The Marriage Pact
by Michelle Richmond
Expected publication: July 25th 2017
by Bantam
In
this relentlessly paced novel of psychological suspense, New York Times
bestselling author Michelle Richmond crafts an intense and shocking tale that
asks: How far would you go to protect your marriage?
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.
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The Marriage Pact is an agreement that is made with between
spouses. It’s a membership within a
group of like-minded individuals to support and enforce the agreement. The Pact was created for three reasons: 1) “to establish a clear set of definitions
that can be used to understand and discuss the contract of marriage”; 2)”to establish rules and regulations for the
marriage participants to adhere to, designed to strengthen the marriage
contract and ensure success”; and 3) “to establish a community of individuals
who share a common goal and desire to help each other achieve their individual
goal” (a successful marriage) “which in turn strengthens the group”.
Sound all good,
right? I mean, who wouldn’t want all the
tools needed in order to make a marriage work?
And to have a huge support group involved that will help achieve the
goal of blissful marriage? Most people
would say ‘sign me up’, which is the case of Jake and Alice. Newly married and madly in love, they have
been selected to join this exclusive ‘club’ and when presented with the expertly
phrased sales pitch, they are beyond excited to use these new tools in order
for their marriage to grow and survive.
But all does not go well as The Pact uses surveillance, threats, and
interrogation to get their members to abide by the rules set forth in the Manual
that each member is given upon signing up – and most of the members are okay
with this type of treatment! Jake
however is not, and even though he goes along with the group, he will do
everything in his power to get him and Alice out….alive.
For all intents and purposes, The Marriage Pact has some sound ideas on how to make a marriage
work, most are common sense, and if put to use will guarantee a solid
marriage. The problem with this ‘club’
is the extreme measure they use in order for the couples to comply. If any rule
is broken, members are sent to ‘prison’, sent before a judge and sentenced for
their ‘crime’. Punishments are brutally
harsh and beyond comprehension and include, but not limited to electrocution,
and stripped naked and place between two pieces of plexi-glass and then placed
for all other ‘inmates’ to see. I’m not
going to lie – some parts of this book were difficult to read. Once you become a part of this club, the
members really never have a life of their own. It is expected to drop everything and be at
the beckon call of the leaders. Forget
about wanting to leave the Pact as the only way out is death.
I really was enjoying this book in the beginning, but
as the story progressed, it just became too unbelievable and bizarre. The members were expected to drop everything
in their life (like their job) to be, for lack of a better word, get
reconditioned. Most of the members were
okay with how they were treated and acted like it was all normal. Things just got weird the further I got into
the story. The punishments were beyond
extreme, and quite frankly, unbelievable.
I mean, what sane person would put up with that crap? Don’t get me wrong, the writing was good, there
was just a certain creepy factor that I just could not get past. The author is an excellent story-teller and
the writing is solid but the story itself was a little to gruesome for my tastes. However, just like a train wreck, I just could
not stop myself from witnessing the horror that was unfolding before my eyes. I believe this book will appeal to a wide
range of readers, just not this one due to the violent nature of the story.
3 stars
I
like to write about ordinary people in tense situations: a kidnapping (The Year
of Fog), a hostage crisis (Golden State), a decades-old murder that became a
true crime sensation (No One You Know), and now THE MARRIAGE PACT.
My
novels are often set in San Francisco and the Bay Area, where I've made my
home, but my stories and novels also take inspiration from many of the places
I've lived and traveled--from China and Iceland to Norway, Hungary, and
Argentina. My story collection HUM (2014) features Americans caught up in
espionage, surveillance, and all manner of marital crimes.
If
you love discovering new books, or if you've enjoyed any of my books, I'd love
to send you my author newsletter! It includes notes on what I'm reading,
dispatches from the writing life, and book giveaways. You can sign up for the
newsletter at http://michellerichmond.com.
Back
story: I knew I wanted to be a writer for almost as long as I can remember, way
back when I was a kid growing up in Alabama. I used to write skits to perform
for my parents with my two sisters. After graduating from a huge public school
in downtown Mobile, I studied journalism and creative writing at the University
of Alabama, then worked in advertising and magazines, as well as in restaurants
and a tanning salon (!) for a few years before enrolling in an MFA program in
creative writing. I bounced around the South for a while and lived in New York
City for a couple of years, with a brief work stint in Beijing, before settling
in Northern California in 1999. I've been writing here in the fog ever since.
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