Harriet Klausner's Review Archive
A decade later, the fearsome five remain close friends, but Emma is about to marry the centerfold for sleaze Richard to the chagrin of her female pals. At the Adirondacks getaway, the four buddies discuss the PACT and what they can do to save Emma from a fate worst than death, marriage to ratty Richard, but go to bed feeling depressed as they offer no solutions. However, the morning light shines bright when Rachel finds Richard dead in the pool. The local police suspect the victim's family and friends and that of his fiancée. For reasons she cannot explain to herself, Rachel begins sleuthing, but is not just an amateur, she is pathetic while also fumbling with a romance of the best man Peter, who Rachel believes is the prime suspect.
THE PACT is an amusing chick lit amateur sleuth tale that cleverly lampoons both themes for their impossible excesses. Rachel is more than the center that holds the story line together; she is the novel. All other characters including the deceased, the bride, the other girlfriends, Peter, and the cops are caricatures of one or both sub-genres. The mystery has several fine twists as Rachel leads readers down one wrong path after another. Fans of a lighthearted breezy who-done-it starring a chick lit centerfold will enjoy Jennifer Sturman's delightfully humorous spoof.