The Wicked Oath by Michael L. Lewis

Release: July 31, 2020
Format: Ebook
Publisher: The Book Guild
Source: Rachel’s Random Resources
Find it at: WHSmith, Amazon UK, Book Guild, Blackwells, Waterstones, Foyles, TBD,

A wicked conspiracy. A diabolical offer. Survival: a matter of life or death!
For one thing, behind the walls of Blackleigh, a prestigious public boarding school in northern England, lurks wickedness and bullying. As a result, those in power form a conspiracy to devise any means to expel certain boys. Therefore, surviving for their victims becomes a matter of life and death…
Meanwhile, Jonathan Simon, in his second year, returns to school to find that ruthless prefects – Sleeth, Tunk and Miller – are in charge of his house. Things take a turn for the worse when the new Headmaster starts. Thereupon, Jonathan and his friends are targeted.
Significantly, as the pressure mounts, friendships become closer and scheming increases as unexpected revelations occur. For Blackleigh, the year is just beginning…

About the Author:

Michael L. Lewis was born and raised in England. After preparatory school in London, he was educated at Stowe School, Buckingham. Michael now lives in Los Angeles, California, has a law degree, and writes full-time. He was on the Board of Trustees for several schools . He has also been a member of the same book club for twenty-five years..

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The Wicked Oath Review:

Wow, I am so glad I am not enrolling in this school as a student. This book was intense because of the plot, and how far the students go to bully their rivals.

The author did a very nice job in writing the tale. I could not put the book down and had to find out what happened to Jonathan. All the characters have distinctive personalities that make you feel strongly towards them. Jonathan and Bhasin are strong protagonists. Similarly, Tunk and Sleeth are characters you just love to hate because they are so devious. The scary part is, you really don’t know how far they would go to eliminate the students. Some of the scenes, like what happens to Callum and Peter shocked me.

However, the author also balances the story well to include some light hearted moments. I liked Jonathan and Olivia’s friendship and they were cute together. It was interesting to see how she reacts when she learns of his Jewish heritage. I also liked all the scenes where they rehearse for Macbeth.

Having said that, I wished I had read the first book prior to reading this. There are quite a lot of references to the previous story. While this can be read as a standalone, I think it would be better to read the previous book first. Also, there were characters like Croat who was fascinating because he was with the wrong crowd, even though he was not bad. But, I felt he was pushed to the side. Perhaps he would be prominent in the next book.

Overall, this was an interesting young adult story and I look forward to reading the rest of the series.