The Advocate's Betrayal

The Advocate Series Book 2

Fiction - Mystery - General
319 Pages
Reviewed on 10/28/2015
Buy on Amazon

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Author Biography

Teresa Burrell has dedicated her life to helping children and their families in both the courtroom and the classroom.

As an attorney in San Diego, Burrell maintained a private law practice for twelve years, which specialized in domestic, criminal, and civil cases. Her work in juvenile court focused on representing abused minors and juvenile delinquents. Burrell has received several awards and special recognition from the San Diego Volunteer Lawyers for her countless hours of pro bono work with children and their families.

Burrell has also enjoyed a satisfying career as a teacher. She has taught children of all ages with diverse backgrounds and special needs. After creating an after-school program that kept kids off the street, she received a community service award.

Now in semi-retirement in California, Burrell continues to educate groups about social issues impacting children and write novels, many of which are inspired by actual legal cases. She is the author of The Advocate Series which now contains thirteen novels: The Advocate is the first in The Advocate Series. I have twelve more, The Advocate's Betrayal, The Advocate's Conviction, The Advocate’s Dilemma, The Advocate’s Ex Parte, The Advocate’s Felony, The Advocate’s Geocache, The Advocate’s Homicides, The Advocate's Illusion, The Advocate's Justice, The Advocate’s Killer, The Advocate's Labyrinth, and The Advocate's Memory. I have also started a second series with a character named Tuper who first appeared in Book #6, The Advocate's Felony. Those books are Mason's Missing, Finding Frankie and Recovering Rita.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

The Advocate’s Betrayal: The Advocate Series, Book 2 is a legal thriller written by Teresa Burrell. When the phone rang at four in the morning, Sabre Brown didn’t expect good news, but she was still shattered when her friend, Betty, told her that her husband, John, had been stabbed. Betty and John were special for Sabre, more like an aunt and uncle than simply good friends. Her boyfriend, Luke, who was staying overnight at her apartment, was also friends with the couple and accompanied her to their trailer. Betty was alone there, in a semi-hysterical state and covered with blood, but Sabre was concerned to find that Betty had not yet called the police. The police arrived minutes after Sabre called 911, and Detective Gregory Nelson, who Sabre knew from her work as an attorney, was in charge of the case. He was also perplexed by Betty’s failure to call the police and asked her to accompany him to the police station. Sabre realized what an ordeal an official questioning would be for her grief-stricken friend, but, as an attorney, she understood the process that a criminal investigation would entail -- and she was determined to help Betty prove her innocence every step of the way.

Teresa Burrell’s legal thriller, The Advocate’s Betrayal, is the second book in her The Advocate Series; however, new readers will find that the author has included enough background to enable them to enjoy reading this story on its own. I was fascinated by the progression the story took and particularly enjoyed seeing how Sabre, her private investigator and the police work to determine who murdered John Smith. The story also continues the focus on Sabre Brown’s work as an advocate for children and caregivers in the Juvenile Court System and explores the concept of freedom of speech in a compelling manner. This is a well-written and absorbing story I found quite difficult to put down until I had turned the last page. Burrell’s characters are sharply defined and authentic, and her plot is well-constructed and compelling. The Advocate’s Betrayal is highly recommended.

Michelle Randall

As a lawyer in juvenile court, Sabre Brown's job is to represent the children that are being or have been removed from their parents' care. As their advocate, she is a tough cookie and good at what she does, along with her best friend Bob. When she gets an early morning phone call from her friend Betty that her husband John is dead, and then when Betty is arrested for his murder, Sabre takes a crash course in legal matters to represent her friend. No matter what she asks, Betty is hiding something. The Advocate's Betrayal is the story of what happens when the people you think you know are not actually the people you know at all; everyone has secrets, some of them kept for good reasons and others not so good. Author Teresa Burrell gives readers a second book in the series of Sabre's life, focusing on the juvenile court and the legal system with lots of twists and turns. There are even a couple of side cases thrown in to make it more interesting.

The Advocate's Betrayal, as the title indicates, tells you that someone is going to do something wrong to Sabre, so you are looking at everyone you meet with a critical eye. Some are people from the last book and some are new. You don't know if they are in her personal life or the court cases, so you are really scrutinizing everyone. It makes the book that much harder to put down. Author Teresa Burrell does a wonderful job of bringing to life the people in the book; the ones we like, the ones we don't care for, and the ones we hate! Just as in the first book, she twists the plot, intertwining characters that shouldn't be connected together in the most of intimate of ways. As a legal suspense novel, you get the police, the lawyers, the private investigator, and the mob in this book. It a great story for all readers. There is some off scene sex and violence, but nothing graphic.

Janelle Fila

The Advocate's Betrayal (The Advocate Series Book 2) by Teresa Burrell is the second book in an intriguing legal thriller and mystery. When Sabre Orin Brown's friend dies, his wife is accused of the murder. There are few clues in this intriguing case, but Sabre is convinced in her search for the truth. She doesn't care what secrets her digging reveals, even if her client refuses to assist in the search for the real killer. With the help of Bob, her co-counsel, and JP, her private eye, Sabre starts on a harrowing journey that travels across the country in search of the truth that someone wanted buried so badly that they killed a man to cover it up.

This is an interesting thriller with a lot of mystery and intrigue that fans of the genre will enjoy. The author's expertise as a child advocate is clear in her well-written description of the law. The characters are multi-dimensional and are developed in such a way that readers will feel as if they are actually listening to a real person's story. The plot was full of adrenaline and will make readers laugh at times before flipping a page and crying at tender, emotional scenes. These emotional connections create a really strong bond between readers and the characters and help them relate to the characters that much more. The settings were beautifully described and I loved how the story took readers across the country on a wild ride.