Michael L. Lewis

The Wicked Oath

A wicked conspiracy. A diabolical offer. Survival: a matter of life or death!

Behind the walls of Blackleigh, a prestigious public boarding school in northern England lurks wickedness and bullying. Those in power form a conspiracy to devise any means to expel certain boys. Surviving for their victims becomes a matter of life and death...

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 and Jonathan and his friends are targeted.

As the pressure mounts, friendships become closer and scheming increases as unexpected revelations occur. For Blackleigh, the year is just beginning...

Praise for The Oath:

“Takes you so far out of your comfort zone... It will stay with me for some time.” – Mai’s Musings (Blog)

“A pulse-pounding, entrancing thriller.” – Kelly W (NetGalley reviewer)

“Dark, raw and powerful. Difficult to put down.” – Jessica Belmont (Blog)

Michael L. Lewis was born and raised in England. After preparatory school in London, he was educated at Stowe School, Buckingham. Michael says, “My novel takes the reader on a journey through the lives of three dynamic schoolboys between the ages of 13 and 15, and the extraordinary triumphs and tragedies that they experience.” This book is the second in a series. 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 and has been a member of the same book club for twenty-five years.

The Oath

The polished veneer of a boys’ boarding school in Northern England masks a cadre of wickedness. Seniors viciously torment any junior they deem unfit. Jonathan Simon, in his first term at Blackleigh School in 1955, is warned: 1) There are three monsters in his dorm: seniors Flicker, Sleeth, and Tunk; and 2) A code of conduct mandates no snitching.

Simon befriends two other juniors; pixie-faced Ian Gracey; and witty, grossly overweight Arthur Crown. Juniors are required to clean seniors’ studies and Crown panics when he’s assigned to Flicker, who was under suspicion by the police a year earlier after a junior fell from the church bell tower in the off-limits cemetery. During a cross-country run, the three friends take a shortcut and stumble into the cadet rifle range. Corps Sergeant Sleeth puts them through a degrading punishment using human excrement. The three juniors swear a blood oath never to allow another bully to abuse them.

Will this oath be their downfall, or will they make it through the school year? Snitching could have serious consequences, but keeping silent will break their blood oath. As Simon, Gracey and Crown try to survive this perilous journey, the constant threat of harm brings their friendship ever closer...

Michael L. Lewis was born and raised in England. After preparatory school in London, he was educated at Stowe School, Buckingham. Michael says, "My novel takes the reader on a journey through the lives of three dynamic school boys between the ages of 13 and 15, and the extraordinary triumphs and tragedies that they experience." This book is the first in a series. 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, and has been a member of the same book club for twenty-five years.

The Silent Oath

The Silent Oath is the fourth in The Oath series that depicts life at Blackleigh Public School, and also serves as a stand-alone novel.

1958. Jonathan Simon, 17, is in his fourth year at Blackleigh. Self-conscious about his appointment as one of five Prefects in Trafalgar House, he’s apprehensive as to whether he has what it takes to carry out his responsibilities.

Jonathan knows: 1) The school code of conduct mandates no snitching on anyone. 2) The student Prefects have absolute power to discipline. 3) Mr. Phillip Temple the new Headmaster is determined to revise the school admission policy to achieve a more even playing field in education.

The pressure mounts in an unforgettable school trip to Paris, prejudice spreading through the school and to the school’s Board of Governors as they ruthlessly oppose the new Head. They will stop at nothing to get their way. In his effort to strive to support the Headmaster’s goals, Jonathan will have to overcome far more than an oath of silence executed by his enemies to prevail…

Michael L. Lewis was born and raised in England. After preparatory school in London, he was educated at Stowe School, Buckingham. This is the fourth novel in the Oath series, taking readers on a journey through the lives of three dynamic schoolboys between the ages of 13 and 15. 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 and has been a member of the same book club for twenty-five years.

The Fatal Oath

The Fatal Oath is the third book in the Oath series. Each book stands alone with separate main themes.

1957. Blackleigh is an elite public school for boys in Yorkshire where prejudice and seething hatreds are never far below the surface. Violence erupts against any Junior who the Seniors deem unfit.

Jonathan Simon is 16, in his third year, and is self-conscious about being Jewish and having a birthmark on his cheek. He knows that: 1) The school code of conduct mandates no snitching, 2) The student Prefects, not the faculty, have absolute power to discipline and 3) Mr. Paul Wood, the temporary Headmaster, is weak and ineffectual.

Jonathan meets Bobby Stuart, an American transfer student, who is also worried about being accepted. Their friendship binds them together as they soon run afoul three ruthless and ambitious Seniors in the House; Gabriel, Murray and Hausman – also known by their fanatic followers as ‘The Black Armbands’.

As the pressure mounts, ambitions grow, friendships become closer and scheming increases. As for Jonathan, the year is only beginning…

Michael L. Lewis was born and raised in England. After preparatory school in London, he was educated at Stowe School, Buckingham. This is the third novel in the Oath series, taking readers on a journey through the lives of three dynamic schoolboys between the ages of 13 and 15, and the extraordinary triumphs and tragedies that they experience. 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 and has been a member of the same book club for twenty-five years.

The Broken Oath

1969: Blackleigh is an elite public school for boys in Yorkshire, established nearly seventy years ago. Despite the idyllic setting and the school’s excellent reputation, prejudice and hatred are never far below the surface.

Jonathan Simon, seventeen years old, is the new Head of Trafalgar House, at a time when a crucial change impacts the school: the addition of Yorke House for Girls.

The addition of a girls’ house sees Jonathan reunited with Jenny Lee, who is one of the first girls to enrol at the school. They are both on an advisory committee to resolve problems between Trafalgar and Yorke but are about to face mounting problems and physical danger.

As the pressures mount to an unpredictable climax, the future of the girls at the school is challenged. Somehow, Jonathan, Jenny, and the girls of Yorke must learn to survive and fight back against all odds.

Michael L Lewis was born and raised in England before emigrating to the USA in the 1960s. 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 and has been a member of the same book club for twenty-five years. The Broken Oath is the fifth novel in the Oath series.