The Pact

Intense thriller about a group of friends where nothing is what it seems. I highly recommend this book it was extremely fast paced plot was involved and the characters were realistic.

The Queen of the psychological thriller, Sharon Bolton, serves up her latest delicious and irresistible novel examining the nature of love and friendship amongst a close knit group of young friends, experiencing the golden summer of drink and drugs after the end of their A level exams at the exclusive All Souls School in Oxford. They are certain, after their life of privileges, of the glittering futures awaiting them, nothing stands in their way, the world at their feet. They are members of the senior prefect team, with the cleverest and beautiful 18 year old Megan serving as head girl, and unlike the others, a scholarship girl from an impoverished single parent family. For her, Felix, Xav, Amber, Daniel and Talitha, their lives stand to burn and shatter into tiny pieces one night when a dare goes hideously wrong, resulting in the deaths of GP and mother, Sophie and her two young daughters, Lily and Maisie.

It is Megan who comes forward, offering to take the blame, leaving the others free to fulfil their hopes and dreams for their futures. In return, she wants a non-negotiable favour from each of them on release from prison, and their support through the ordeal, although none of them forsee the devastating 20 year prison sentence and national vilification that Megan receives. Surely, given what Megan has sacrificed for them, the group will support Megan? 20 years later, the 5 have carved successful careers, Amber is a junior minister, Tal is a senior partner in a law firm, Felix is a self made millionaire industrialist, Xav is an investment banker, all married, some with children, and Daniel is now the head of All Souls, with a Doctorate in Classics, living as a lay monk in religious order. They have all had to live in the heart of darkness, the fear, guilt and shame, tainted by the awareness of their personal shortcomings, they have not been left untouched by their actions of so long ago.

When Megan is released, physically in a poor state, having endured two decades of a nightmare of untold suffering, unsurprisingly she is no longer the friend they remember, as she comes to collect on the promise of their favours. They have everything to lose, how far will they go to protect themselves? Once again, Bolton gives us a brilliantly atmospheric, twisty, malevolent, riveting and disturbing thriller, beautifully plotted, maybe not perfect, particularly the end, but which had me enthralled from beginning to end, with a growing sense of dread in the pit of my stomach as the nature of each in the group, the drama and the reality of their friendships are slowly revealed. I particularly appreciated the rich description of the salvage yard with its weeping Angel. This is a cracking read that Bolton's legion of fans are likely to love and adore, and if you have never read her, this is a great place to start! Highly recommended! Many thanks to Orion for an ARC.

This is another stonker of a novel by an incredible author. I love Sharon’s way of writing, the subtleties that you might miss but often build into something more. I loved it.