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Rachel Benjamin #1
The Pact
Ten years ago, a group of roommates from Harvard made a pact to kill any boyfriend or fianc they feel is inappropriate. Now, Emma's fianc has turned up dead on the morning of their wedding, and Emma wonders if one of her friends honored the pact.
312 pages, Paperback
First published November 24, 2004
21 people are currently reading
1456 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer Sturman
9 books82 followersJennifer Sturman is the author of several mystery novels, including The Pact and The Jinx. After graduating from Harvard College, Jennifer earned her MBA from Harvard Business School. She now lives in New York City, a few blocks from Delia’s aunt Charley (And Then Everything Unraveled). She has no free time, but if she did she would probably spend it watching teen movie classics from the '80s.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
January 14, 2008
This book really stunk. The lion's share of the text is devoted to wish-fulfillment starting with the cast of beautiful, Harvard-educated, globe-trotting fashionistas to the bucolic country house murder site to the behaviour of the narrator's love interest, who woos her from the get-go.
In this friendship group there are no rivalries, no jealousies, no love/hate relationships or secret desires to see another fail, just like there are no blemished complexions, scuffed shoes or split ends. Hell, there aren't even any non-designer handbags! That alone made it irritating as hell -- and when you consider that this fashion mag vision of reality accounts for about 80% of the book that's no small thing.
The dialogue sucks and the characters are badly drawn and completely shallow -- for example, in the phase of the book where the murder victim is being painted as a complete villain, the narrator tells us she hates him with a passion, but the reason when it's eventually given is shallow to the point of stupid.
All up a bit of a washout.
I read the end to find out who did it and then went back to the start and read every fourth or so page to see how it came about. I would recommend an even more time-saving strategy: pick up a different book.
In this friendship group there are no rivalries, no jealousies, no love/hate relationships or secret desires to see another fail, just like there are no blemished complexions, scuffed shoes or split ends. Hell, there aren't even any non-designer handbags! That alone made it irritating as hell -- and when you consider that this fashion mag vision of reality accounts for about 80% of the book that's no small thing.
The dialogue sucks and the characters are badly drawn and completely shallow -- for example, in the phase of the book where the murder victim is being painted as a complete villain, the narrator tells us she hates him with a passion, but the reason when it's eventually given is shallow to the point of stupid.
All up a bit of a washout.
I read the end to find out who did it and then went back to the start and read every fourth or so page to see how it came about. I would recommend an even more time-saving strategy: pick up a different book.
June 27, 2021
The Pact was a quick read. I had trouble focusing on characters because they all had their own stories, yet were portrayed as shallow and uninteresting for them to be thoroughly explained. I had my guesses and some were even wrong. Mystery books like these are interesting and worthy to read. I believe it was confusing. Taking too many unnecessary turns for the ending to be plain. "The protagonist is this...., then .....oh wait it might be her, .....or maybe the guy who looked suspicious."
(Obviously not real dialogue from the book but, seems true to me. )
(Obviously not real dialogue from the book but, seems true to me. )
September 12, 2023
The first chapter was slow but after that it went pretty quickly. It was funny, held my attention to the end, had great characters and wonderful plot twists. I highly recommend this book and can't wait to get the next one. An all around great read!
September 23, 2020
3.75 ⭐️
Quick, fun mystery!
Quick, fun mystery!
March 11, 2025
I didn't realize this book was part of a series when I picked it up many moons ago, but I can say that I won't be reading the rest of them.
March 18, 2025
A quick read with a simple plot.
May 24, 2025
Quick read. But not my favorite.
September 8, 2025
Yeah I don’t really know. I was excited for a good old college roommates murder mystery, but it was a flop. I knew at the beginning how it was possibly going to end.
October 16, 2012
This was an enjoyable read. I haven't really read anything classed as "chick-lit" before, so I didn't know exactly what to expect. My pre-conceived ideas included lots of ultra-rich women in their late-twenties to early-thirties with high powered jobs and designer clothes, told first person with lots of sparkling wit and humour. The Pact includes most of these, but manages to be a nice, solid mystery story as well. It is more serious than I expected, and because of that, also a little heavier, but not necessarily in a bad way.
I liked all the characters and agreed with the narrator, Rachel, that none of them could possibly have been the murderer. Her mistakes are reasonable - except for the 'big misunderstanding' between her and the potential love interest where she jumped to a conclusion that I felt wasn't exactly warranted. Or at least, that the evidence was ambiguous enough that I could see that it would turn out to be a red herring and I felt Rachel was portrayed as smart enough to figure that out as well. Of course, then she wouldn't have called 911 on Peter and needed to make up for it afterwards.
I didn't pick the murderer, although all the clues were there in hindsight, and it was a well chosen conclusion. For me, not working it out actually means a good book as I'm too caught up in the story for my subconscious to be wasting its time trying to solve the mystery. These days I prefer to sit back and enjoy the ride rather than feeling a need to work everything out in advance.
I don't know if this book is typical of the genre or not, but I enjoyed it. Rachel is going to have another literary outing in December and I think I'll be going along for the ride. However, I still detest the Australian release cover and may have to buy in the next one from the US, just to have something pretty on my bookcase. I'm sad that way.
[Copied across from Library Thing; 16 October 2012]
I liked all the characters and agreed with the narrator, Rachel, that none of them could possibly have been the murderer. Her mistakes are reasonable - except for the 'big misunderstanding' between her and the potential love interest where she jumped to a conclusion that I felt wasn't exactly warranted. Or at least, that the evidence was ambiguous enough that I could see that it would turn out to be a red herring and I felt Rachel was portrayed as smart enough to figure that out as well. Of course, then she wouldn't have called 911 on Peter and needed to make up for it afterwards.
I didn't pick the murderer, although all the clues were there in hindsight, and it was a well chosen conclusion. For me, not working it out actually means a good book as I'm too caught up in the story for my subconscious to be wasting its time trying to solve the mystery. These days I prefer to sit back and enjoy the ride rather than feeling a need to work everything out in advance.
I don't know if this book is typical of the genre or not, but I enjoyed it. Rachel is going to have another literary outing in December and I think I'll be going along for the ride. However, I still detest the Australian release cover and may have to buy in the next one from the US, just to have something pretty on my bookcase. I'm sad that way.
[Copied across from Library Thing; 16 October 2012]
March 16, 2014
Rachel Benjamin is dreading watching her best friend Emma walk down the aisle with the vile and despicable Richard but despite the pact that she and her friends made long ago there is nothing that she can do to stop it. You see, years ago Rachel and her four friends made a pact to always let their girlfriends know if the person they are dating is...well, shall we say for lack of more appropriate wording, "wrong for them". And if the girlfriend in question does not heed their warnings they are to "take matters into their own hands". However, when Rachel finds Richard's corpse floating face down in Emma's family pool the morning of the impending nuptials, she cannot help but to wonder if one of her friends may have taken their little agreement too far.
Aside from the intriguing plot, one of the things that I enjoyed most about this lighthearted mystery was its strong and intelligent cast of characters. All of the women were smart and very successful and the men were all confident with out being overly aggressive. Which in turn makes it difficult for you to speculate on who could have committed such a crime when you are rooting for everyone to walk away from the incident with little to no repercussions. I thought that `THE PACT' was a smart, funny and well-written mystery that never took itself too seriously. I hope to see more of Rachel Benjamin and friends in the future, 4 ½ stars!!
Sidebar, for all of the reviewers who have commented on how conveniently diverse and multi-cultured the cast was, I hate to burst your bubble, but throwing in one Latina and women with a bunch of different hair colors does not a diverse cast make. :-)
Aside from the intriguing plot, one of the things that I enjoyed most about this lighthearted mystery was its strong and intelligent cast of characters. All of the women were smart and very successful and the men were all confident with out being overly aggressive. Which in turn makes it difficult for you to speculate on who could have committed such a crime when you are rooting for everyone to walk away from the incident with little to no repercussions. I thought that `THE PACT' was a smart, funny and well-written mystery that never took itself too seriously. I hope to see more of Rachel Benjamin and friends in the future, 4 ½ stars!!
Sidebar, for all of the reviewers who have commented on how conveniently diverse and multi-cultured the cast was, I hate to burst your bubble, but throwing in one Latina and women with a bunch of different hair colors does not a diverse cast make. :-)
March 10, 2014
Ten years ago, four friends made a vow. They promised that they would save each other from any worthless man who crossed their path and they would do so by any means necessary. Who would have ever thought that this pact would come back to bite them in the butt?
Rachel (the narrator) and the girls are all trying to deal with the fact that their friend Emma is about to marry scum of the earth Richard. Although they all have qualms about her pending nuptials, they grin their teeth and bear it. So when Rachel wakes up early the day of the wedding to discover the groom's dead body afloat in the family's pool, no one seems the least bit upset. That is until Rachel comes to the realization that everyone in the house had a motive to kill.
I thought this was a great chick lit mystery novel. Rachel really had me going down the wrong paths of suspicion the whole way through and I was truly surprised at the end.
Looking forward to picking up THE JINX, to see what craziness the gang will be up to next.
Rachel (the narrator) and the girls are all trying to deal with the fact that their friend Emma is about to marry scum of the earth Richard. Although they all have qualms about her pending nuptials, they grin their teeth and bear it. So when Rachel wakes up early the day of the wedding to discover the groom's dead body afloat in the family's pool, no one seems the least bit upset. That is until Rachel comes to the realization that everyone in the house had a motive to kill.
I thought this was a great chick lit mystery novel. Rachel really had me going down the wrong paths of suspicion the whole way through and I was truly surprised at the end.
Looking forward to picking up THE JINX, to see what craziness the gang will be up to next.
May 21, 2020
This was a book club choice and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was a mix of a cozy mystery with a chick-lit feel. The pact the women make is fairly benign, “we’ll tell you if you’re dating an asshole”. We’re given a quick introduction to the college friends and what they’ve been doing for the past 10 years. Then the story jumps to them gathering at a friend’s house to take part in her wedding. And yes, she’s marrying an asshole, but nobody will tell her.
At times it’s clever and funny. The author creates a nice air of mystery with the prenup, the argument the bride-to-be has with her father, and a note of scandal. The first 2/3rds of the book reads at a fairly decent pace. But when Emma goes overboard on who she thinks is the killer, the pace just slows to a crawl. Figuring out who the killer was is rather easy, it was more the why that was interesting.
Overall, I think it was a solid read. I did find towards the end there was a lot of repetition, as if the author was trying to fill pages. But I enjoyed the twist of a murder being a part of the chick lit romance.
At times it’s clever and funny. The author creates a nice air of mystery with the prenup, the argument the bride-to-be has with her father, and a note of scandal. The first 2/3rds of the book reads at a fairly decent pace. But when Emma goes overboard on who she thinks is the killer, the pace just slows to a crawl. Figuring out who the killer was is rather easy, it was more the why that was interesting.
Overall, I think it was a solid read. I did find towards the end there was a lot of repetition, as if the author was trying to fill pages. But I enjoyed the twist of a murder being a part of the chick lit romance.
December 29, 2011
The Pact is maybe the most easily defined chick lit book that I’ve read in a long time. Which is of course, totally ok by me! What was different about this one is that it also had a murder mystery aspect, which combines my two favorite guilty pleasure reads: chick lit and thrillers.
Rachel Benjamin is an investment banker in the Adirondacks for her best friend Emma’s wedding. The morning of the ceremony, she finds him floating in the pool, dead. From then on she picks up on information and evidence leading to the killer.
This was a cute, girly book. Exactly what you’d expect from a chick book, which is why I don't have much to say about it, and the added mystery aspect was a good bonus. I’m definitely not opposed to reading more in this series, but I didn’t love it enough to re-read. Another solid 3.
Rachel Benjamin is an investment banker in the Adirondacks for her best friend Emma’s wedding. The morning of the ceremony, she finds him floating in the pool, dead. From then on she picks up on information and evidence leading to the killer.
This was a cute, girly book. Exactly what you’d expect from a chick book, which is why I don't have much to say about it, and the added mystery aspect was a good bonus. I’m definitely not opposed to reading more in this series, but I didn’t love it enough to re-read. Another solid 3.
December 18, 2018
This book was a trip. I wanted to read this initially because each of the characters in the books is based off of the author’s real life blockmates. I wanted to figure out which one was my blockmate’s mom and how would each one of my blockmates fit into the group. The mystery itself and the writing was not incredible, the romances all but ridiculous. If I had to read one more time about Rachel’s retirement plans to end up with « several million in the bank » or hear about Winslow I was going to scream. It was kind of fun to read because I’m still at Harvard and I recognize a lot of the names and institutions—or else recognize how they have changed, but I imagine that if I didn’t go there these details would be a bit cringy. Altogether it was golden trash— the kind of thing you breeze through on the beach.
July 9, 2013
I've already read the second book in this series, so it was a little weird coming at this one from that viewpoint, but all in all I still liked it. Sturman went to Harvard, and I think her writing shows that, while still managing to be breezy and fun. She can get bogged down a little in details that aren't necessary (how many times can a group of people do the dishes in one book?), but the mystery was well-crafted and the story moved quickly and easily.
Reread 7/1/13 and thought about lowering my rating - I just wasn't a huge fan of the mystery this time around. I don't know if it's because I knew what was going to happen, though, so ultimately I've left it as 3 stars even though a second read was more 2 star.
Reread 7/1/13 and thought about lowering my rating - I just wasn't a huge fan of the mystery this time around. I don't know if it's because I knew what was going to happen, though, so ultimately I've left it as 3 stars even though a second read was more 2 star.
June 23, 2010
Well, silly me, I finished this one last night and only then realized it is actually the sequel to The Pact which I also have a copy of. This one gives away much of what happens in the first one, but luckily I don't tend to hold onto book details, especially chick lit, for too long so in a couple of months I should have forgotten it all and can read The Pact without knowing the end! LOL
As for this one on its own, it was a fun light story, fast paced enough to keep my attention and keep me reading, but definitely not too demanding on my preggo brain! Many of the characters seemed a little too shallowly drawn, but in a murder mystery book, I guess there needs to be a larger cast of characters preventing deep development.
As for this one on its own, it was a fun light story, fast paced enough to keep my attention and keep me reading, but definitely not too demanding on my preggo brain! Many of the characters seemed a little too shallowly drawn, but in a murder mystery book, I guess there needs to be a larger cast of characters preventing deep development.
June 18, 2012
What do you do when one of your close friends is about to marry a ‘nefarious troll’? No, he’s really not a troll, nothing supernatural or mythical about this one, just really wicked.
Rachel Benjamin and her friends are not all pleased with the upcoming wedding of Emma Furlong (their friend) and Richard Mallory (the nefarious troll). And no, it’s not because of the unflattering bridesmaid’s dresses that they are about to wear the next day. It's because of Richard - they hate him. Why he managed to be hated by all of Emma’s friends is for you to find out.
Read more here >> Book Review: The Pact by Jennifer Sturman
Rachel Benjamin and her friends are not all pleased with the upcoming wedding of Emma Furlong (their friend) and Richard Mallory (the nefarious troll). And no, it’s not because of the unflattering bridesmaid’s dresses that they are about to wear the next day. It's because of Richard - they hate him. Why he managed to be hated by all of Emma’s friends is for you to find out.
Read more here >> Book Review: The Pact by Jennifer Sturman
March 5, 2023
Dnf
This was okay ! But i found it to be boring, and most of all too long. Also, it was a little repetitive at times.
Otherwise it was not bad, the mystery elements were good.
Le reste, je le dirai en français car en anglais j'ai un peu de mal
Les amies du personnage principal sont nombreuses, et je n'arrivais pas à les distinguer les unes des autres, que ce soit au niveau de leurs prénoms, de leur caractère ou autre caractéristiques....du coup c'était difficile de conserver mon intérêt, surtout qu il y avait les maris, les petit.e.s ami.e.s....bref i got confused !
Par contre, j'ai aimé la mise en pages, il y avait de l'espace entre les dialogues et paragraphes, c'est plus facile à lire je trouve.
This was okay ! But i found it to be boring, and most of all too long. Also, it was a little repetitive at times.
Otherwise it was not bad, the mystery elements were good.
Le reste, je le dirai en français car en anglais j'ai un peu de mal
Les amies du personnage principal sont nombreuses, et je n'arrivais pas à les distinguer les unes des autres, que ce soit au niveau de leurs prénoms, de leur caractère ou autre caractéristiques....du coup c'était difficile de conserver mon intérêt, surtout qu il y avait les maris, les petit.e.s ami.e.s....bref i got confused !
Par contre, j'ai aimé la mise en pages, il y avait de l'espace entre les dialogues et paragraphes, c'est plus facile à lire je trouve.
March 17, 2013
I LOVED this book! I Love chick-lit, especially mixed with mysteries (ugh... I'm in heaven:) and this book was exactly what I needed. When I read mysteries, I usually predict who the bad person is from the beginning (and I'm usually right), but this book kept me guessing and guessing up until the last 20 or so pages. Great book, I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys happy endings of mysteries-chicklit novels ;)
March 8, 2018
First of a mystery series. Rachel is an amateur sleuth who decides to try and figure out who killed her friend's fiancee. It seems no one liked him very much so there are lots of suspects. It was sort of slow going for a bit and then she suspects her new love interest actually did it and then tried to kill her. I would most likely try the next book, but not sure if I would say it is a must read.
March 1, 2022
This book was slow moving but it eventually got going. I liked the writing style somewhat and I even laughed at a few lines. I really didn't expect to make it through the whole book when I started. The characters all seem so shallow and dumb. I was thinking if it was up to Rachel to figure that mess out than everyone was screwed. I just hope the next book picks up the pace a bit or I may not get much farther than this.
June 13, 2007
Excellent chick lit mystery about friends who made a pact while in college to rescue each other from bad relationships (by any means necessary). Years later, a despicable fiancee ends up dead leaving the bride-to-be to wonder if one of the friends 'honored' the pact. Great whodunnit with chick lit style!
May 27, 2008
Nothing too deep - just a quick fun read. It's about girlfriends and a pact they make to not let each other end up with a bad partner. Then one's fiance dies the night before the wedding... I actually got this by accident when I thought I was getting Jodi Picoult's Pact... but I read it and it was good.
May 6, 2008
This book is very much "Sex and the City" only w/ crime involved. The charters were somewhat annoying and the story itself was not the greatest. The last few chapters FINALLY got interesting. Its OK.
November 3, 2008
I love a good mystery book and this definitely had me questioning who had committed the crime. There were parts where I felt it could have been written a bit better but none-the-less it was interesting and a quick read.
March 2, 2010
Not a riveting start to the series but I enjoyed it and am looking forward to more. I enjoyed that the reader is left with hope of a future for Rachel and Peter. I'm curious to see how it will play out.
July 17, 2012
I love cosy mysteries but this just didn't do it for me at all. To be honest. by the end of the book I couldn't have cared less "whodunit", as all the characters were incredibly shallow and for the most part quite unlikeable.
July 21, 2015
The plot is nothing special but it's a nice fun, easy read for summer or something lighter. The main character is funny. I actually bought the whole series at a thrift shop so moving on to the next one now.
December 30, 2015
Livre assez mal écrit (phrases souvent très simplistes, parfois sonnant assez ennuyeuses). Je n'ai pas aimé la fin, je m'attendais à une fin plus originale.
Cependant, je trouve que le fil de l'histoire était intéressant.
Cependant, je trouve que le fil de l'histoire était intéressant.
February 9, 2019
Book one of four - this was the best in the short series. I found these books at a time that I needed the distraction of something good but not too deep. This author is a good writer and I like her characters.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews