Alissa Lee’s debut novel centers on a group of Harvard alums who have been playing a deadly game for years.

Whenever I come across a story involving shady doings among students from a close-knit college group, my mind cannot help but wander to Donna Tartt’s THE SECRET HISTORY. However, as WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE progressed, I found that the plot more closely resembled the Michael Douglas and Sean Penn film The Game, where reality and the game that the characters are playing blur the lines of understanding.

In this case, the decades-long game that former roommates Sara, Bee, Dina, Allie and Wesley continue to play is called the Circus. The contestants battle throughout New York City for a brief period of time. They are eliminated by being “killed” with a water pistol, and the gold medallions around their necks are taken from them. The winner is the person who has all of the medallions. This is far from being a fun game as they have been contributing to a pot that has now grown to nearly one million dollars thanks to an investment pro who increased their tally considerably.

"Alissa Lee is obviously having a lot of fun reliving her own time at Harvard in this fictional tale of old friends whose lives are turned upside down by a friendly game that goes too far."

This is the first year that Sara does not want to participate in the Circus and suggests that they don’t play. She recently has been tormented by the memory of Claudine, the sixth member of their group who died in a tragic accident when they were at school. She swears she has seen Claudine and is not sure if her mind is playing tricks on her or if someone is trying to drive her mad. Her friends do not agree, as the payout is too much to walk away from and the competition is more cutthroat and surreal than ever before.

They pick the first week of the year for their game as the novel opens with the statement that nothing interesting ever happens in January. This year feels different, though, especially for Sara. She was right there 23 years earlier when Claudine fell to her death, and the traumatic event is haunting her more personally than ever before. Prior to this year’s Circus, the friends reviewed the list of rules that have evolved over time, most of which have come about due to the chicanery that some of the contestants have stooped to in order to “kill” each other.

Dina, who has always been seen as the meekest member of the group, approaches Sara about working together so she can finally win and show them all. Sara reluctantly agrees but may regret that decision when some of the tactics get quite personal and dangerous. Bee, who is a DA in Manhattan and a mayoral candidate, is pushed onto the subway tracks and lands in the hospital. Other near-criminal actions are felt by some of the other players, making Sara wonder who she can trust and what it will take to end this game once and for all before whoever is out to hurt them succeeds.

The finale of WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE is a wild one. Alissa Lee is obviously having a lot of fun reliving her own time at Harvard in this fictional tale of old friends whose lives are turned upside down by a friendly game that goes too far.