My first time reading this author, but I will definitely look for her other works!. Starts a little slow as you learn all the characters and the movement of the character's voices. They are expressed 'to and fro', 'then and now', but it is easy to follow the timeline. Once you are ''listening '' to each of them tell their stories you won't want to put the book down. While you may guess what the promise is you will never guess the additional twists and turns all the way to the end of the book. No spoilers from me, the jacket cover and other reviews have given adequate descriptions. I only laid the book down for a few hours sleep once started! I am 'stingy' with 5 stars, but this one is deserving.
Many thanks to the author, Thomas & Mercer Publishing, and NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review. The opinions expressed are my own. Enjoy!

I really loved the friendship of these girls and the unfortunate event that lead to the promise. It’s a long time since I’ve read a book this quick , it’s hard to put down . I love this author and this is one not to be missed .

When three young schoolgirls make a promise thirty years ago they expected their secret to remain as such forever. However, thirty years later there is danger of the past being uncovered which leads to a dangerous time for the three women.

The story slowly unravels and leads you to the dark secret that has remained hidden for so many years and you discover the bond that keeps the three women together through their toughest years.

I found the story slow in places and not sure where this was going, how bad could this incident have been for the girls and what happened. The last quarter of the book did pick up the pace a bit and ended ok.

Beth, Sally and Carol made a promise to each other when they were 14, a promise to keep their darkest secret to themselves, to take it to the grave with them.  Thirty years later, Beth and Sally are still best of friends, although Carol has distanced herself from them.  Suddenly they get some shocking news, and Beth and Sally realise their secret is at risk of discovery.  They hire a private detective to try and trace Carol so that they can decide what to do.  Unknown to the three of them someone else knows their secret, someone who will stop at nothing to ensure the secret isn't discovered.

This was a great read.  I am a big fan of thrillers of all description, so I usually find them easy to get into, and this was no exception.  Beth and Sally are both likeable characters, and their friendship comes off the pages as a genuine and believable friendship.  Carol is very different, and we don't learn much about her as she is now, as she is estranged from the others. 
I enjoyed having the book narrated by different characters, and for the chapters to move between past and present.  From the very start of the book we are aware that the girls have a terrible secret from their time at school, and each chapter leads us closer to understanding what happened. We don't get many chapters from Carol, and I think that works well.  It helps to reinforce Beth and Sally's feeling that they don't understand why Carol has drawn away.
I don't want to say too much more, as I don't want to give away any details that will spoil the story for people.  I will say though that I think this hits the mark for psychological thrillers.  It's a quick read, easy to get into and moves at a good pace.  I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes thrillers, or books about secrets.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an arc in exchange for an honest review

I thoroughly enjoyed this dark and brooding psychological thriller. The book is well writen with a great cast of characters and a story line that is interesting and believable. It is a very emotional book with an unexpected ending. I was fortunate to receive this novel from Netgalley as an Advance Reader Copy, in exchange for an objective review.

Three boarding school friends receive information that their old school that bonded them many years ago... is gone.

It’s a relief eat first, because maybe the secret they share will go to the grave with the demolished building.

But just as they think everything gets laid to rest.. a secrets climbs it’s way through the dirt.

A little predictable but over all fun to read. Seemed like Roanoke Girls meets Pretty Little Liars.

Three friends, Beth, Sally and Carol meet at boarding school but while they are there something terrible happens and they make a promise never to tell anyone what happened. But the boarding school is about to be demolished and Beth and Sally have lost touch with Carol, and feel they must find her in case their secret is discovered. So they hire Matthew, an ex-cop private detective.

The story, past and present, is told mainly from Beth's perspective, interspersed with that of Matthew and Carol, and there is a long, slow build up before we finally find out what the secret is. From that point things start to move pretty fast and there were a couple of big reveals that I didn’t see coming.

I enjoyed Ms Driscoll’s writing style and her descriptions of life at boarding school. It came as no surprise to read in the authors notes at the end that she did actually go to boarding school herself. The back story of Matthew was also very interesting.

This was my first book by Teresa Driscoll and I will now be looking up her back catalogue.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received this book "The Promise" from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own. I had trouble staying focused on this story. Towards the end it did get better but not sure I can recommend. This was a slow story to get going. I really thought the "incident" was going to be much more severe. Overall an okay read. The chilling new psychological thriller is in the title but I did not find it to be a thriller.

With thanks to Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

The Promise is about three school friends Beth, Sally and Carol. At the age of 14 tragedy struck one of the girls during the Easter holidays. Scared to tell their parents the three girls make a promise not to tell.

In the present day Beth and Sally receive a letter to say their catholic boarding school is due to close. Beth and Sally have tried to forget the tragedy and are reluctant to go. Carol left the convent when she was 16 and now lives in France. Carol distanced herself as an adult and not seen her friends for years. Unsure whether to go Beth decided to hire ex policeman Matthew Hill to find her.

I agree with other readers that The Promise is a slow burner but that didn't put me off. The story really got going for me at the 60% mark, but after that there were so many twists and turns I was left reeling. I kicked myself for not guessing the girls secret, it was heart breaking but sensitively done.

The chapters were divided between Before and Now 2016, ,the story is told from the POV of Beth, Matthew and Carole.

I liked the characters in this book especially Sally, Matthew and Carol`s young next door neighbour.

I highly recommend this five .star 🌟 read.

What did Beth, Carol, and Sally do that was so bad they promised never ever to tell? Well, you won't find out for a while. Whatever it was, it happened at a school run by nuns and that school is about to be demolished. Sally and Beth are frantically trying to find Carol, even hiring a private detective. Told in dual time lines, this one takes a while to get going but eventually it delivers. You might guess the secret but there are other aspects of this that make it a good read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

The Promise is the story of three friends; Beth, Sally and Carol, who met at a Catholic boarding school and became inseparable, then something terrible happened and the girls made a promise to never speak of it again and take the secret to their graves. Thirty years later Beth and Sally are still best friends but they have lost touch with Carol who moved away. When they both receive a letter which could unearth their secret they panic and know they have to find Carol, whatever the cost, so they hire Matthew, a private investigator to help find her, but someone else knows their secret and will do anything to prevent the secret being revealed. Beth is torn between keeping her promise and ensuring her family are not in danger.

The story is told over two timelines and the chapters alternate between all four main characters, so you get to connect with each of them and learn what happened from each of their perspectives. I've read this author's work before and find her books very easy to read, I devoured this one in just one day! Teresa Driscoll knows how to draw her readers in and completely engulf them in the story, I found this one very hard to put down and am looking forward to reading I am Watching You which I also have on my kindle. If you like a psychological thriller which grips you from the start and keeps you wanting more then I recommend The Promise.

I would like to thank Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for the auto approval, I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.

Promises are forever – and can ruin lives. Three teenage girls vow to keep one and it haunts them way into adulthood. When something happens that threatens to reveal their dark secret, things come to a head. I enjoyed the author’s depiction of the carefree, happy childhood these three friends had at boarding school, and seeing how their lives panned out (this didn’t unfold in linear fashion but as occasional flashbacks into the past). I was kept guessing by the subsequent strange behaviour of one of them, who’d been sunny, beautiful and bright as a youngster. In particular, I loved Beth and Carol’s mothers, both of whom – despite their trials – were wonderfully loving characters. Mystery abounds and I was kept guessing. Just exactly what was the promise? And what on earth was wrong with Carol? There are new relationships, interesting projects and some awful revelations - a great mix.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

The Promise by Teresa Driscoll is a 'psychological thriller' set around three friends who have held a secret since childhood.

I found this to be a slow read and not particularly thrilling. I guessed the secret fairly early and had to muddle my way through until I found out I was correct.

An easy but slow read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for this ARC, in exchange for an honest review!
This book starts off fairly slow, but I went in pretty blind in the hope for surprises. Curious to find out what the secret was… I was keen to keep reading. However, I did feel a bit disappointed. Although I liked the characters and the writing of this book.. I found that even going in blind I guessed every single twist way in advance of it being revealed. I was hoping to be pleasantly surprised by some unknown, or maybe a shocking twist at the end, however, I wasn't. Who knows, maybe I have read/seen too many thrillers these days to be surprised.. But maybe I am being unfair, I guess the overall promise was a slight surprise… but then I found that part to be delivered a bit flatly.
Either way I did enjoy the book, and I give this one 3 stars!

**2-2.5 Stars **
Expected Publication: February 7th, 2019

Unpopular opinion alert...I'm SORRY!! I wanted to like this so much, but it was such a slow burn that by the time something actually happened, my mind was made up that I just didn't really care. Three girls from boarding school make a "promise" to never discuss something tragic and throughout 60-70% of this book it just keeps referencing it without any details. Then the last 30% of this read, things get cray cray which did redeem it. I did love the way things came together, it was dark and twisted but it just came too late for me. I can see how a lot of people are giving this rave reviews. I would say know going in that it will be slow and if you can stay interested, I think the ending will be worth it.

Special thanks to NetGalley, Teresa Driscoll, and Thomas & Mercer for allowing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review..

This was an easy read with a secret withheld for much of the book and the effect keeping this secret had on the lives of three girls from a convent school. This is not the only issue this book deals with but it is the major one and keeps the reader engaged and wanting to know the whole story and the outcome.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Teresa Driscoll/Amazon for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Promise started off with an intriguing hook that had me gripped and in suspense of what the big secret actually is. It was chilling at times but it was a slow burner so be prepared for that.
Didn’t love this one but it was still an enjoyable read that intrigued me and it was mostly unpredictable and maybe a tad bit too dramatic.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and Teresa Driscoll for the opportunity to read and review her latest psychological thriller - it won't disappoint!

Three girls become fast friends at a Catholic boarding school. They also make a promise - to never reveal a secret about something they did to anyone, ever. Fast forward and Beth and Sally are still best friends, but they've lost touch with Carol through the years. An announcement that the school is being sold to developers who are planning on demolishing it send Beth and Sally into fear that their secret will be revealed. They must find Carol. Enter Matthew, a private investigator with his own secret. But is the hunt for Carol endangering their lives?

This was a great read with lots of twists - some you'll guess and others you won't. It's also a story of how what happens to us in the past changes our future and the power that secrets carry in our lives.

Awesome!!!! Couldn’t even move or eat dinner to finish this one! I’ve got 4 words for you.... good luck sleeping tonight!

5 out of 5 stars

First I want to thank Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer publishing for allowing me to read an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The more books I read by Teresa Driscoll the more I enjoy her writing and this was no exception. The first book I read by her was "I am watching you" and I really enjoyed it. I just finished the audio version of "The Friend" and really enjoyed it. "The Promise" was just as good even though it had a different feel.

Sally, Beth and Carol, three best friends living in a catholic boarding school made a promise to keep a secret just between them forever. A secret so dark that has haunted them for life.

Now grown woman Carol has completely distanced herself from Sally and Beth to the point that they can't even find her. Sally and Beth however have grown closer So close that they are practically codependent. When news comes that the school is being demolished they are afraid that their secret will be revealed. In desperation they hired a PI and that is when things really begin to implode.

Yes, this is a mystery but I also really reads like a character study. Each woman handles things in a different way and it is very compelling to watch as these women handle the stress, fear and heartbreak that has been handed to them.

I must say that I really enjoyed seeing Matthew from "The Friend" in this and I liked that it told us the story of Matthew before we meet him in "The Friend". It was a pleasure to see him again.

Will you be surprised by everything in this book? No, not really but I think you will enjoy the story immensely.