Book review: The Pact by Lisa Walker

The Pact by Lisa Walker is a book about writers and writing… which always appeals to me. However, anyone who’s done the Camino de Santiago walking trail or wants to do it will very certainly love this because it’s narrated by Tess, a writer walking the Camino to reconnect with former friends, albeit with the aim of seeking vengeance on those she holds responsible for ruining her life. As a result Walker includes A LOT of detail about the trail. I knew very little about it so found the inclusion of information about the accommodation, and everything from meals to religious services, not to mention the terrain and challenges of the different stages all quite fascinating. I mean, it didn’t tempt me to go and do it (indeed, I’d rather poke myself in the eye with a sharp stick) but Walker has either done it, or undertook significant research allowing her to confidently share this level of detail.

Tess enters the prestigious and exclusive Ravensthorpe Writing College with dreams of literary greatness, but soon discovers that ambition comes at a cost.

Drawn into a tight-knit group with fellow writers Ethan, Theo, and Jaz, Tess’s world is upended when their charismatic tutor is found dead. Believing someone in their circle is responsible, Tess flees the elite literary world and abandons the future she once craved.

Three years later, an enigmatic invitation to walk the Camino de Santiago offers Tess a chance to uncover the truth. Reunited with her former friends, including Ethan, now a literary star, Tess realises the past isn’t finished with her. Someone knows what really happened that night, and they’ll do anything to keep it buried.

My thoughts

Tess is our narrator in the past and present. She’s walking the trail as she and the other three members of her (former) study group at Ravensthorpe all received invitations from a tutor. Supposedly. Tess hasn’t been in contact with the group since leaving the prestigious Ravensthorpe under a cloud and Walker slowly ekes about the events precipitating that. We know part of it, that the school’s head of creative writing (and up and coming literary star) Lula, is dead. She’d written about her own Camino experience so Tess assumes the invitation is about paying tribute three years after her death.

We also spend time with Tess, Jaz, Ethan and Theo when they first met at Ravensthrope and form a study group which became a friendship group. The dynamics are interesting as Tess and Jaz become besties, Tess gets into a relationship with Ethan, and both she and Theo see themselves as riding on the coattails of Jaz and Ethan’s creative talent. We also meet Lula, the writer all of the students aspire to be. Tess initially struggles to fit in and Lula  confronts her about the lack of honesty or authenticity in her writing. Unsurprisingly however their study group is selected to participate in a winter retreat with Lula, which will culminate in on of them being anointed The Chosen One and introduced to a prominent literary agent.

In the present on the trail there’s an awkwardness between Tess and the others and we don’t initially understand why or what happened in the past. As we spent more time with Tess though we learn that she’s no longer writing, which was her mother’s one wish for her. She has however secretly pitched an idea to a magazine editor, to write about one of the study group who’s garnered some fame following their debut novel.

It has to be said that all of the characters we meet here are extraordinarily self-absorbed. They’re not necessarily unlikeable as they have their moments of kindness or regret, but the way Walker’s thrown them together in this challenging environment works well as we get insights that might otherwise not reveal themselves. (Which I guess is part of the reason people do the Camino.)

Also on the walk is Nola, a former police officer the group met following Lula’s death which Tess can’t believe is just a coincidence. I liked the way this ultimately unfolds as (in the past) we reach the final days the group spent together and learn exactly what took place the night Lula died. And in the present, more secrets are revealed.

The Pact by Lisa Walker will be published by HQ Digital in mid January 2026.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes.