The Marriage Pact

How it reads

The Marriage Pact is thriller (psychological thriller, specifically), and its dominant mood is tense. The suspense is the kind you feel in your shoulders. It moves fast: plot-driven and hard to put down, the kind of book that carries you along even when you're tired.

It's set in a big city setting, in the present day, told in the first person by a single narrator. Its central concerns are love, secrets and power and politics. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.

It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending is dark — no rescue, no neat bow. It's moderately known: read by plenty of people, but not a household name.