DEATH PACT

by William Manchee

Top Publications, July 1999 $14.95

Trade Paperback, ISBN#0-9666366-2-7

Hardback, ISBN #0-9666366-3-5

#24 of Top 100 favorite Crime Novels

A young Dallas attorney, Richard Coleman, has made partner in his law firm in record time. His quick rise has not been due to his legal prowess, however, but rather his extraordinary talents in finance and marketing. 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. That is until he meets Erica Fox, the sixteen 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. In a parting remark Franklin jokingly tells Rich to be careful, Erica always gets her way.

Several weeks later Franklin dies in a skiing accident and Rich is called up to assume his duties as trustee. Little does he know that Erica has been planning his seduction. One Saturday evening, after Rich has been stood up by an airline stewardess, Erica shows up unannounced. He's had a few drinks and is very depressed and seeing Erica lifts his spirits. With dinner reservations made, a corsage and tickets to the theater in hand, he invites her to fill-in as his companion. They go out, have a great time but when Rich brings Erica home he lingers too long and they end up in bed. In the morning Rich realizes he's not only breached his duty as Erica's trustee, but he's committed a felony! When Rich tries to tell Erica their sexual encounter was a mistake and their brief affair is over, Erica politely advises him that isn't the case, in fact, it has just begun!

So begins William Manchee's latest novel, Death Pact, a baffling murder mystery that will tax the intellect of the most probing of readers. Sex, greed and revenge are the driving forces behind this legal thriller set in Dallas in the late seventies. Love may be their only salvation, but will it be enough?

The Most Popular of the Thousands of Listed Stories from Hundreds of Online Fiction Sites!

A grand read ...the best book that I have ever read. The romance was very fiery and passionate between Richard and Erica. You could almost feel the warmth radiate through the pages.---Pam Stone

Manchee. He's as proficient as Grisham.--Shannon Sutlief, Dallas Observer.

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 seems 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