Betrayal (33 page)

Finished, she looked up at her girls.

“You knew all along?” Hayley asked, incredulous that her mom was opening up.

Valerie nodded. “Yes, I knew,” she said, her voice full of emotion. “I've always known. You girls can see things . . . know things that other people can't.”

“Why didn't you talk to us about it?” Taylor asked. “Mom, you covered it up on the tape. On Savannah's tape we saw you. You hid our message. We gave Savannah a warning in alphabet letters, and you wiped it away.”

Valerie took a deep breath to steady herself. “It's because I love you that I didn't say anything. I was hoping it would go away.”

“Go away?” Taylor asked.

“Yes,” she said. “Like it did for me.”

TRUTH IN FICTION

WHILE THE CHARACTERS and the plot of
Betrayal
are fictional, elements of the storyline take some cues from a famous case involving the murder of a British girl in Perugia, Italy, and the subsequent conviction of an American student and her boyfriend for the crime.

Seattle native Amanda Knox was accused of the murder of her roommate and friend Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy—a crime committed on Halloween night in 2007. While Knox maintained her innocence, the Italian police and prosecutors thought otherwise. Most of the evidence against Knox in the beginning of the case were mischaracterizations of her behavior. She was seen making out with her boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, at the crime scene. She was caught on tape shopping for lingerie right after the murder as if she didn't have a care in the world. She did cartwheels in the halls at the police station. And so on.

The police theorized that the American student was an immoral girl who was involved in some kind of sex game gone wrong. And despite evidence that was severely compromised—or fabricated—Knox and her boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were convicted. The pair served four years of a twenty-six-year sentence in an Italian jail before their murder convictions were overturned on October 3, 2011. Subsequently, Knox returned to America.

Experts agree that bungled evidence at the scene of the crime and an international press corps bent on attacking Amanda's character for the sake of selling newspapers (her MySpace handle was “Foxy Knoxy”) contributed to her conviction.

For more information about the nonfiction behind the fiction in
Betrayal
, as well as a discussion guide and resources about the case, visit:
www.emptycoffnseries.com
.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I CAN'T SAY ENOUGH ABOUT the YA community of bloggers and readers who have made my foray into this exciting new genre the most wonderful part of my career as a writer. When I've been on tour, one of the questions that keeps coming up is, “What's the difference between YA readers and the readers of your adult fiction or true crime?” The answer is YOU. You bring the kind of curiosity and passion to the reading experience that is unique to your genre. (This doesn't matter if you're twelve or sixty.) While all of you who have interacted with me via e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, or in person have been an amazing gift, I am going to single out ten YA bloggers here because my publisher says I can only pick ten! Here they are (in no particular order, of course!): Bunny Cates, Haley Hagen, Amanda Welling, Stacey O'Neale, Lindsay Mead, Jennifer Derasmo, Evie Seo, Jennifer Stone, Liz Bankes, and Jillian Van Leer.

So much to say about the amazing and talented people at Sterling/Splinter—maybe
too
much! Katrina Damkoehler's design work takes my breath away. Her covers and the beautifully designed book interiors she's created for this series couldn't be more perfect in my eyes. My sincere thanks to Judi Powers, the best publicity person in the business (who also happens to have the cutest dog on the planet, next to my own, of course); Katie Connors, who knows her way around social media like no one else; and Director of Library Marketing Chris Vaccari, who hosted me at the Public Libraries Association convention in Philadelphia this year. Nothing's better than being in front of two hundred librarians! Thanks to Marilyn Kretzer and her foreign rights team for getting
Envy
into the hands of so many readers all over the world. Meaghan Finnerty and Scott Amerman: thanks so much for your hard work on behalf of the series. If I wore a hat, I'd take it off to Cindy Loh, my amazingly passionate (and skilled!) editor who loves each character in the series as much as I do. Cindy has now left Sterling for a brand-new challenge, so I want to say something here about Meredith Mundy, into whose capable hands
Betrayal
has landed. People in publishing often talk about how books are “orphaned” when an acquiring editor leaves and passes a project along to someone else—and how awful that can be. I am grateful for the care that Meredith has shown in this last leg of the journey of getting
Betrayal
in print. All along the process, she has made me feel that she cares about the characters, the spirit of the book, and making it the best it can be. That means a lot to readers, but it means even more to me. Thanks, Meredith.

I'd like to use this space to give a shout-out to Adrian Greenwood, UK Sales Director for Sterling, and his partner in crime on our UK tour, Andrea Reece, publicist extraordinaire. I will never forget the highs and lows of our visit in support of
Envy
last fall.
You both are amazing—Adrian, a charming host even when driving at 100 mph in the countryside—and Andrea, who has the texting skill of a teenager. Special thanks to Jo de Guia at Victoria Park Books, Sarah Marsh and Tricia Kings at My Voice, Christine Everett and Cheryl Siddall at Warrington Libraries, and Judy Hayton and Lucy Belanger at Lancashire County Libraries. Thanks to the Warrington Libronauts too!

There are many people to thank at the scene of the crime, Port Gamble, but first and foremost my appreciation goes to Shana Smith of Olympic Property Management, who has cheerfully supported the
Empty Coffin
series from its inception at the town's ghost conferences.

Cheers to my amazing fans, friends, and readers. At the top of the list for this series: Annette Anderson, Lori and Shane Jones, Ken Jensen, Eve Oney, Ruthanne Devlin, Jim Thomsen, Peter Raffa, Rebecca Morris, Susan Raihofer, Eric Thompson, Tina Marie Brewer, and Suri Marie.

One of the greatest honors of my career is the selection of the first book in the
Empty Coffin
series as Washington State's pick for the National Book Festival later this year. Thanks to Lori Thornton and the Washington State Library for choosing
Envy
to represent our great state.

While all of this is personal, I'd like to take a moment to go a little deeper and share my appreciation for family and friends who have been generally amazing over the years. Thanks to my brother Gary for caring for our father with kindness and humor. Dad is so lucky to have a son like you, Gary.

Finally, gratitude and love to my three girls—Claudia, my love and best critic (toughest for sure!), and our twin daughters, Marta and Morgan, whose existence reminds me every second of the day that the greatest gift of my life is being their father.

Throughout his career,
GREGG OLSEN
has demonstrated an ability to create a detailed narrative that offers readers fascinating insights into the lives of people (real or imagined) caught in extraordinary circumstances. A
New York Times
bestselling and award-winning author, Olsen has written eight novels and eight nonfiction books, and contributed a critically acclaimed short story to a collection edited by Lee Child—with sales of more than 1.5 million copies. Olsen's debut young adult novel,
Envy,
was selected to represent Washington State in the 2012 National Book Festival.

Olsen's books have been translated into ten languages.

The author has been interviewed on the History Channel, Learning Channel, Discovery Channel,
Good Morning America, The Early Show, The Today Show,
FOX News, CNN,
Anderson Cooper 360,
MSNBC,
Entertainment Tonight, 48 Hours,
Oxygen's
Snapped,
Court TV's
Crier Live, Inside Edition, Extra, Access Hollywood,
A&E's
Biography,
and was featured on
Mysteries at the Museum
and
Deadly Women.

Olsen, a Seattle native, lives in Olalla, Washington, with his wife, a couple of chickens, and two dogs: Milo (an obedience-challenged cocker spaniel) and Suri (a mini dachshund with a huge need to be in charge).

Praise for ENVY

“Gregg Olsen's
Envy
is a riveting page-turner that I could not put down. Like Jay Asher's
Thirteen Reasons Why
,
Envy
explores a serious topic—cyberbullying—in a fantastic, well-crafted story. Can't wait for the next
Empty Coffin
novel!”

—Nancy Holder,
New York Times
bestselling author of the
Wicked
saga and
Dear Bully
contributor

“Gregg Olsen's
Envy
offers an interesting view on the devastating effects bullying can have, not only on the individuals involved from both sides, but on the community at large.”

—Bree Despain, author of
The Dark Divine
trilogy

“Olsen's characters jump to life and his plots are so intricate you never see the killer coming. . . . [
Envy
] is a definite hit!”

—
RT Book Reviews

“Based on a flew real-life events, parts of
Envy
are completely true. . . . The twists and turns within the plot will surely keep you hooked on this book.”

—
GirlsLife.com

“This book's timeliness will give it relevance and appeal to teens who themselves regularly experience social ups and downs online . . . with its punchy prose, pop-culture references, and steady stream of unraveling clues.”

—
School Library Journal

“Olsen writes with authority, drawing inspiration from actual headlines and crime.”

—
Publishers Weekly

“A relatively gratifying examination of the complexity of connections in a close-knit community.”

—
Kirkus Reviews

“The material is sharp, funny and eerie.”

—Eric Thompson, Vigilante Entertainment

“Inspired by a true crime about cyberbullying, this will definitely appeal to the many young people who enjoy this genre.”

—Annie Everall, Youth Libraries Group

“Intelligent, multi-layered and very addictive.”

—Jenny Downham, author of the critically acclaimed
Before I Die

“This is truly an attention grabbing read.”

—
Tattered Cover Book Blog

“#1—Top Unique Cover of 2011!”

—
YA-Aholic

“It gave me some of the biggest chills and some of the biggest surprises I have ever read. . . . An intense story of mystery, envy, thrill, and betrayal.”

—
YA-Aholic

“
Envy
defies expectations of YA novels.”

—
Shooting Stars Mag

“
Envy
is a must-read; just make sure you're not home alone when you read this one!”

—
Chick Litaholic

“A thrilling ride of a book.”

—
Totally Bookalicious

“Readers of creeptastic books will highly enjoy this one.”

—
Night Owl Reviews

“Each chapter kept me wanting more.”

—
YA Booktwins

“
Envy
is refreshingly bold with its themes. . . . A new, addictive series!”

—
Hippies, Beauty & Books. Oh My!

“A fresh new voice that expertly encompasses all of the elements of a ‘can't put the book down' mystery mixed with all of the things we love about YA novels.”

—
X-treme Readers

“An excellent book which kept me guessing until the very end.”

—
Bookbabblers

GO MOBILE!

To access bonus content for BETRAYAL, download Microsoft's free Tag Reader on your smartphone at
www.gettag.mobi
. Then use your phone to take a picture of the bar code below to get exclusive extras about Hayley, Taylor, and other characters from the EMPTY COFFIN series, as well as more