The Promise

Good story with lots of twists and turns. I did not like the ending. I wanted to know if she really got sent to jail. There should be another book to explain what happens next.

The Promise provides an interesting plot based on the blackmail of Olivia Field by ex-convict, Tina. Tina has discovered evidence that she believes uncovers a miscarriage of justice; Tina has not got long to live and she is determined to carry out the wishes of her late mother by ensuring her brother, Wayne, is settled before she dies. But will Tina's plans destroy the life that Olivia has planned for herself and her new husband?

I enjoyed this plot and thought that it was cleverly written. There was a point where the blackmail demands became quite far-fetched, however, in the spirit of fiction, I allowed myself to suspend belief and settled down into the story. 

A myriad of complex and intertwining relationships between Olivia, her fiance, her ex-husband and best friend combined with the toxic presence of Tina and Wayne provided an engaging and intriguing read. It wasn't a fast-paced read as described but it certainly had enough about it to keep me reading to the end. The build-up to the conclusion of the storyline was nailbiting and had me engrossed but I felt the end was rather abrupt.

Each character was well written and despite any redeeming qualities were totally unlikeable - oh I do love me an unlikeable character and it was a tense read as I switched from feeling sorry for them to disliking them intensely! It's hard to say too much without spoiling the plot but my top 3 love/hate relationships were with Olivia: at times I wanted to give her a good shake and tell her to man up a little! Yet I felt sorry for her as her fear was very real; Tina: oh what a nasty piece of work she was stopping at nothing to carry out her plans; yet how could I not feel for her, she was dying, she had a whole lot of guilt and emotions from past experiences and so it was hard not to understand her motivations and finally Wayne; he was repulsive at times yet there were clearly underlying and undiagnosed mental health issues with him; he was very much under the influence of his sister yet his fear at what lay before him was palpable.

The Promise might not be the fast-paced read as described but it was certainly an engaging and intriguing one, it does make you think, oh what would I do in a situation like that? A cast of unlikeable but understandable characters combined with a clever plot made it an engaging and enjoyable read for me.

My review will go up on my blog as part of the blog tour. My blog is here https://chapterinmylife.wordpress.com/

It's written with thanks to Rachel at Rachel's Random Resources for inviting me on the tour, and The Book Guild and Netgalley for my copy of the book.
Olivia Field is preparing to marry her fiance, Mark, but she is plagued by flashbacks of the bloodstained body of a man who was stabbed. The victim is her ex-husband, Simon's father and his mother, Audrey is sentenced to life in prison for his murder. Audrey's cellmate was Tina, who, thirty years later, is now terminally ill and worried about who will look after her brother, Wayne when she dies. Tina finds a letter that was written by Audrey and given to her upon her release, promising her that Olivia and Simon will look after her in the outside world. How far will Tina go to make Audrey keep her promise?
When I was invited on the blog tour for The Promise, I was immediately intrigued by the blurb I was given. How can a woman who appears to have everything become so involved with a woman like Tina? It is questions like these that drew me into The Promise and I couldn't let go. The novel only hints at violence in the beginning, and the relationship between Olivia and Tina is not immediately obvious, but it is captivating and I was desperate to know how it would end as the tension built until it was difficult to bear!
Olivia's situation makes her do and say things that, although probably out of character, are spiteful. This made it difficult for me to fully warm to her, but as the secrets she kept began to unravel, I did try to put myself in her shoes and think about how I would react in a similar situation. I hope I never am, but I am unsure what I would do, and this heightened the effect of the tension for me.
The Promise ends on a cliffhanger. It is not neat, but I liked this, as being able to reflect on the novel and consider what might happen next meant that it will stay with me for a long time to come.

Some promises should never be made and some should never be kept.

Tina is an ex-convict and dying of cancer. Her biggest worry isn't dying .. it's what to become of her brother Her brother, Wayne, is unable to care for himself, what a lot of people would call simple mindedness.

Tina calls in a promise made to her many years ago ... by another inmate who was imprisoned for murdering her husband. When Tina reads the letter again, her friend has written a letter to her son and his girlfriend, asking them to please help Tina should she need help. What Tina finds, attached to the back of the letter, is another missive ... this time putting in writing that she did not kill her husband .... he was killed by her son's girlfriend.

Olivia and Simon are best of friends, even though they are no longer married. Each have moved on to better lies. Olivia is engaged to a wonderful man and Simon is dating one of Olivia's friends. No one but the two of them know what really happened years and years ago.

Tina turns to blackmail to get what she wants for her brother. Tina wants Simon to employ him .. even though he has absolutely no job history at all ... and he's 50 years old. She threatens Simon with the idea that she will hurt his new girlfriend. She tells Olivia she will go to the police if she doesn't pay her enough money to stockpile for her brother.

To what lengths would a person go in order to protect her loved ones from the truth?

This is a psychological thriller that I found to be a good read, if not fast-paced. The characters are deftly drawn, but they all had issues and few redeeming qualities.

Many thanks to the author / The Book Guild Ltd / Netgalley for the advance digital copy. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

This was an enjoyable thriller, written from multiple points of view, which many authors have difficulty with. Sally Jenkins did a good job writing each point of view in a way that gave each narrator a distinctive voice of their own. It was fast paced and really held my attention. It was a little predictable but interesting enough that it was still worth reading. The characters were all interesting and all of them had flaws. Most of them had few redeeming qualities. They definitely were memorable, though. I can honestly say that I'll probably read more of Sally Jenkins's work.

Great read! Looking forward to reading more by this author! I highly recommend this book and author to all!