The Agreement by Sarah McMurry and Francesco Lualdi

The Agreement by Sarah L. McMurry; Francesco Lualdi

My review

Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Three women, friends since they were all in college together, each believe she is married to the world's worst husband. While they've stayed in contact with each other by having a monthly lunch and trip to the theater, none has ever unburdened herself of the marital problems she believes she faces.

Adrianna thinks her husband is an old, boring fool, and she's furious because he is about to take a huge chunk of what will be her inheritance and spend it on a center for psychiatry that will essentially be an honor for himself.

Millie is married to a man who physically abuses her, and who has been forcing his attentions on her older daughter. Millie believes it's merely a matter of time before he does the same thing to her younger daughter.

Ruth is married to a philandering husband who is morally corrupt in most areas of his life. He has no respect for Ruth and treats her like a doormat.

When Adrianna suffers what she feels is "the last straw", the three women get together and finally reveal to each other exactly how unhappy these 3 men have made them. In the course of listening to and comforting each other, an agreement evolves. What if they all helped each other be rid of these unacceptable men so they could each go on to live out the rest of their lives happily. Could they pull off such a scheme and ultimately get away with murder?

I thought The Agreement was a tightly crafted story that was difficult to put down. While the theme of wives being victimized by their husbands may have been more relevant when this book was first published, the story has stood up over time. I was disappointed to discover that McMurry and Lualdi do not have more books to their credit. They certainly grabbed and held fast to my attention with The Agreement, and I was hoping, if not for a sequel, then at least another book to showcase their collaborative writing talent.


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