This was a slow burn thriller drama with an interesting premise. It was well written, and was the perfect length for me to read in one sitting.

Some of it seemed a bit far fetched but I still found it to be an enjoyable read.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this E-book to review via Netgalley.

#ThePact #NetGalley #DawnGoodwin
Failed relationships lead to two women befriending each other and drunkenly “agreeing” to a ‘I’ll kill yours if you kill mine’ pact. What could possibly go wrong ? It wasn’t a cliff hanging, nail biting, on the edge of my seat thriller but .. I enjoyed it. It wasn’t a dark story, I found it quite an easy read and i was keen to know how things turned out which kept me turning the pages. Despite some of the story being a little far fetched - what new partner has the recently axed wife round for dinner every week ? - I found it to be an enjoyable read.

Before I write anything else, I need to address the elephant in the novel…

Maybe you read the blurb and thought: ‘Strangers on a Train’. I did.

This book is not inspired by Strangers on a Train; this book IS Strangers on a Train with Snapchat. So much so that I honestly think the cover should read by Dawn Goodwin and Patricia Highsmith. The plot moves more slowly than Highsmith’s but there is no real deviation until past the 90% mark.

Maddie’s husband, Greg, has left her for his PA, Gemma, who is now the mother of his child, Jemima. However, Maddie is happy to move around the corner into a flat Greg has bought for her so she can be near her unconventional family (Maddie’s words). They now live in what was once her beautiful home and invite her to Sunday lunch. This extremely strange situation is sort of explained away by the fact that Maddie could never have children, which led to her marriage breaking down, and she longs to be part of little Jemima’s life. Honestly, I hate to say it, but I found myself feeling sorry for Gemma in this situation.

Given Maddie’s almost obsessive need to be near children, she sees her new neighbour, Jade, with three-year-old Ben and immediately wants to befriend her. They get drunk together, Jade suggests they kill each other’s exes, ha ha ha, that’s such a good idea but you must be joking… And so, it continues.

Can you still enjoy this book if you haven’t read Strangers or seen the film? Yes... maybe. However, the pace slows significantly around the middle and you are left wondering if there are in fact going to be any attempts at murder. I was lucky enough to have a free day to dedicate to reading this book otherwise I might have felt the middle section dragging a lot more had I spaced out my reading over a few days.

As for the ending, after a long stretch of not much happening it felt a bit rushed and the ‘surprises’ didn’t really come as a surprise at all. Also, I know it’s fiction but I’m sure there would have been some legal issues in real life with the ending.

I know I received an unedited ARC but… A couple of doubts: When did Greg and Gemma have time to redecorate if Maddie literally just moved out and had never lived anywhere else by herself? And: Maddie’s 38 and I assume this is 2020 but she watched Friends in the 1990s as a newlywed, yet they married after uni. No… It’s not working out for me.

I’m afraid I can’t rate this book any higher because there are so many thrillers out there today and not all of them are very original, but this one has literally been done before.

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC of #ThePact