by S. E. Lynes
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Christopher Harris is a lonely boy. A boy who has never fitted in to his family. Who has always felt something was missing from his life.
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Until one day, when he discovers a suitcase in his family’s attic. Inside the suitcase is a letter. Inside the letter is a secret about his mother that changes everything.
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What price would you pay for the perfect family?
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Christopher finally has a chance at happiness. A happiness that he will do anything to protect…
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An unputdownable thriller about the lies we tell and the secrets we keep, Mother will hold you breathless until the very last page and leave you reeling. Perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train, The Sister and Apple Tree Yard.
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Also by S.E. Lynes
Mother
The Pact
Valentina
A Letter from S.E. Lynes
Dear Reader
Thank you so much for taking the time to read The Pact; I am thrilled that you did and hope you enjoyed it. I very much hope you will want to read my next book too. If you’d like to be the first to hear about my new releases, you can sign up using the link below:
http://www.bookouture.com/se-lynes/?title=The-Pact
The Pact was inspired by an old short story by Elizabeth Taylor (the writer, not the actor!) called ‘The Flypaper’. The wasp in the honey trap in Emily’s kitchen was my little homage to that. I wanted to use the kernel of that story and update it in order to examine whether our children are more or less safe in a post-internet world. So now that you’ve read The Pact and there’s no risk of me spoiling it for you, that was why it was important for me that Emily and Owen had already kidnapped young girls without any recourse to technology. Terrible people, of course, pre-date the internet, but my job, as I see it, is not to propose answers but to ask questions and hopefully create discussion. Like most writers, I exist in a place of doubt.
I also wanted to explore how abuse is so difficult to escape, how its victims struggle to leave it behind, whether it manifests in continuing to abuse others or in losing faith in humanity in some deep way and becoming paranoid and distrustful of people in general.
Lastly, I wanted a happy ending this time. I became so attached to all three women that it would have been unbearable to leave them any other way. They had all, I felt, been through enough.
If you enjoyed The Pact, I would be so grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to write a review. It only needs to be a line or two – in fact, the best reviews often are! – and I would really appreciate it. I am always happy to chat via my Twitter account and Facebook author page if you’d like to get in touch. Writing can be a lonely business, so when a reader reaches out and tells me my work has stayed with them or that they loved it, I am truly delighted. I have loved making new friends online through my first novel, Valentina, and my second, Mother, and I hope to make yet more with The Pact.
Best wishes,
Susie
Acknowledgements
Firstly, thanks to my editor, Jenny Geras, who manages to be both tactful and direct at the same time. Jenny, The Pact is so much better because of you. The book also benefitted from my trusted writers group: Hope Caton, Robin Bell, Sam Hanson and Cat Morris – thank you particularly for saving me from the I am Batfink, I have wings moment.
Thank you to Kim Nash, Noelle Holten, Lauren Finger and all the amazing Bookouture team who work so hard behind the scenes and are available to help even in the evenings and at weekends #dedication. Thanks to the Bookouture authors too for their kindness and support, not to mention making me laugh a LOT.
Big love and thanks go to Louise Loving, who took me for a trip round Hounslow, showed me all the points of reference, and even included a minor car crash, which I thought was above and beyond. Thanks also for reading The Pact to check for any howlers. Thanks to Jayne Farnworth for brain storming the plot for an entire evening on Richmond Green and for your police procedural advice. Thanks to early readers and cheerleaders, Richard Kipping and Bridget McCann.
Thank you to my kids: Alistair, Maddie and Franci. Maddie, my acting girl, thanks for understanding the difference between drawing from life and writing directly from life and for advising me on teen speak. Thanks to my lovely dad, Stephen, and of course to my first reader, advisor and editor, Catherine Ball aka Mum.
To my husband, Paul, thank you for being alive, thank you for taking me to the Halls of Residence Ball in 1988 and perhaps more importantly asking if I wanted to come back to your room for some Hula-Hoops. Thank you also for waiting so patiently for a dedication. This one, finally, is for you.
Published by Bookouture
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An imprint of StoryFire Ltd.
Carmelite House
50 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y 0DZ
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www.bookouture.com
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Copyright © S.E. Lynes 2018
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S.E. Lynes has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work.
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events other than those clearly in the public domain, are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
ISBN: 978-1-78681-352-7