by William Manchee

Top Publications  1999

Trade Paperback ISBN 0-9666366-2-7

Hardback ISBN 0-9666366-3-5

Richard Coleman, has made partner in his law firm in record time. Despite his success there is little joy in his life having recently lost his wife in a tragic car accident. It's been a year now and he's tried to adjust to the loneliness and emptiness in his life with little success. Then he meets Erica Fox, the seventeen year old daughter of a high roller, Franklin Fox. Mr. Fox is divorced and needs someone to be trustee over Erica's affairs should he die. After eliminating all potential candidates for the job, Rich ends up being recruited for the task. When Franklin dies, Rich assumes his duties but soon is drawn into an illicit affair. When they are discovered by a meddlesome aunt she threatens to blow the whistle on them and have Rich thrown in jail. When she is later found dead the two lovers are prime suspects. Eventually Erica is charged with the murder but Rich knows she didn't do it, and sets out to prove it. What he doesn't realize is how perilous the search for the truth will be. . . .

Attorney Richard Coleman is asked by client Franklin Fox to be the legal trustee for his 17-year-old daughter Erica Fox if anything should happen to him. Less than a week later, Richard gets a call in the early morning hours from a John Paul Moitz with the American Consulate in Berne, Switzerland, telling him that Franklin Fox had been killed in a skiing accident, and that Erica was quite distressed and claiming that Richard was her guardian. Richard goes to Switzerland and brings Erica home. Shortly after they return to the States, Erica seduces Richard and even though he knows that it is wrong, he lets it happen. Before long they are in love. Richard knows that he could lose his license if word of their liaison gets out; they are able to keep it quiet for quite a while until Erica's Aunt Martha finds out. Aunt Martha really only wants the money. She could care less about Erica's feelings so she decides to start a lawsuit against Richard and have him removed as trustee of the estate.

Before Aunt Martha can reach her son Arnold about the lawsuit, she is murdered in her hotel room and Erica's purse is found in the room. At about the same time Richard is found unconscious in an alley. The next day when he comes to, he remembers nothing about what happened to him. While he is watching a news broadcast, he hears that Erica has been arrested. He knows without a doubt that Erica could not murder anyone; he has to leave the hospital and find the real killer. Erica convinces Richard that if she is convicted they should make a death pact. Richard really doesn't want to die, so he knows that he must find the killer before it's too late. This is where the storyline really takes off!

Death Pact is so wonderfully written with plenty of surprises. I was guessing till the very end, and what an unexpected, shocking end it was! The setting is in Dallas in the 1980's, and from the author's descriptions, I felt as if I was there.

The characters are really well defined and believable, especially Aunt Martha -- The more that I read about her meanness, the less guilty I felt that she died so she couldn't cause any more trouble. The romance was very fiery and passionate between Richard and Erica. You could almost feel the warmth radiate through the pages.

Death Pact is a grand read.  My highest score is a 5 and this book definitely deserves a HIGH 5 rating. ---Pam Stone, MyShelf.com

Dallas lawyer-turned-author William Manchee has been compared to John Grisham enough times in the past two years since his first novel, Twice Tempted, was published that his next book just might feature a lawyer-turned-author who starts knocking off reviewers who compare him to Grisham. The comparison isn’t unfair though. Manchee’s stories are suspenseful and most involve lawyers. And he’s as proficient as Grisham. However, Death Pact, Manchee’s latest, seems a bit racier than standard Grisham fare. It involves a tryst between a 17-year old girl and the older trustee of her estate, lawyer Richard Coleman. When a relative who discovers the affair is murdered, the lovers become prime suspects and vow to take a cyanide pill if either is convicted. Sounds a little rash. Guess we know who’s wearing the pants in that relationship. --Shannon Sutlief, Dallas Observer.

DEATH PACT. By William Manchee. Top Publications, $19.95. Be careful what you wish for. Especially if it involves love and money. You might get too much of each. Then life’s too good and people get suspicious. As they do about the relationship between Dallas attorney Richard Coleman and Erica Fox Franklin, a 17-year-old for whom the middle name is appropriate. Daddy gives her a new Porshe for college, then dies in a ski accident, leaving Erica millions. Coleman, as the trustee of the estate, rushes to calm and counsel Erica. Then Cupid gets ideas. They have an affair. Wait a minute! Coleman's messing with a minor? One who's a client? Erica's West Texas aunt Martha wants to be appointed guardian, gets snoopy and finds out about the romance. She wants Coleman disbarred, thrown in the slammer. And she's got just the attorney to handle it: son Arnold. Before she gets her wish, she gets her ticket to Heaven. The death isn't accidental. Whodunit? Well, Rich and Erica had motives, and the cops pin it on Erica. Circumstantial? Erica admitted being there and having had an argument. The author weaves his engaging plot through Swiss chalets, Caribbean marinas, Texas court rooms and captivating characters before twisting readers toward a curious conclusion. In this romantic mystery, Manchee's killer seem's so certain. Then a sail from the Bahamas turns it upside down. But what a ride along the way. Terrific take on temptation and contemporary consequences in Texas. --The Book Reader.

Move over Grisham.  As John Grisham has climbed higher on his political soapbox with each new book, it is only a matter of time before another writer comes along to take his place on the best-seller lists. That writer may be William Manchee, author of "Death Pact," a story that involves a lawyer, a large trust fund and its 17-year-old beneficiary, and the complications that can arise when the 17-year-old sets out to compromise the young attorney but then falls in love with him.  Add the murder of the young girl's relative, cast blame hither and yon, sprinkle with a suicide pact, and you have a real page-turner. Kim Cool

Very highly recommended

When thirty one year old Dallas Attorney Richard Coleman is asked to become trustee for Franklin Fox estate he has no idea that within a few weeks his life is going to make a complete change. Pretty, headstrong seventeen year old Erica Fox is used to getting her own way, and how.

Rich receives a frantic call from Switzerland where the elder Fox has just died in an accident and a tearful Erica needs help. Rich soon finds himself beguiled by the seductive young miss, making poor decisions and even marrying his young ward. When Erica’s tight lipped aunt is found dead and Erica is charged with murder Rich is enmeshed in a fight for his own professional life and for the life of his wife. The pair are nearly frantic in their efforts to effect a favorable outcome to the trial Erica must face. Erica vows she would rather be dead than face life in prison without Rich. Rich knows he feels the same.

Death Pact is another in the growing body of hard hitting, well written books being produced by talented writer William Manchee. In Rich Coleman we find a very likable if somewhat befuddled man besotted by his young wife. Writer Manchee weaves a carefully crafted tale around the human frailties of greed, immaturity, unreasonable demands and the often incomprehensible behavior of the human critter.

Filled with the same good writing, eye to detail and awareness of the not always pretty human condition we have come to know and enjoy so well in his previous works, Undaunted, Second Chair and Brash Endeavor author Manchee makes a bit of departure in Death Pact. Language is a little grittier and sex scenes are a little sexier than found in the Stan Turner series. True to his well developed professional writing style Manchee does not rely on glitz or sensational to carry the tale; rather he draws the reader into the narrative from the outset and holds interest tight with a good narrative, well developed characters and believable dialogue.

Not for everyone; some graphic language and some graphic sex.  Wordweaving. Com / Review by Molly Martin/m j hollingshead
http://www.angelfire.com/ok4/mollymartin

#24 of Top 100 favorite Crime Novels as of 7/15/01.

Former Australian internet bookseller.