The Pact is definitely a page-turner! The story follows Rosie, Bridget and Toni and a decision that challenges the concept of family loyalty. The pace was fast and the writing sharp. I was immediately engaged and eager to know what would happen. I liked the 3 POV's, which added depth to the story. Recommended!

I adored SE Lynes’ previous book ‘The Mother’ and ‘The Pact’ is just as well written.
It centres around the lives of sisters Bridget and Toni and her daughter Rosie. All three characters are well developed and equally likeable.
We know Rosie is unconscious, but we are not sure what has happened to her. Although the present day events are set over just one day, the book leaps back in time and is so well written. One just has to keep reading to find out the details of ‘The Pact’ and whether it will be broken.
An excellent read.
Thanks to NetGalley for a Kindle Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve read this author’s books before and I knew I was in for a treat. And oh boy was I. I did find it a little slow to start but once I got into it devoured it until the last page.

4☆ An Intriguing Read!

The pact is a story of family loyalty and how far you would go to protect them.
It was thrilling, intriguing, kept me enthralled.

The start of the pact we see sisters Toni and Bridget burying something.

The story is told in 3 points of view. Rosie who is trapped in a coma, Toni (Rosie's Mother) and Aunty Bridget.

I loved Rosie's story although her memories did get a lil disjointed as she tried to break out of her coma. Each one gave us a great insight into her life and just how she comes to be in a coma.

Rosie is your typical teenager she's moody, secretive, and just wants to have fun, as she makes her way towards 16 she wants to do what her friends are doing, partying.
But Rosie has her own secrets. Secrets her mum is yet to uncover!

Toni is very over protective, which can come across as suffocating to Rosie. But Toni has secrets and it's no wonder she acts the way she does. As her past growing up was very Abusive.

Bridget is the glue that holds them all together. She is fun Aunt to Rosie and helps Rosie to have a little more freedom.
Yet she is supportive and the edge of reason to her sister Toni. They have been through so much together. A pact for life.

The pact is a well written character driven story that gives you insight into family relationships and what happens when you have secrets.

There is a nice mix of twists and turns.
This isn't a fast paced read, it's a slow and steady paced read that packs a punch.

I loved this book. Highly recommended it. The storyline was very exciting and I really reconnected with the main characters. This author has done a great job of writing a book that keepers it’s readers hanging on every word, not wanting to put it down. A real page turner.

Many thanks to Netgalley and SE Lynes for the copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

The Pact, is Susie Lynes' third book, and once again she has left me broken. I can normally devour a book within a day or two but with The Pact, I had to stop every couple of chapters to gather my thoughts, catch my breath and get my emotions back in check. I wanted to devour it in one sitting but I also wanted to make it last forever! With every stroke of the keyboard she produces the most exquisite storylines, the kind that will get under your skin and stay there. This is way more than a psychological thriller, Susie makes the reader work for the impact, no wham bam plot lines and in your face characters but rather a beautifully haunted and authentic narrative that will envelope you from the very start. This woman has talent oozing from her fingertips!
The prologue was almost suffocating. Rosie is in hospital fighting for her life, her narrative garbled and confused as she tries to make sense of it all. I found it chillingly claustrophobic and oh so deliciously perfect for this novel.  I could feel myself gasp for a breath alongside her, making sense of the jumbled thoughts swimming about in her head.
Susie Lynes captures the nuances of each character perfectly; the awkward 15-year-old Rosie, not quite fitting in, wanting to keep some of her life secret from her mum, her furtive life on social media where she can filter a life that she wants others to believe; Toni the over protective mother who catastrophises every aspect of Rosie's life to the point where she would do anything to protect her from danger; Bridget, the slightly cooky aunt, cool and out there on the surface but hiding a massive secret underneath. Each of them a part of a triangular relationship of co-dependency, secrets and lies. Each character has a secret, each secret is destined to grow and suffocate them all.
She captures every parent's fear; the disdain and those eye rolls that only a teenager can show and the very real terrors that lurk out there in our world. She doesn't just capture these though, she presents them as real and tangible so that you do more than just read this book, you live it and you breathe it. Eloquent and mesmerizing narrative haunting imagery that plays out a realistic and chilling movie in your head.
Once again Susie Lynes has nailed it for me! The Pact is an authentic yet chilling tale of two sisters who made a promise and one girl whose life is in danger. Packed to the brim with realism and the inherent dangers of social media, this one will resonate with anyone who is a parent in today's world where our lives are played out for all to see online. The Pact explores the phenomenon of lives filtered through social media where there is so much pressure for perfection and the devastating impact on young people, in particular, striving for perfection and acceptance. It also addresses the very real fears that parents have for their children living in a world dominated by social media. It will chill you to the bone.
Will it work for you if you want all your psychological thrillers fast and furious, full of blood, gore and rising body counts? Probably not. But if, like me, you love an intelligent read and you can appreciate the thrill that there is in slowing it all down sometimes and letting the characters and the story get under your skin then do yourself a favour and read this book, actually go and read all three of her books and enjoy!

S.E. Lynes is a new author to me although she has previously written two other psychological thrillers, Valentina and Mother, so I was going into reading The Pact with fresh eyes not being able to make comparisons to her previous books. And boy if either of them are as gripping as The Pact then I'm in for a fab read if I ever get around to reading them... so many books, so little time.

From the outset in the chilling prologue I had so many questions running around my brain, 'Who was it?', 'What had happened?' and 'Why?'. so I couldn't wait to read the following chapters to hopefully get the answers to these questions. If I'm honest I probably was a little bit too impatient and probably swiped a few pages too quickly which then meant I had to go back and read it again...

The Pact is told through the viewpoints of the three main characters in alternating chapters. 15 year old Rosie who is unconcsious in hospital, her mother Antonia (Toni) and her aunt Bridget. which meant that we were able to get an overall picture of events each told from their own personal perspectives and the secrets they'd all been hiding. It's hard to go into any more detail about the plot itself without giving away any spoilers but it's fair to say that it made for some uncomfortable reading at times.

Rosie was your typical teenager who wanted the freedom to spread her wings and do the type of things her friends take for granted but with an overprotective mother watching her every move she feels smothered. I'm not of a generation that had mobile phones or social media as a teenager but I'm sure that if I had been then I too would have wanted to be able to join sites, and chat to friends online, without my mother checking my every move but at the same time you do have to be careful.

I'm not a mother myself but I could totally understand the way that Toni was feeling. She'd been through so much in her own life, and since the death of her husband Rosie was all she had left so she wanted to do everything she could to keep her safe and protect her but at what cost. And finally there's Bridget who is the one who keeps the family together, the voice of reason to Toni and the encouraging voice to Rosie. She wasn't there to protect her younger sister when needed but has more than made up for it in later life by always being there for Toni and Rosie.

The Pact explores the bonds of families and the lengths they will go to support and protect one another. I literally devoured this book in a single sitting as I did not want to stop reading or put my Kindle down for a second as I was impatiently waiting for the storyline to develop and unfold throughout the rest of the book.

The Pact is SE Lynes third standalone psychological thriller and possibly in my opinion her best yet.

The Pact is told through the 3 main characters point of view. Toni, the over protective mother, Rosie, the teenager desperate to be allowed some freedom to grow up and Bridget, the aunt who lives with Rosie and Toni due to a pact they made when they were children themselves.

The story begins with Rosie in hospital, unconscious and fighting for her life and through flashbacks the reader is taken on a journey back to the beginning to discover why she is in hospital and what the Pact Toni and Bridget made 30 years previously has to do with the present.

This book really does have all the ingredients for a gripping page turner. It was like completing a really tricky jigsaw and piece by piece the author revealed a little more, enabling the reader to see part of the puzzle but never the full picture until the final page.

Without doubt SE Lynes is fast becoming one of my favourite psychological thriller authors and one of a select few that I would read without even checking the blurb first.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who loves twisted, clever, gripping thrillers. 5 huge stars.

Thank you to Bookouture for my copy of this book via Netgalley and for letting me take part in this tour. This is the first book I have read by Lynes and I will be back for more.

This book isn't one of those a fast paced thrillers, where you are frantically turning every page to get the answers.. It's more of a slow burner. There is a lot of build up and background before you get to the action. The story is told from three POV, Rosie's, Toni's and Bridget's. The majority is inner conversations or memories of the character. Most of the story is told out of sync with memories flitting here and there so the reader needs to piece together the timeline. I enjoyed doing this, it made me quite engaged in the story. 

Toni and Bridget are sisters and Rosie is Toni's teenage daughter. Rosie is your typical teenager. She thinks her mum is wrong about everything and totally lame. Toni is quite over protective of her daughter. She's not always been this way but this is after. After what you ask? Well I'm not telling you will have to read the book to find out. Bridget is the cool Auntie. With no children of her own she likes to spoil Rosie, as much as Toni will let her. 

Social media is a huge part of this book. I was on the cusp of this generation. I grew up with MSN, Myspace, AOL and when I was a little older Facebook. But all of these things were just emerging when I was Rosie's age. I didn't have a phone with all the apps that kids have now days, no one did they didn't exist. We had to use a computer that took an age to load up and I might get half an hour before I had to swap with my brother. Honestly kids these days would call it torture but it was all part of the experience. This story really shows some of the dangers of social media to young people. 

The main twist in this book wasn't hard to guess but that doesn't make it a bad thing. I enjoyed the journey that got us there. The book is well written. It's clever, it's thought out and it gives you some mysteries and secrets to work out along the way.

If I had written a review of this book before 50% of the way through it would’ve been 2 stars. It was a slow burner with a predictable storyline at times. Having teenagers myself was the only thing that kept my gripped at times and their use of social media and the risks of online grooming. Once I hit 50% I could not put the book down and was hooked.
The book is well written and perfect size chapters for me. It was an easy story to follow and characters that you feel total empathy for. The book has caused some discussions on its ending though. What was the reason for it?

The Pact, newly published by author S.E. Lynes, a sound smouldering ember of a psychological thriller, carrying a warm glow and radiant heat as I progressed through the pages discovering all about The Pact, The Promise, The Secret that could Destroy.

Two sisters, Bridget and Toni, a promise made, a pact, never to disclose their childhood experiences, and to protect themselves at all costs.

Rosie, Toni’s daughter is a typical 15 year old teenager, testing boundaries, secretive, seeking independence but Rosie shows her naivety where social media is concerned, is this due to Toni and how over-protective she is of her daughter. Social media has played the part in the hospitalisation of Rosie, now in a coma we learn through Rosie’s thoughts as she fights to gain consciousness and tell her story to her mother.

Toni an over-protective mother who will do anything to protect her child from harm, has Toni went to far, shielding Rosie from the perils and pitfalls of the internet, Toni has in effect pushed her daughter to become secretive where she hides her social media footprints, Rosie wants to be like the other teenagers.

Bridget is Rosie’s aunt almost the voice of reason, the person who tries to mediate between Toni and Rosie, ultimately The Pact comes between them, the promise they gave to each other to protect themselves and Rosie.

The Pact is destroying the family.

The multiple layers engulfing each character was peeled back slowly, tantalising teasing the more I read, the point of view of each character portrays from the past and the present adding to the tension. What I would say is its best to take the time to read The Pact, concentration is a key factor, find a quiet place, put your feet up and enjoy.

The Pact is an exceptional psychological thriller, slowly building with a damn good twist at the end.

Thanks to Bookouture, S.E. Lynes and Kim Nash for the opportunity to be involved in the Blog Tour for The Pact, I appreciate the advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture and S.E. Lynes for the opportunity to read and review this great book - 4.5 stars! Also thanks to my Goodreads friends - they were raving about this book so I had to read it!

This is an addictive story and draws you slowly in and keeps you tight in its grasp until the end - you won't be able to put it down! So many themes in this book - social media, family relationships, secrets - along with really great writing.

The story is told in the voices of a family triangle - mother Toni, daughter Rosie, and Toni's sister Bridget. Toni and Bridget survived a traumatic childhood - the sisters made a childhood pact to protect each other. Then an accident kills Toni's husband and she becomes super protective of Rosie, who begins to rebel against her mother's tight reins.

I don't want to give anything away because this author was so good at developing these characters and backstories - the end actually made me gasp and filled in even more blanks. Highly recommended!

The Pact by S.E. Lynes is a psychological thriller.
Can’t get this one out of my mind. Really grabs your attention, and holds on.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Bookouture, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
My Synopsis:
The chapters alternate between three different points of view - Rosie, Toni, and Bridget. A fourth voice is also heard, but is not identified.
Rosie is laying on a hospital bed, still comatose, and her thoughts tell her story. She is trying to tell her mom how sorry she is for lying to her, for rebelling against her Mom’s restrictions, for how she ended up in this position, but of course, no words will surface.
Toni, her mother, sits by her bed, holding her daughters hand, telling her own story to herself, and to Rosie. She is trying to tell her daughter that she is sorry for being so insecure, sorry that her insecurities are the reasons why she is so strict, the reasons that Rosie is in this hospital bed. She needs to share her secret with Rosie. But it is not her secret alone. She made a promise to her sister. The secret is also Bridget’s.

Bridget, Toni’s sister is gathering some things to take to the hospital, and telling her side of the story. She, too, has her secrets. She made a promise to her sister when they were children.
This is the story of Bridget and Toni, who suffered a rough childhood, but made it through by relying on each other, by making a pact to always protect each other, and to never tell anyone what happened to them as children. They decided at that point they would never ask anyone else for help. But their childhood definitely had an impact on their lives, and when Rosie comes along, the sisters vow to include her in the pact, to do anything to protect their little family, to keep Rosie safe. Unfortunately, the world intrudes.
My Opinions:
Lynes tackled a number of issues in this book, including the pitfalls of social media, stranger danger, and childhood abuse. She showed the relationship between a mother and daughter with precision – the good and the bad. An over-protective mother who will do anything to protect her daughter. A daughter who will do anything to find some freedom. An Aunt who tries to be the voice of reason. Lynes showed how childhood trauma can have repercussions later in life. She also showed that the love and loyalty of family, can make a difference.
The characters, the writing, pacing, and twists made this a great book! Highly recommend this one!

THE PACT by S.E. Lynes is a psychological thriller, that that follows how far one would go to protect their child. I just loved this book!

The story revolves around the main three characters Bridget, her sister Toni and Toni's daughter Rosie and a binding pact made between the sisters 30 years ago about their abusive childhood…to remain a secret between the siblings.

How Far would you go to protect your loved ones? A promise made to a sister. It could destroy the daughter.

15-year-old Rosie lies in hospital fighting for her life. She’s trying to tell her mother what happened to her, and how she got there, but she can’t speak the words out loud.

Rosie’s mother Toni has a secret. She had a traumatic childhood, and she and her sister Bridget made each other a promise thirty years ago: that they could never speak the truth about what happened to them as children.

Having lost her husband in a tragic accident, Toni has dedicated her life to keeping Rosie safe from harm.

Rosie is fifteen years old, and has dreams and ambitions…of love and a career, but thanks to her mother's overprotectiveness, she has lived a sheltered and naïve upbringing.

But Rosie has been keeping secrets from her mother and aunt which could now put her life in danger.

In order to save Rosie, Toni may have to break her lifelong promise to her sister… and open doors to her past she hoped would remain closed forever.

The Pact by S. E. Lynes builds slowly with information released on a need-to-know basis, building up to a major climax. The story is told from three points of view, that of Rosie, Rosie’s mum Toni, and Toni’s sister Bridget. All three have been touched by heartbreaks. The characters are captivating and relevant, the writing is superb.

Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy.

Bridget, Rosie and Toni are the perfect triangle. They support each other through thick and thin, a tight family unit that has been through hell but come out the other side. Bridge and Toni are sisters, and Rosie is Toni's daughter. At fourteen, she wants to be granted the same freedoms afforded to her friends – parties, boyfriends, Snapchat. But Toni is terrified of the dangers that await her in the big wide world, smothering her with love to protect her from the monsters – real or imagined.

The problem is, there’s only so much you can do as a mother. It isn’t long before Rosie begins to grow up – she’s had the starring role in a production of Little Red Riding Hood, has been signed by a theatrical agent and starts messaging a local teenager on Instagram. And it is within this perfect storm that everything begins to crumble.

“You, who had been so quiet for so long, you were blossoming once again like… like cherry blossom. Beautiful and white and bold on the tree. […] I was so proud of you that I felt if someone tapped me on the shoulder or whispered something too kind or cruel, I would shatter into pieces on the floor. Your auntie Bridget was proud of you too, of course, but not like me. I’m your mother. There is no one, no one who loves you more than I do. No one ever will. No one could.

Blossoms fall, though, don’t they? I didn’t think about that.”

Lynes once again accomplishes the ability to weave in and out of characters’ voices and construct fully-formed human beings on the page. Their fears, hopes and secrets come alive and we find ourselves utterly absorbed in their world. Whilst some psychological thrillers can veer into the realm of implausibility, The Pact is so affecting because the situations, characters and narrative world are so real. You can imagine Rosie’s face filling with anxious delight as a new message pops up on her iPhone, Toni’s brow furrowed with worry, funny aunt Bridget’s gentle bantering to allay her fears.

The pieces of the novel slowly come together, like a puzzle falling into place, and while the picture becomes whole before us, we also get to the heart of what The Pact is about; the unbreakable bonds of love between mothers, daughters, sisters, and how the traumas of our past indelibly shape our future.

'Mother' was one of my top reads of 2017 so I was delighted to see another book by S.E. Lynes- could it be as good? Actually I think it's even better!

Bridget & Toni had a dreadful abusive childhood. When they were little more than children they made a pact to stick together and not involve anyone else in whatever problems they faced.

When Toni tragically loses her husband in a car accident & she is left with a young daughter Bridget puts her life on hold to move in with them and the three girls form a close family triangle. But Toni, because of her childhood, because Rosie is all she has left of her husband, is massively overprotective. As Rosie becomes a teenager she naturally wants to spread her wings. Once confident and outgoing she became withdrawn after her father's death. Bridget encouraged her to become involved with a theatre group. Rosie also has a secret- an online boyfriend- and is determined to met him.

The story switches between the past where Rosie falls for Ollie, and the present where Rosie is in hospital after a drug overdose. What has brought her to this point? Will this event break the bonds between the three people who are so close?

Dealing with the dangers of social media, abusive childhoods and relationships this book doesn't pull its punches. I was totally hooked. This is a great book- read it soon! Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for giving me the chance to read & review this terrific book.

Well, I’ve just finished The Pact and I’m still processing that last paragraph…! That was an unexpected little twist that had me going back through the chapters to see what hints I’d missed!

For me, The Pact was very much a book of two halves. After some intriguing opening chapters, and although it was still extremely well written, I did find the first half very slow moving and a bit repetitious – there were hints of what was to come and lots of essential groundwork laid but I struggled to connect to Toni and Rosie at first.

However, the second half – wow! Everything that had been gradually set up before came together and the story suddenly ramped up to breakneck speed. Although some of the plot developments were inescapable and I had worked out a bit of what was to come, that did not spoil my enjoyment of the resulting rollercoaster and seeing the conclusion so dramatically played out was great fun!

There were a couple of twists I did not see coming and I really warmed up to Toni and Rosie as the story went on. However, one of the absolute highlights was Bridget: an ass-kicking rock-band-member, computer whizz and tower of strength – everyone should have an Auntie Bridge and I loved her!

Overall, this is a cleverly written, well put together story, with a slow-burning first half and a tense, firecracker second half. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of The Pact.

EXCERPT: In the cafe, his breath on my face. His face in my face. His dirty glasses make me feel sick, Mummy. Can you hear me? I can feel you near. I am here in the cafe but it's not now, it's. . . When is this? I am today. I am this morning. I am now. I am in two moments in time, traveling but not traveling. Being. I can feel the pillow under my head. I can see the water above me. . . I am lying under the dark, the weeds. . . the hard seat hurts my bottom. . . not enough padding you say. . . when do you say that? Did you hear me say that to myself? My mouth is dry, Mummy, but I 'm not thirsty. He is sitting too close too close too close. I want to call you, Mummy. . . you are near but you are foggy. I can't shout to you. I can't call you. I left my phone in the. . . I ran out in a rage. . . You are such a pain, you won't leave me alone. I was so pissed off with you, but now I need you and I can't call you. You're always nagging me to call, and I don't want to have to call all the time but now I do - I do want to call and I do have the time, but I can't call because I left my phone in the flat I can't I can't I can't. Mummy, help me, help me, help me. . .

ABOUT THIS BOOK: You made a promise to your sister. It could destroy your daughter.
The Daughter

15-year-old Rosie lies in hospital fighting for her life. She’s trying to tell her mother what happened to her, and how she got there, but she can’t speak the words out loud.

The Mother

Rosie’s mother Toni has a secret. She had a traumatic childhood, and she and her sister Bridget made each other a promise thirty years ago: that they could never speak the truth about what happened to them as children, and that they would protect each other without asking for help from others, no matter what…

Rosie was Toni’s second chance to get things right: a happy, talented girl with her whole life ahead of her. Having lost her husband in a tragic accident, Toni has dedicated her life to keeping Rosie safe from harm.

But Rosie has plans that her mother doesn’t know about. She has dreams and ambitions – of love, of a career, of a life beyond the sheltered existence that her mother has created for her. But the secrets Rosie has been keeping have now put her life in danger.

The Pact

In order to save Rosie, Toni may have to break her lifelong promise to her sister… and open doors to her past she hoped would remain closed forever.

MY THOUGHTS: OMG! OMG! OMG! I just loved this book!

The Pact by S. E. Lynes builds slowly to a breathtaking, heart pounding, edge of the seat, white knuckled climax. I don't know how I can do this book justice.

Lynes grabs your attention from the beginning with a scene that is not fully explained until the end of the book. The story is told from three points of view, that of Rosie, Rosie’s mum Toni, and Toni’s sister Bridget. All three have been touched by tragedies, and have formed a tight knit supportive triangle to the exclusion of everyone else. And Toni and Bridget have a pact, one made a long time ago, before Rosie was even born.

Lynes has perfectly captured not only the struggle between a teenage girl, fighting for just a little of the freedom her friends have, and her protective mother, frightened by her own experiences and determined to prevent her daughter from making the same mistakes, but the burgeoning desires of a first love.

How far will Toni go to keep Rosie safe? How far will Rosie go to get what she wants? And just how far will Bridget go to protect those she loves?

Warning: plan on reading this uninterrupted. Once The Pact gets its hooks into you, you won't want to put it down.

Thank you to Bookouture via Netgalley for providing a digital copy of The Pact by S. E. Lynes for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the 'about' page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system.

This review and others are also published on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

When I heard a second Bookouture release was in the pipeline from Susie Lynes I jumped at the chance to read it.  And flipping heck, I was not disappointed.  One of my favourite things about The Pact is how uneasy the reader feels from pretty much page one.  I felt very apprehensive, I could sense something wasn't quite right with the picture Lynes was painting for me and I loved it!  If you're a fan of suspense then this is a must-read.

We meet Toni, widowed mother of one teenage daughter, Rosie.  Rosie is a budding theatre star but lacks the confidence to push herself to the glittering heights others feel she could achieve.  Not helped by Toni, her overprotective mother.  Lending a more pragmatic and considered point of view to proceedings is Toni's older sister, Bridget. Both Bridget and Toni have been through a lot; a traumatic childhood featuring unimaginable abuse for Toni, for Bridget the need to protect her sister from the horrors but feeling a constant failure.  That's where the pact came in.  A promise made many years ago that no matter what, the two sisters would look after each other and not rely on the help of others.  But the pact could be the sisters undoing....

I absolutely loved Bridget.  She became a bit of a superhero for me and at times I found myself cheering her on as I read (thankfully this all happened in my head otherwise my family may have been giving me the odd strange look!).  I totally believed in Lynes's characters; I could picture them, I could hear their dialogue in my head (more strange looks but from everyone reading this, this time haha!) and I truly felt for them.  I didn't like Toni as much as I liked Bridget but that was due to her overbearing, smothering nature.

Lynes has cleverly used the vocabulary used by the 'yoof' of today along with text speak and emojis when writing Rosie's interactions with friends.  All in all, this added to the believability factor making shy, naive young Rosie all the more real for me.  Throughout the pages of The Pact my heart broke for her in many different ways.

As usual, I was looking out for clues from the very start of the book and was able to see where a couple of storyline threads were heading.  Can I give you some advice?  Don't do what I did.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it superbly gripping from start to finish despite being able to see where things were going.  I wonder how much it would have knocked my socks off if I hadn't been doing that.  Really, don't do what I did.  Read it with an open mind and see where Lynes takes you.

Would I recommend this book?  I would, definitely.  Very emotional, incredibly tense and a wonderful, wonderful read focussing on modern day fears and a parent's worst nightmare.  I wanted to hide behind my hands at points whilst reading, peeking out from behind my splayed fingers.  Lynes is a very talented writer and I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.

Five out of five stars.

I chose to read and review an eARC of The Pact.  The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

So, keep in mind that both the title and the cover are very misleading. The Pact mentioned in the title is a very small part of this book. The little shoes on the cover? They in no way match the ages of the girl(s) in the book.

However, this is a very timely and suspenseful novel.

There weren't a whole lot of surprises here. The trouble that finds the main daughter in the book is obvious from the start to anyone who watches the evening news or who is the least bit Social Media savvy. The 'who' behind much of this? Also obvious.

Still, I cared. I wanted to finish the book and I wanted to see what would happen to our girl and to see what price the 'who' paid. It was extremely satisfying in the end.

I will say there's one little plot point regarding the mother that didn't hold water for me. First, it came out of left field and second, it didn't really fit the (how do I say this without spoilers?)...the, um...profile of someone dealing with that plot point. It didn't ring true.

Still, a good, fast read!