Michelle Richmond - The Marriage Pact review

I was excited to dive into this thriller. The synopsis sounded unique and utterly terrifying at the same time. I was quickly sucked into Alice and Jake's world.  It was a little maddening at times to see what the pact did to people.  Alice and Jake wanted their marriage to work and they did things they wouldn't have ordinarily have done, then they realized enough was enough.  I enjoyed the fact they wanted to make themselves better and they wanted their marriage. They were also learning about themselves and growing in that way, too.  Alice and Jake's story could be anyone you know or yourself and I enjoyed the realistic way they were portrayed. But the unknown, the pact, was a scary thing.  I didn't want to put this book down and I had to know what was going to happen to them! I loved that this book was a different concept and it held my attention.  If you're looking for something different but engaging, read this book!

**ARC provided by NetGalley for my honest review**

How far is too far when it comes to protecting your marriage? Find out in this relentlessly paced novel of psychological suspense.

“Gripping, thought-provoking, and irresistible.”—Dean Koontz

Newlyweds Alice and Jake are a picture-perfect couple. Alice, once a singer in a well-known rock band, is now a successful lawyer. Jake is a partner in an up-and-coming psychology practice. Their life together holds endless possibilities. After receiving an enticing wedding gift from one of Alice’s prominent clients, they decide to join an exclusive and mysterious group known only as The Pact.

The goal of The Pact seems simple: to keep marriages happy and intact. And most of its rules make sense. Always answer the phone when your spouse calls. Exchange thoughtful gifts monthly. Plan a trip together once per quarter. . . . 

Never mention The Pact to anyone.

   

Alice and Jake are initially seduced by the glamorous parties, the sense of community, their widening social circle of like-minded couples.

And then one of them breaks the rules.

The young lovers are about to discover that for adherents to The Pact, membership, like marriage, is for life. And The Pact will go to any lengths to enforce that rule.

For Jake and Alice, the marriage of their dreams is about to become their worst nightmare.

Advance praise for The Marriage Pact

“Riveting psychological suspense! This book will keep you up all night, while making you second-guess everything you know and everyone you’ve ever loved.”—Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Right Behind You

“A truly chilling thriller . . . It ranks with The Stepford Wives and Gone Girl as a terrifying look at what it really means to say ‘I do.’”—Joseph Finder, New York Times bestselling author of Guilty Minds

“The Marriage Pact is a tense, twisting, quirky novel of growing dread—and a love story with a richly imagined relationship between a wife and husband. Michelle Richmond looks with a gimlet eye at our therapy-obsessed culture and wonders if the experts who claim to have all the cures might themselves need therapy.”—Dean Koontz, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Corner

“Michelle Richmond is, simply put, a great storyteller. And The Marriage Pact, without gimmicks or tricks, is a twisting, suspenseful, keep-you-up-all-night thriller.  But it’s more than that, too. It’s a deep, insightful, nearly voyeuristic view into modern marriage—what brings us together, what keeps us together, what tears us apart. A smart, engrossing, scary read!”—Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of The Red Hunter

“A brilliant premise for a novel of psychological suspense, taut plotting, and deft writing, The Marriage Pact shows in gripping detail just what could go wrong when we try too hard to protect the love we cherish most.”—J. P. Delaney, New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Before

“Clever and original—as smart as it is scary.”—Gin Phillips, author of Fierce Kingdom

“This sometimes disturbing, always thought-provoking stunner of a novel will keep you reading far too late into the night.”—Karen Dionne, author of The Marsh King’s Daughter