After reading quite a few romance books and bullymances, I was in the mood for a change. I like to mix up my reading with mysteries. Though when it comes to mysteries, I am fussy and they have to be grabbing and keep my interest. In The Friendship Pact, we meet Lucy and Adele. The girls met when they were at school together as Lucy's parents decided to send her to a public school where she met Adele Watts. The two girls couldn't be more different but formed a friendship bond which ended up in a pact when a local new girl Joanne ended up dead. After Joanne's death, Lucy's parents took her out of public school and sent her to a private one and that was the last she saw properly of Adele. Now years later, Lucy aka Lucinda is married to a successful doctor and has two stepchildren. Her life from the outside looks perfect and she should be happy, but behind closed doors, it is a different story as her husband Marcus is an abusive jerk. Lucy has had enough and wants to be free of Marcus, however, the only way is to disappear completely. Lucy heads back home and runs into Adele and knows she has been in the clink and asks if she has connections. Adele puts her in touch with a guy called Denny who gives Lucy what she needs. However as the book goes on, Lucy realizes it was too good to be true and when her husband ends up dead, she finds herself being blackmailed. This leads her to find out the true identity of Denny and when she does she is in for a shock. Now Lucy and Adele are in a similar position that they were those many moons ago, will they reignite their Friendship Blood Pact one more time to save and keep each other's dark secrets?
Find out now in this Brit Lit mystery "The Friendship Pact" by Alison James.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of "The Friendship Pact" by Alison James in exchange for an honest review.

"I’m Lucy, and I have a secret

I have a beautiful home, that I’m desperate to escape.

But that’s not my secret.

I tell my friends I’ve never wanted children, when I always have.

But that’s not my secret.

My husband is a celebrated surgeon, who tries to control me.

But that’s not my secret.

Adele knows.

Once upon a time, I knew everything about her and she knew everything about me.

Best friends forever.

But now our secret is beginning to surface.

I can trust her more than anyone. We made a pact.

And she’s never do anything to hurt me. Would she?"

I liked the format of the novel where the narrative went back and forth from past to present. Marcus, Lucy's husband is a piece of work. I imagine Lucy's situation to be realistic, though I'm not sure that all of the reactions/decisions would necessarily be realistic. The characters were well developed and I enjoyed learning some of the backstory of Lucy and Adele. The story kept me up late needing to know what was going to happen. A few good twists and turns.

I really liked this book. There were many twists and turns which kept my attention from beginning to end
I am looking forward to reading more by this author

I received The Friendship Pact by Alison James as an ARC from NetGalley. This is the first book I've read by Alison James. Lucy is married to Marcus who is a well-respected surgeon. He is very controlling and abusive to Lucy. She wants to leave him but can't figure how to get away so she turns to her childhood friend Adele. There were a lot of twists and turns and surprises along the way. This book kept my interest.

My first time reading Alison James.

Well written, good pace, interesting story with twists and turns and interesting characters. I would have loved a bit more suspense though.

A good read, I was into it from the start and read it in 2 days.

Warning : deals with abuse.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this book. This is my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Friends are the family we choose for ourselves in life. Friends know everything about us. This was a gripping read, with twists and turns from beginning to end, and making me appreciate my own friends even more!
Recommended.

The Friendship Pact by Alison James was at its core about two childhood friends who have kept a secret. The story then focuses on them as adults. Lucy is married to a celebrated surgeon, but at home, he is abusive and controlling. Lucy knows she needs to get out, so she calls on her friend Adele. This call comes at a cost, and the story just goes from there. This was a thriller that I knew had twists, but it was written in a way that I couldn't figure them out. It was really smart in that the impact of what happened to Lucy and Adele kept having impacts on what was going down. Sometimes you just need a solid twisty thriller was that. I would offer one content warning that the dynamics of Lucy's abusive relationship were especially intense. Thanks to NetGalley for the look at this July release.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 - Thank you to @netgalley and @bookouture for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I was a bit behind in my readings, so just to note, this book has already been published. I highly recommended grabbing your copy!! Just when I thought I was getting burnt out by psychological thrillers, along comes The Friendship Pact! This was a fast paced read. My heart was racing through the whole thing and I certainly did not put the pieces together.

Well written twisty thriller. Lucy and Adele were childhood friends from different sides of the tracks. Even with their differences they forge a friendship that holds a deadly secret. When years later Lucy is facing a horrible life with an abusive husband she turns to Adele for help, but is this a good idea? Excellent psychological thriller with a great twist at the end. Highly recommended.

This book wasn't as I expected..............................it was even better. I loved it . Highly recommended to anyone who is looking for a gripping story

This was my first from this Alison James. Based on the description, I was expecting a lot of suspense. Just wasn't feeling that with this one. In all fairness, I have recently finished several other books with a similar theme of escaping a domineering, abusive, jerk of a husband so that could have had something to do with it. I had a hard time liking and connecting with any of the characters. The author does do a good job of weaving past with present and the story did hold my interest enough not to abandon it, I just wasn't WOWED. I would try this author again, though.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Alison James and Bookouture for this ARC.

A standalone domestic thriller that didn't go exactly where I was expecting and I liked it for that reason.

What it's about: Lucy (Lucinda Katherine Mary) is married to the eminent cardiac surgeon Marcus Wheedon. She's his second wife and has two stepchildren. Unfortunately, the union is not a happy one for Lucy. Marcus is a controlling jerk and, after 5 years of his dominance, she is determined to leave his abusive household. Marcus has no intention of letting her go. When Lucy goes on the run and is brought back home by Marcus time and again, she knows she needs some help to escape. Who can assist? She has an old friend from childhood, Adele Watts, and they share a secret that might make Adele willing to aid and abet... But that's only part of the story. NO SPOILERS.

Why I liked it: The writing and pace of the story made this a really fast read. I enjoyed how the story was able to surprise me by veering a bit off the typical psych thriller plot line. I expected Lucy to be successful, of course, but not exactly in the ways in which it all happened. I found Lucy to be relatable and, though she definitely makes some stupid choices, I did find myself liking her. It was easy to get through this in a single sitting and despite the conclusion being a bit unbelievable, it was fitting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read and review. It has since been retitled as the copy I read was "The Friendship Pact."

I received an ARC copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion of it. This book was not what I expected from the description. I read some of it and skimmed a lot of it too. It just seemed like a repeat of other books.

Wow, this book is totally gripping and will completely pull you in!

Lucy has a secret from her past, but we don’t really see its impact until the story progresses. The first part of the book focuses on her marriage to the very controlling Marcus. I thought this was going to be the main plot of the book, but a few major twists and shocks later, and we are propelled into another situation.

From here on in, no-one is to be trusted, and it just keeps you guessing.

This is compelling reading, one to keep you reading late into the night. Highly addictive, cannot recommend it enough.

Lucy is married to Marcus, a famous cardiac surgeon. Her life is totally controlled by him and she is abused both mentally and physically. After five years of this Lucy decides she is going to leave him. The book reveals Lucy’s childhood and how she was ‘best friends forever’ with Adele. They were from different backgrounds and unlikely friends, but when they are involved in an accident they both promise to keep a secret never to be revealed. Back to the present day and Lucy bumps into Adele, who she hasn’t had contact with for a number of years. She learns that Adele has been in prison for benefit fraud. Lucy asks her if she knows someone who can help her escape from Marcus and give her a new identity so that she can make a new life. But has sh3 made a big mistake trusting Adele? Can she be trusted? The story goes back and forth in time revealing Lucy and Adele’s childhood, Lucy’s marriage and then the events that happened after enlisting Adele’s help. The book was well written, with plenty of twists and turns. An enjoyable read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book is classed as a psychological thriller but honestly it didn't feel like that for me. It lacked the suspense that I've come to know and love. I found the characters unlikeable and lacking substance, often doing or saying things that didn't really make sense.
The storyline was also quite predictable and I had figured out what was going to happen long before it did. There weren't really any twists and the ending of the book was poor.
I would like to note a possible trigger warning, due to the domestic abuse that happens throughout the first half of the book.

Thank you NetGalley for my copy of this book.

Definitely enjoyed this book. It captured me from the very first page and couldn't put it down. I never would have guessed how this turned out but worth the read.

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was well written and had a great plot that kept the reader invested in the story. You are sucked into the book and it has you turning the pages quickly to discover what will happen next.

The down side to the book is that it is the same story recently published with just a few new tweaks. Lucinda/Lucy's life is fraught with ups and downs, tough decisions, and unbelievable drama. There is a lot of edge-of-your-seat anxiety and times you are so angry at some of the characters, that you can feel steam blowing out of your ears. But Lucinda/Lucy makes some bad decisions and it will bite her in the butt!

I have enjoyed Allison James books in the past, but this one wasn't one of my favorites.

I appreciate the opportunity from NetGalley to receive an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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Excellent read. Hard to put the book down. Right from the start you were sucked in and new this was going to be a good one. The storyline was wicked. Not quite knowing where it was going next. There was lots of twists and turns in the road.

This was my first novel by Alison James and I was not really impressed unfortunately. I did not have any affinity for the subject, domestic abuse. The cover and the "catching " text on the cover were a little misleading in my opinion. The story could barely keep my attention. I did finish the book because I was hoping for an exciting twist or turn. Too predictable and very unlikely. Altough the story was not for me its well written and i will recommend it as a light summer read.