The Pact

by Hilary Norman

Three friends from college who suffered the deaths of their parents together appeal to one another when their lives begin to unravel, while one of them discovers that their parents' deaths were no accident. 25,000 first printing.

432 pages, Hardcover

First published April 3, 1997

About the author

Born and raised in London, loved reading but deeply lazy about writing at school, preferring drama. A brief acting career, then moved into the production side at the BBC's radio drama department - later at London's Capital Radio, by which time the writing "switch" had been flicked on. Spent as much time as possible travelling in the US, working and writing. First novel, IN LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP published in 1986 after five years of writing. Wrote sagas with big dramatic finishes in the early days, and then, as the body count rose, made the move into psychological suspense and thrillers. Last book LAST RUN soon out in trade paperback, and the latest (and 20th) -RALPH'S CHILDREN - out soon in hardcover.
Living in London with husband Jonathan, and dog Poppy.

Reviews

[Michelle Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW, it gets better and better as you read each chapter, you will have a hard time putting it down

[Debby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Olivia Segal (Jewish), Annie Aldrich (Protestant) and Jamie Arias (Catholic) were all 18, and just graduated from the American School in London where all three families lived. July 4, 1976 changed all their lives when all of their parents were killed in a helicopter crash. They make a pact to always be there for each other no matter what. This is challenged over the years when Annie has a drug problem and Jamie's marriage goes bad. When Olivia finds a note in her parent's paper from Jamie's father, it opens Pandora's box. Proof that his father spirited a fortune in paintings out of Germany during World War II - "stolen" from a Jewish family who were eventually killed, but not before the son wrote it down and passed it on to others who have spent years investigating. WONDERFUL book! Some brief sex scenes. Who done it with strong ties. Riveting.

[Betty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bottom line: It’s a wild wild world we live in.
Olivia, Annie,& Jamie- forge a strong friendship at the event of their parents passing ‘accident’
Always there for one another - through marriages, kids, addiction, loss etc
Decades later other events reveal that it was a set up accident. Uniting on this to see justice done

[Michele Lawson]

I really enjoyed this book as each character had a personal story that revolved around the friendship that had sustained them for almost twenty years. The writing was wonderfully easy and just allowed you to flow along from start to finish. I will look for her other books to read as well.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nederlandse titel: Olivia

[Lisa Greer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read 70 pages of this, and it just isn't the sort of psychological suspense that I have come to expect from past Norman books.

[Megan · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was annoyingly predictable. I felt like I was reading more of a Harlequin romance novel than a mystery. Blah!

[Zabidah Salim · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book I ever read from Hilary. she is still my top favourite author.

[Lynnell Donnelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be slow moving at first, but once it got going, it was VERY interesting. I really enjoyed it.

[Notme · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly good thriller, clear and well executed. Action keeps you interested from get go to the last page. Read in one day. Not art, but good craft, and it's surprisingly hard to find..