The Promise by Teresa Driscoll drew me in with the description, and it kept me reading with its unraveling of the mystery.
Beth, Sally, and Carol meet at boarding school, where something terrible occurs. They make a promise to never mention to anyone what has occurred.
Flash forward to thirty years later, the women are in their own lives and families. But when the boarding school is set to be demolished, they know they need to do something. Except Carol can’t be found. Enter Matthew, an ex-cop that is working as a private detective.
The Promise is told through different points of views, going back and forth between past and present, until the buildup where the reader finds out what really happened.
My first Teresa Driscoll book, and won’t be my last.

This was a bit of a slow burner for me but the second half reveals more, and had me racing through the pages.
Carol, Beth and Sally did something horrible when they were at boarding school, and have each tried to forget it.
It’s something that they will never speak about again and make a promise to take it to their graves. They then hear that their former school is being demolished and they become very nervous and scared that their secret could be revealed.
The three girls come together again and old wounds are opened up.
This is a good mystery thriller.
Thanks to Thomas and Mercer and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

‘I think I put my hand over her mouth.’ I was hooked from the first page to the end of this brilliant psychological thriller. Three girls become inseparable after they meet at boarding school, aged eleven. At the age of fourteen they share an awful experience and promise that they will never speak of this event with anyone else. Thirty years later they hear some news which makes it very likely that their secret will be uncovered.

Beth and Sally have remained very firm friends but they have lost touch with Carol, the third of the trio, who seems determined to keep her distance. Because of the promise, they need to find her, fast. They enlist the help of a private detective, Matthew.

The narrative moves between the past and present and, in the main, it is told by Beth, but interspersed with the views of Carol and Matthew. As the search for Carol continues, it becomes apparent that someone does not want the secret to be exposed and Beth, in particular, begins to fear for the safety of her family.

This is a very well written novel which really brings the characters alive. It starts quite slowly but this really helps to ramp up the tension and it speeds to its conclusion with plenty of twists and turns. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from NetGalley and publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.

2.5/5

I thought the premise of the book was pretty interesting, at least it's what got me intrigued. However, I found that the plot was a slow burner, and the thriller aspect to not be very thrilling. Yes, the plot of three school girls making a promise years go only to have the feelings of guilt made from the said promise to resurface, was interesting, but the execution...not so much. I also almost lost interest in the plot because of its pacing and somewhat dull characters, as I got attached to none of them.

In the end, I found the mystery of the promise to be rather anti-climactic (since Beth, Sally, and Carol make it seem to be something very, VERY traumatic, which it was, don't get me wrong, but the hype of it all didn't meet my expectations). As mentioned before, the pacing of the book was one the stories weak points, as the plot did not really pick up until like 3/4 of the way through the book. From that point on things get interesting and everything gets revealed, though the ending was a bit abrupt, but at least it was a good enough of a conclusion as all the questions were answered.

THE PROMISE starts slow but builds momentum quickly until you’re left in a daze! It’s the story of three boarding school friends forever bonded by a secret they’ve promised never to share—until keeping quiet becomes impossible. Thank you NetGalley for making this title available to me!

This is the first book of Teresa Driscoll’s that I’ve read but certainly not the last. The writing is gorgeous, the characters heartbreakingly relatable and the twists suspenseful, unexpected and exactly what I’ve been looking for! The foreshadowing and the backstory and the crumbs the author strategically placed held me captive until the end. THE PROMISE is an expertly paced, multi-perspective, psychological thriller told in present day, flashbacks and peppered with eerie diary enteries, that has a satisfying conclusion I’m still reeling over!

This is quite the emotional roller coaster. The story contains nail biting drama. Three young girls swear to keep a secret that brings multiple complications into their adult lives. The story is told through the voice of multiple characters which adds great depth to the feelings and voice of the plot. It also transitions from one period of time to the next to add comparative perspective to what the characters were feeling or doing at different times. The author doesn’t leave anything to chance and only introduces characters and details that are absolutely vital to the plot. This keeps the reader intrigued and guessing at what is truly happening until she is ready to reveal it. A solid mind puzzle you will enjoy reading and trying to solve before you get to the end.

I liked the idea of the plot but was having some difficulty following the time and character changes. I was having difficulty getting into the book and feeling overwhelmed with extra detail. It was well written but just was not my cup of tea.

Wow! What a thriller of a story! This book grabbed my attention at the beginning and I had a hard time putting it down. At times it did remind me of another book I had read and I thought I had it figured out.
The ending did kinda surprise me. Definitely recommend! Thank you for the chance to read this book early!!

Beth, Carol and Sally have a secret. 30 years ago, they thought they hide it away forever, but with their former school being demolished, the secret is in danger of being released.

Beth and Sally have remained close, but have become estranged from Carol. Beth hires Matthew to find their friend before all is revealed.

Told in four parts - Beth, Sally, Carol and private investigator Matt - we, the reader, slowly find out about the buried secrets of the past.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this thriller of a book.

A secret. A promise made by three 14-year-old girls at boarding school. Buried, but never forgotten. Carol, Beth and Sally have lived with this terrible secret well into their adult lives. 

Beth and Sally are still very close but Carol seemed to disappear off the face of the earth after she left school. While saddened by this, Carol seems to want nothing to do with them.

And then the cream-colored envelope appears. The school is being sold and torn down, the nuns reassigned and a long-buried secret is in danger of being dug up.

They set out to find Carol and decide what they should do. And that sets in motion a horrible threat to their very lives and their loved ones lives. But who? Who else knew what happened?

This was told through multiple points of view. There were maybe too many subplots here. In the end, even I was shocked by the biggest secret of all that had been kept!

Throughout the book I kept thinking how things we see at 14 seem so big and life shattering, when just telling the truth would have led them all down very different paths and spared a lot of pain in the end.

Netgalley/February 7th 2019 by Thomas & Mercer

This was a quick and enjoyable read, it flowed really well and kept me interested throughout. The storyline was simple but it worked.

Three friends (Beth, Carol and Sally) attend a boarding school, were all involved in an incident, someone died and now they have a dark secret that they’ve vowed to never tell anyone, and for many years that dark secret has remained buried. Present day the 3 girls have all moved on, putting the incident behind them and are now living their lives, news arrives that the boarding school is due to close, this opens up the tragedy again. Beth and Sally enlist the help of a PI to help them find Carol who disappeared shortly after leaving school. They must get together before their terrible secret is revealed.

My first Teresa Driscoll book and hopefully not my last, I enjoyed this very much, it contained everything I would want in the thriller, murder, deceit, intrigue and mystery.

You know it's going to be creepy when it concerns a secret at a boarding school. A religious boarding school for girls....

When the old convent is set to be demolished of course the girls are worried about what happened back when they were students. The reader is kept in the dark which was good and I did imagine all sorts! The act they committed was suitably creepy and sad.Makes me grateful I never went to boarding school if this is what they are like ;)

There's so many of these books about secrets at boarding school and this one didn't really stand out for me but the sense of claustrophobia and darkness was good. The idea of a demolished convent was chilling and I do like to find out about boarding school as they seem so constrictive

Pleased I don't know any girls like these in real life!

I was excited to read this one since had just read I Am Watching You also by Teresa Driscoll and thought it brilliant. This one, not so much.

Missing was her deft laying, and allowing the story to naturally unfold. Instead opting for the big bang finale. And goodness, such an incredibly slow start! Not to mention, boarding school, again? Being way overdone by other authors. I appreciate she attended one, but I guess everyone else has also.

There are elements many readers may quite enjoy, it just didn't work for me.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.

They were best friends when they were at boarding school but something happened there that would change their lives. Sally & Beth have remained close friends although Carole seems to have distanced herself from them & everything from her past. When the school is scheduled to close they know they have to act before their secret becomes public knowledge- but where is Carole? Why is she avoiding her old friends? Beth & Sally hire a private investigator to help.

Told from each woman's perspective, Teresa Driscoll keeps the reader guessing. From the clues I thought I knew what had happened. I was thinking that it had been a bit too easy to work out. However the author had the last laugh with a lot of unexpected revelations at the end.

This was a quick book to read as I got so involved with the characters & wanted answers. Thanks to Netgalley for letting me read & review this five star book.

THE PROMISE by Teresa Driscoll
Once again, Ms Driscoll delights her readers with clever twists and turns in this, her third, psychological thriller. When three school friends make a serious promise to each other, they have no idea of its far-reaching consequences or the devastating impact it will have on all of their lives.
Admirers of the author's previous novels, I Am Watching You and The Friend, will love The Promise. It is in turn surprising, shocking, intriguing and horrifying as the story unravels the lives of Beth, Sally and Carol. It reaches a clever and unexpected conclusion.
As ever, the author has skilfully constructed a dark tale that will delight established fans and new readers alike. Another great page-turner.
My thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for supplying me with a preview copy.

Three girls . . . Beth, Carol, and Sally . . . share a room at the boarding school at the Convent of Saint Colman, and for thirty years, find themselves held captive by a promise. A promise of schoolchildren, a promise rooted in fear, a promise they’ve kept but tried to forget. But, like most promises, the seed of it lives on in their memories, rising at times to haunt each of them.

When circumstances conspire to threaten exposure of their secret, they enlist a private investigator and work to keep it buried. But, as they consider the possibility of revealing their secret, someone is watching them, threatening to make certain it remains untold. And when Beth’s family is threatened, will she be able to keep the promise?

The story slowly unfolds, alternating between the boarding school years and the present. Tension builds slowly, but it pulls the reader into the story from the beginning. Peopled by believable characters, the realistic narrative keeps the pages turning.

The strong friendship between the women is a highlight of the story, as is the inner struggle with the keeping of the promise. This thoughtful narrative keeps the reader involved in the telling of the tale. Some unexpected reveals ramp up the suspense, making it difficult to set this one aside before turning the final page.

Recommended.

I received a free Advance Reader’s Copy of this eBook from Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley
#ThePromise #NetGalley

This book was an enjoyable mystery with some interesting suspense. It keeps the reader guessing. I gave it a four-star rather than five star rating because I thought that the ending was too 'fairy tale'.

In my family, I am the one who is hardest to surprise when it comes to plot twists. I tell my husband that it's probably due to my life-long involvement with the world of theater - I'm always asking myself "what are the possible plot twists?"

This book kept me guessing right up until the reveal. There were hints of something tragic; a horrible event that forever altered the lives of boarding school friends Carol, Beth, and Sally.

With carefully crafted flashbacks, Driscoll beautifully weaves a story of three boarding school students who become inseparable but find their friendships strained almost to the breaking point by something awful that occurred during their school years. The three friends promised never to tell anyone what had happened. But that secret begins to cause the unraveling of most other aspects of their lives.

I finished this book less than 24 hours after I started it. It's that good. The writer kept me guessing about the tragedy that these girls were hiding but kept feeding just enough descriptions - descriptions of blood on the floor, a lifeless figure, blue lips, and more - to keep you captivated and guessing. Once the truth is revealed, there is yet more to be discovered since Beth and her family have been receiving anonymous threats from someone who knows about the big secret.

The women eventually confide in loved ones and find support and love instead of the judgment and anger they feared. As for the threats to Beth's family - and even some serious injuries in one case - will the culprit be discovered? More importantly, will he or she be punished? And will the most common victim of this person's anger ever find peace and healing?

Very well thought out story but progressed rather slowly. The readers knows there is a secret and I'm sure imaginations will run wild with what it could be. The three schoolgirl friends made a promise never to tell, but of course secrets always have a way of showing themselves. There are lots of twists and turns in this story. I think the answers of what happens will surprise most. Recommended!

Three girls held a deep, dark secret. Three girls made a promise they vowed to keep forever. Now something and someone is threatening that promise. Will the truth come out or will these women do anything possible to keep their secret hidden forever?

I am a huge Teresa Driscoll fan and have previously rated her books very highly. The Promise is a slow burning psychological suspense novel - not a thriller - but a book filled with plenty of atmospheric drama. The book begins when the three women are at a private girls school. While we don't actually learn what the secret is, I suspect that most of us can guess. It's a terrible thing that happens and traumatizing, too, for each of the girls. However, the secret more than the event becomes the catalyst for problems down the road as is generally the case with secrets, right?

Without giving any of the plot away, I will say that I enjoyed The Promise but not nearly as much as I have liked Driscoll's precious work. While it's well written, I had a difficult time actually connecting with any of the three women. Perhaps it's because I'm too bluntly honest for my own good and keeping a secret for a lifetime isn't something I can conceive of doing. Just deal it already! Despite misgivings, however, I found myself engrossed in their story and I did read it in one very quick sitting. I suspect that if, like me, you are a Driscoll fan then you will like this selection. If you enjoy slow-burning psychological reads then this will be good one for you as well. If, however, you like thrillers, then this one is not for you. It is very much a solid three-star rating from me.

Thank you to #Netgalley and #ThomasMercer for my advanced copy of #ThePromise