Loyalty & Betrayal

The texts in this thematic collection organized around the idea of Loyalty & Betrayal range from Dennis Lehane's Mystic River to Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Sweat. But each book explores the idea in its own way, revealing the intricate ways we may maintain loyalty at all costs — or test the bonds of family and friend relationships through deep betrayal.

The Rose Code

by Kate Quinn

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Femininity, Teamwork, Friendship, Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger, Science & Technology, Trust & Doubt

Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, Gender & Feminism, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Military & War, World History, Romance

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The Ruins of Gorlan

by John Flanagan

Publication year 2004

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Death, Loyalty & Betrayal, Friendship, Safety & Danger, Coming of Age, Fame, Revenge, Memory, Childhood & Youth, The Past, Education, Animals, Fear, Good & Evil, War, Fathers, Perseverance, Conflict, Wins & Losses, Nation, Self Discovery

Tags Fantasy, Children`s Literature, Action & Adventure, Social Class

In The Ruins of Gorlan, a Medieval adventure-fantasy novel for middle-grade readers, young Will learns the arts of the secretive Ranger tracker-warriors and defends his kingdom against an evil baron. Released in 2004 by author John Flanagan, The Ruins of Gorlan won multiple awards, spawned the bestselling Ranger Apprentice book series, and has been published in 18 countries. A television adaptation is in the works.Following a long career in advertising, author Flanagan shifted to book... Read The Ruins of Gorlan Summary

The Runaway Jury

by John Grisham

Publication year 1996

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Revenge, Economics, Politics & Government, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed, Truth & Lies

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense

The Runaway Jury is a 1996 legal thriller by author, lawyer, and former politician John Grisham. Grisham has written 50 consecutive #1 best-selling novels that have been translated into 50 languages. Grisham has won the Library of Congress Creative Achievement Award for Fiction and won the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction twice. The Runaway Jury was adapted into a 2003 film, one of the seven Grisham novels that have been made into movies. The... Read The Runaway Jury Summary

The Sacrifice

by Shantel Tessier

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Revenge, Sexual Identity, Loyalty & Betrayal

Shantel Tessier’s 2023 novel, The Sacrifice, is a dark revenge romance set in a violent fantasy world where patriarchal power and wealth are inherited, and loyalty is forged through brutality. The story follows Laikyn Minson, who on her wedding day is forced into an arranged marriage with the ruthless Tyson Crawford, a powerful member of an organization known as the Lords. Tyson’s motives are not love but a long-simmering revenge plot against Laikyn’s family. He... Read The Sacrifice Summary

The Sandman Omnibus Vol. 1

by Neil Gaiman

Publication year 2015

Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Fiction

Themes Family, Truth & Lies, Apathy, Conflict, Forgiveness, Hate & Anger, Loneliness, Love, Revenge, Shame & Pride, Gender Identity, Sexual Identity, Loyalty & Betrayal, Literature, Justice, Fate

Tags Fantasy, Horror & Suspense, Arts & Culture, Love & Sexuality, Grief & Death

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The School for Scandal

by Richard Brinsley Sheridan

Publication year 1777

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Social Class, Love, Loyalty & Betrayal, Truth & Lies

Tags Classic Fiction, Comedy & Satire

The School for Scandal is a comedy of manners written by Richard Sheridan. The play was initially performed at the Drury Lane Theater in 1777. Though the play premiered well into the 18th century, it is often included in collections of Restoration comedies (1660-1710), as it shares many common elements with the comedies of manners from that period and the period immediately following it. Like many comedies of manners, The School for Scandal relies on... Read The School for Scandal Summary

The Secret Hours

by Mick Herron

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Truth & Lies, Loyalty & Betrayal, Memory, Conflict, The Past, Politics & Government, Order & Chaos

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction, Psychological Fiction, European History, Cold War

Mick Herron’s 2023 spy thriller, The Secret Hours, is a standalone origin story within his acclaimed Slough House universe. The novel unfolds along two timelines connected by a decades-old conspiracy. In the present, a politically motivated government inquiry into the British secret service is paralyzed by bureaucratic infighting until a mysterious file from 1994 Berlin is anonymously leaked. The file’s contents trigger a violent manhunt for a long-retired asset living in rural England, forcing him... Read The Secret Hours Summary

The Secret Place

by Tana French

Publication year 2014

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed, Hate & Anger, Shame & Pride, Femininity, Death, Appearance & Reality, Social Class, Truth & Lies

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Irish Literature, Coming of Age

Written by Irish American author Tana French, The Secret Place (2014) combines elements of thrillers and police procedurals and follows Dublin detectives Stephen Moran and Antoinette Conway as they pursue new leads in a year-old murder case on the grounds of a private Catholic boarding school. As the detectives sort through hidden pieces of evidence and conflicting stories, they interview two groups of female students who provide only partial, often conflicting stories. The murder victim... Read The Secret Place Summary

The Secrets We Kept

by Lara Prescott

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Self Discovery, Sexual Identity, Politics & Government, Literature, Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Historical Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Russian Literature, World History

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These Hollow Vows

by Lexi Ryan

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Hope, Love, Gender Identity, Appearance & Reality, Siblings, Self Discovery, Politics & Government, Good & Evil, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed, Truth & Lies

Tags Fantasy, Romance

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The Septembers Of Shiraz

by Dalia Sofer

Publication year 2007

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Religion & Spirituality, Loyalty & Betrayal, Social Class, Safety & Danger, Art, The Past, Fear, Nation, Nostalgia

Tags Historical Fiction, World History, Arts & Culture, Middle Eastern Literature, Realistic Fiction, Life-Inspired Fiction, Incarceration, Middle Eastern History, Trauma & Abuse, Politics & Government, Jewish Literature

The Septembers of Shiraz (2007), a novel by Iranian writer Dalia Sofer, recounts the experiences of the Amins, an Iranian Jewish family, during the Iranian Revolution in the late 1970s. The book is closely based on Sofer’s family history: When Sofer was 10, her family fled Iran, crossing the border to Turkey with the help of smugglers. The Septembers of Shiraz depicts the changing atmosphere and events that characterize the treatment of the wealthy class... Read The Septembers Of Shiraz Summary

These Summer Storms

by Sarah MacLean

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Grief, Hate & Anger, Love, Death, The Past, Place, Family, Fathers, Mothers, Siblings, Self Discovery, Social Class, Fame, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Romance

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The Shards

by Bret Easton Ellis

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Sexual Identity, Hate & Anger, Coming of Age, Gender Identity, Mental Health, Childhood & Youth, The Past, Social Class, Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Psychological Fiction, LGBTQ+

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The Shoemaker's Wife

by Adriana Trigiani

Publication year 2012

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Family, Fate, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Hope, Joy, Memory, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Midlife, Death, Future, The Past, Animals, Place, Marriage, Mothers, Self Discovery, Community, Economics, Immigration, Politics & Government, War, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Trust & Doubt

Tags Historical Fiction, Romance

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The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber

by Ernest Hemingway

Publication year 1936

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Loyalty & Betrayal, Guilt, Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fate, Shame & Pride, Safety & Danger, Marriage

Tags Classic Fiction, American Literature, Education, Education, US History

“The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” is a short story by American author Ernest Hemingway that was first published in Cosmopolitan in 1936. It explores themes of power and dominance, courage and cowardice, and the nature of masculinity. The story details a hunting party and love triangle in which a husband, a wife, and their hired huntsman struggle for dominance and power over one another. This guide references the collection The Snows of Kilimanjaro... Read The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber Summary

The Silent Patient

by Alex Michaelides

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

The Silent Patient (2019) is a contemporary psychological thriller from author Alex Michaelides. It tells the story of Alicia, who killed her husband, Gabriel, six years earlier—and hasn’t spoken since. The bulk of the novel takes place in the present-day, narrated by Theo Faber, a forensic psychoanalyst who recently began working with Alicia at The Grove, the psychiatric hospital where she resides following Gabriel’s murder. The novel uses the epistolary technique, interspersing Theo’s narrative with... Read The Silent Patient Summary