The Pact: A dark and compulsive thriller about secrets, privilege and revenge

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I loved this creepy, twisty, compelling read. Sharon Bolton is the queen of ultra-tense, claustrophobic stories and characters you care about even though they are far from snow white. Needless to say I did not see the ending coming.— Cressida McLaughlin In The Pact, it is a moment of stupidity that destroys the golden future of my six characters. Fuelled by alcohol, drugs and an arrogant belief in their own invincibility, they give into a moment of mindlessness, and their actions lead to the deaths of three people. In a heartbeat, everything is changed and my six young friends have gone from the crest of the mountain to scrambling in the dirt at the very bottom. As I was writing, my son (the same age as the characters in the book) was coming to the end of his time there , and so there is an element of tribute to MCS in the school-based scenes: sports pitches on a secret island in a bend of the River Cherwell, the white bridges leading out of the scented rose garden, the Harry Potter-style underground tunnel. Do you live where you write? This was definitely the most 'popcorn thriller-y' of all her books that I've read. It's edgier than your standard fare, but it ain't no Dead Scared or Now You See Me in terms of hella disturbing vibes. I can see why this is her highest rated standalone. It's definitely more for the masses. I would recommend this as a solid intro to Bolton's signature writing style if you don't want to dive head first into her grittier reads. In 2016, the motion picture of Sacrifice, starring Radha Mitchell and Rupert Graves, and directed by Peter A. Dowling, was released by Luminous Pictures. [2] Awards [ edit ]

Lastly, I didn't like the ending and I didn't really understand it. The big reveal was so out of left field that I was left scratching my head. Why that person? What had happened to them to make them this way? What in the story led to that ending? None of this was explained. Everything just became totally over the top and very unlikely, and to be honest, the ending didn't seem to tie up to anything that had happened in the early stages of the book.I really enjoy Bolton's storytelling, and this was not exception. She had me guessing and created some really interesting and when I say interesting, I mean, unlikeable characters. Oh how I LOVE the psychological thrillers from the pen of Sharon Bolton who never once comprises on quality of writing or characterisation to deliver said thrills but always creates scenarios you can actually imagine happening to people you believe are real. Not many books are truly unputdownable, but you can add The Pact to that coveted list. This book is so compelling, so addictive, it had me hooked from the first chapter to the last. Get this one on your summer list!" - Samantha Downing Sharon Bolton is surely amongst the top current UK writers of crime fiction and some of us would consider her about the best writer in the language. She creates settings brilliantly, and though in previous books these have included the Falkland Islands and South Georgia Island, readers of classical mystery stories will be delighted at the Oxford milieu here. Between memory and Google I found myself revisiting such favourites at Christ Church Meadow and The Trout Inn. It also features the most gripping plot. I read it non-stop at every available moment over two days, like Megan’s five erstwhile friends, on edge to discover what she would demand or do next. They have all found positions of wealth or power or influence (David is headmaster of their old school), and Megan threatens their ruin. I had fun with this book. With everything on the line, what would you do? This book has a lot of dread and tension. Several times while reading this book I was reminded of the saying "with friends like these...." The Pact has a cat and mouse merged with an everyman/woman for his/herself vibe to it. As everyone scrambles in this book, it was fun to watch as everything comes crumbling down around them.

A Silence fell, as though Xav had voiced a truth they’d all known but had been keeping hidden; that they had been drawn together by nothing more than a smug acceptance of their shared privilege, that they were none of them particularly nice, certainly not good people” Six college students sitting top of their class at All Souls School in Oxford, face a future that appears full of possibilities and rewards. Talitha, Felix, Xav, Daniel, Amber and Megan plan their next step to University and after their A’ Level results the following day, have a summer of friendship and pleasure ahead. That night, however, is Daniel’s turn to undertake the dare they have each completed and drive the wrong direction between two junctions of the motorway. Only on this occasion, it results in the death of a mother and her two young daughters.

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The Pact has a pacy and very intriguing storyline, one that could be all too real. It has plenty of twists and turns along the way– some predictable and some not, but then some have to be for the story to work and it does. Whilst I did guess the outcome long before it was revealed, there were enough twists and turn to just keep me never being quite 100% sure and second guessing. Although she wasn’t the one driving this time, 18-year old Megan decides to take the blame. She will take full responsibility and let the others go on with their lives…as long as they each agree to owe her a favor when she is released from prison. It can be anything she wants and with no questions asked. Megan documents their agreement for proof, and is swiftly taken into custody. With a number of the friends dying under very suspicious circumstances, nerves, tension and blame builds as some fight to suppress the truth from events twenty years ago, and others want to be free from the burden of the lies they told and lives that were shattered. To start. What we have here is a bunch of highly privilege students, with the exception of one of them who comes from a working class, single parent household. They are all the best of friends. Well, they were when the book starts.

Sharon Bolton brilliantly skewers a group of over-privileged rich kids. It's a pleasure to watch them discover that actions have consequences as the plot unfolds. Fast-moving, addictive and thoroughly satisfying, this is another winner from one of my favourite crime writers." - Jane Casey So we come to The Pact, in which a group of young friends with their whole lives ahead of them make a fatal mistake that will haunt them for years. One of their number takes the blame, letting the just as guilty rest off the hook. Yet she doesn’t realise what she’s letting herself in for and 20 years later a whole plethora of pigeons will come home to roost. This is an unbelievable act of friendship or stupidity, but written so enticingly tense I could not get enough of it. Brilliantly paced with building tension throughout, never once slowing down. I am amazed with this twisty thriller! My only reservations concerned characterisation. I'd have expected more remorse from them, especially David, who has become some kind of Franciscan lay monastic. Personally, I believe I never could have gone through with the bargain once I knew that Megan was faced with a charge of premeditated murder - not because I'm a better person but because my conscience would have so tormented me that I'd have been crippled by reflection. As David is a classicist, I'll quote the Roman satirist:Novella [ edit ] If Snow Hadn’t Fallen (Short Story that takes place after Now You See Me), Transworld, 2012 ISBN 9781448168408 Here Be Dragons (Short story that takes place after A Dark and Twisted Tide) Transworld Digital, 2016 ISBN 9781473540477 Craftsman Trilogy [ edit ] Novels [ edit ] years ago, 6 friends made a pact to let one of them take the fall for a fatal accident. And now that the fall girl is out, the nightmare is starting again. A golden summer, the most prestigious school in the country and a group of six teenage friends waiting for their exam results. Sounds idyllic, doesn’t it? Possibly the start of a teenage romantic comedy? Not really, it is something else that is much more enjoyable. The six friends have gathered together the night before final exam results, doing what a lot of 18 year olds will do: drinking and having fun. That is until the fun takes a much more sinister turn and an ill-conceived game of dare and a driving accident leaves a family dead and six teenagers who face their lives being ruined forever.

A clever, compelling and unexpected story with a rich cast of diverse characters. I've long been a fan of Sharon Bolton's writing, but she has excelled herself with The Pact." - Rachel Abbott The Pact by Sharon Bolton is another outstanding psychological thriller with a devilish plot that is full of tension, mystery, and the ultimate consequences of making a pact that someday needs to be honoured. Will the others – now all high-flying careerists with partners and family accede to her demands, or risk precipitating further tragedy? This was a tightly woven story, and very excitingly told Sharon Bolton is a British author of mystery fiction who has also been published under the name S.J. Bolton. [1] Works [ edit ]

A clever, suspenseful exploration of responsibility, retribution, and friendship tested to destruction.— Cara Hunter, author of THE WHOLE TRUTH I particularly liked the way that right from the start, we knew the awful secret that bound the friends together. So often in a story like this, you have to guess at what’s gone on. Yet, there’s still plenty mystery to intrigue the reader, not least the question of why Megan is so willing to take the blame The final reveal on this only adds to the drama as the friendship falls apart and the previously tight-knit group begin to turn on each other. An easy 5 stars for my favourite psychological thriller this year. A book that was immersive, fast paced, and psychologically disturbing. H ugely. A book without a strong sense of place is incomplete to my mind, and I can never start work on a book until I know where it will be set. Often, the location comes first. I get a real buzz out of finding a place that appears beautiful, even idyllic, on the surface and being able to see the darkness lurking beneath.