this I knew it was going to be a difficult book to read and Bello captures the events and the heartbreak so well. The story is told through different perspectives like the others in the series and it creates such devastating and unsettling feelings that stay with you until the end, and beyond that because this is more than just a fictional story. You won’t regret reading this.
Terrific novel about the number one issue in America today— a lawyer’s solid critique on police killings of innocent black men. After the incident occurs, what will the criminal and civil justice systems do to preserve justice for all involved?
*****
Great characters, chilling and realistic tale. On topic with the number one social justice issue of our day. “Murder by Cop” from a lawyer’s perspective—5 Stars!