Promise Not To Tell is a great mystery/romance novel. It is recommended to all romance readers. I keep her on my list of authors to follow.

The author was one of my favourite authors when I was much younger until I lost my taste for fiction in favor of non-fiction. Now that I'm trying to read a bit more fiction,it was nice to pick up an author whom I enjoyed in the past.

The writing skills are still apparent and I enjoyed the book for the most part. The pace is just right and the dialogue sounds believable to my reading ears. There were some parts that I just wanted to skip.

This seems to be part of a series but I could read it without feeling lost though I have not read the first book.

Content: some language but minimal and a brief sex scene.

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

I’ve read a handful of Jayne Ann Krentz’s romantic suspense stories over the year and I mostly find them satisfying (some more than others!) I thought after reading When All The Girls Have Gone that there might be more to that story and I was right- this is book 2 in the trilogy. Unfortunately, it took me awhile to get to book 2 since books just get lost in my Kindle (unfortunate, but true.)

However, I have been making more of an effort to get my Kindle cleaned up (and improve my Netgalley ratio) so I decided to give Promise Not To Tell a try.

What I liked:

The cover. Jayne Ann Krentz’s covers are really interesting.

The connection between Virginia and Cabot. Both of them suffered from a terrible event in their childhood and honestly- it could have ruined them. Instead, they fight back in their own ways and find out that together- they are much stronger.

The ending. Now I have to read book 3 ASAP.



Bottom line: It wasn’t super fantastic (I’ve enjoyed a couple other of her books a bit more) but it kept me entertained and flipping pages for a couple of days and I def want to finish the trilogy- so yay for that.



*This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.*

Promise Not to Tell continues the story of the boys that were saved from a fire set by a cult leader. This is Cabot’s story. He is a PI hired by Virginia to investigate the death of another past cult member. Unlike most customers, Virginia is involved in the investigation every step of the way. Cabot and Virginia find themselves thrown together in dangerous, crazy, and scary ways.

This book moved quickly. With every page there were mysteries to be solved, romance to be discovered, and stories to be told. It seemed that with every clue there was more to be known about Zane, the cult leader, and whoever Cabot and Virginia were chasing. I liked that there were clues within every chapter and if you could find them and follow them it led the reader to the right suspect. That being said, I thought I was following the clues and was only able to solved part of the investigation.

Being the second book in a series, I do think that it could be read as a stand-alone. Jayne Ann Krentz does a great job of catching the new reader up on the characters and the story without losing the attention of the reader who is familiar with the story. Promise Not to Tell has an ending, the investigation is solved, but I do believe there is more to tell about these characters.

I recommend picking up your own copy and enjoying the suspense, thrills, and romance of Cabot and Virginia’s story.

I'm a huge fan of Amanda Quick, so I wanted to give JAK's contemporary romantic suspense a try. It just didn't do it for me. I didn't find the characters or plot line intriguing or gripping. I DNF-ed at about 25%.

I did not get the chance to read this book for review, but my library did go ahead and acquire it for our collection.

Ms Krentz does not disappoint (again) with a captivating story, and strong female character. This romantic suspense is addicting from beginning to end with great chemistry and back and forth banter between the main characters, Virginia and Cabot.

Though I liked the book, I made the decision when I finished not to review it on my site because it didn't fit into my editorial schedule. I may include it in a review post or possibly a book list post in the future.

Jayne Ann Krentz is a master of formulaic book writing that you can almost forgive because it's still so well done even within the formula. This follows along from book 1 and has all the requisite action and emotions and mystery and thrills that you would expect.

A private detective must help a woman with knowledge of a past event that connects them both, and one with dangerous consequences. Krentz does a good job balancing the romance and suspense elements of the story, and developing interesting characters and situations.

Fast paces, fun twists and steamy romance. What more can you want from a Jayne Ann Krentz title?

Source: Net Galley
Release Date: January 2, 2018
http://jayneannkrentz.com/promise-not-to-tell/
Promise Not To Tell by Jayne Ann Krentz
Berkley
Romantic Suspense
Reviewed by Jo

Virginia Troy is the owner of an art gallery in Seattle. When one of her artists turns up dead, Virginia has a good reason to believe that it was murder. Virginia is one of the few survivors of a cult that was destroyed when she was a child, and the missing author was one of her mother's few friends with in the cult. Virginia knows she can't take her suspicions to just anyone; but Anson Salinas, the man who helped save the children from the fire, happens to be a partner in a private investigation firm. He is the one person Virginia knows she can hire that will take her seriously.

Cabot Sutter is one of the surviving children from the cult who was adopted by Anson. He is also one of the main investigators in the firm. When Virginia shows up with her concerns and wants to hire the firm to find out exactly what happened when the artist was killed, Cabot is assigned to the case. Cabot and Virginia certainly have some past history in having lived in and survived the cult. As a result, both are wary in letting anyone get too close, yet they quickly become a firm partnership as they start to follow the clues and every lead to find out not only what happened the night an artist fell off a cliff, but also just what exactly happened the night the fire destroyed the cult compound.

Quinton Zane was the cult leader who decided to try and kill all of his followers when the law came down on him. During the events of the evening, it was unsure if the cult leader had been killed somehow or if he got away when it was all over. As Cabot and Virginia begin getting a few answers, they begin to suspect that Quinton got away and still lives. The danger multiplies as more answers are located and, even as each turn seems to bring even more danger, Virginia and Cabot also discover that some of the sparks are actually coming from them. It seems that romance doesn't care what is going on around you when love is meant to be. The final answers prove Virginia was right, and yet it is a surprise on who was actually behind everything. The question is: Is all the horror of the cult and its ending finally, over or is there more out there to be discovered and ended?

Scars on the inside can be much more harming than those on the outside as both Cabot and Virginia learned growing up as survivors of a cult that went out in a deadly blaze in Promise Not To Tell. I really loved how Virginia and Cabot forged forward even when the outcome brought out things they really didn't want to think about again. I also enjoyed trying to figure out the clues as I read along during their adventures. I was surprised at how well Cabot and Virginia matched up once their attraction was undeniable. At first, I was sure they were just too far apart, even with the shared background. If you love a great suspense, then you can't miss with giving Promise Not To Tell a read. While not a series, one of Cabot's other adopted brothers is the hero of When All The Girls Have Gone.

Brought to you by OBS Reviewer jerjen

When Virginia Troy was a young girl she lived with her mother inside of a cult. One day there is a fire at the compound and Virginia’s mother dies in the fire. By some miracle, Virginia and the other children in the cult survive, at least physically. Emotionally it is a different story. Those children are scarred for life. With a lot of love and support from her grandma and a lot of therapy, Virginia is now an art gallery owner and she is coping pretty well. When one of her artist friends dies, the result of an apparent suicide, Virginia does not believe that is the cause of death. Before they died, they sent Virginia a picture that she drew depicting that fateful night. She believes her friend has been murdered by the cult leader. She decides she needs to hire a private investigator to check out the death.

Cabot Sutter is another one of the children that survived the cult. He too has had to overcome a lot of emotional scars and he has done that pretty well. He has become a private investigator and at least on the outside he seems to be doing okay. He is the investigator that Virginia has hired to find out about her friend. He is the perfect man for the job because he has a personal stake in it. If anyone can help her find the truth, Virginia feels that Cabot is that man.

Both Virginia and Cabot have a lot of baggage that they carry with them. Both of them have trouble with relationships. They are both too intense and guarded for any lasting connection. They both view life differently than others do. But maybe with time and patience, they could be good together. They are very good as partners in solving the mysterious death. They are great putting together the pieces of the puzzle and handling everything that comes their way. Maybe there is hope that they can find their happily ever after with each other.

The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and throughout much of the book I felt like I was right there watching all of the action taking place. And there was plenty of action contained within the pages. She is also very talented in creating suspense with just the written word. I wanted to keep reading to see what would happen next but I was afraid to keep reading because of what might happen next. That is a great predicament to be in.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted mystery suspense. I have read other books by this author and I have enjoyed them all. This author is truly talented and is an author to be read.

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*

Jayne Krentz just keeps getting better and better. I read this book in one sitting. She grabs your attention from the first page and just pulls you into the story.

uh..... i think i read a different book than everyone else because i did not love this one. i've only read two by jayne ann krentz - secret sisters and the first one in this series, and i remember liking them well enough but don't remember much else about them. i don't know if i've just been reading more books like this lately and hers don't compare to others anymore, or if this one was just.. not good. the writing felt clunky, the stuff coming out of the character's mouths sounded so robotic and the romance was lackluster. i am honestly confused as i don't remember her other books being this awkward, and it hasn't even been a year since i read the first one. i will give the 3rd book a try when it comes out but i wouldn't jump to recommend this one, personally.

Jane Ann Krentz is one of the best when it comes to Suspenseful Romance. Virginia and Cabot were raised together in a cult. They are reunited in their quest to find the leader of the cult and murderer of their mothers.

I enjoyed the first book in this series more than this one as there seemed to be more suspense and the characters more enjoyable in that book. For those that like Krentz this will be a must read.

I didn't know this book was part of a series when I requested it. However, there are parts of it that, clearly, readers only benefit from after reading the other books.

What little I did glean from those sections, however, definitely made me wonder about the background to this particular book. The characters keep talking about a cult, but everything they describe doesn't really suggest a cult. A man runs a pyramid scheme and manages to convince hordes of women to live with him at the same time? How can someone scamming people force them to live with him? What about the men? Why/how only women? The word "cult" is thrown about pretty casually, but nothing makes the former group sound like one.

Also, this read like more of a movie on the page instead of a regular book. I could practically see a "Die Hard"-type of setup for this. It felt more like a popcorn film that guys would really enjoy. For all these reasons, I really didn't like it (although I can understand why something like this would have broad appeal.)

Jayne Ann Krentz delivers on another compelling Romantic Suspense. Promise Not to Tell features some familiar faces and some new ones. Krentz’s stories are intricate and her world building is stellar. It sometimes feels as if you’ve known the characters for generations even after a few chapters because Krentz does such a good job of establishing what drives the character and their underlying traits so quickly in her books. Of course, she has a method and clearly it’s a successful one as each book is just as good or even better than the last. She also likes to hide little Easter egg mentions of her other series within each book and it always gives me a little thrill to recognize either a name or a subject from one of her previous novels. Promise Not to Tell was a very satisfying read and I can’t wait for the next one in the series.
Virginia Troy is a gallery owner in Seattle with an unusual past. As a child her mother moved them to a cult. In a sad turn of events one night the compound caught on fire and her mother was killed. Virginia has spent years trying to move beyond that, and she thought she had, until an artist sends her a painting that brings all of those memories to the surface and causes her to begin questioning the past. Cabot Sutter is also a survivor of the cult fire, and as he and Virginia are thrown together he realizes that perhaps the fate of the cult leader wasn’t as cut and dried as every one believes…perhaps there’s more to the story

4.5 Stars
Virginia and Cabot survived the machinations of twisted cult leader as kids, when he tried to kill them all in a fire, but their mothers weren’t so fortunate. They’re reunited when Virginia hires Cabot’s detective firm to investigate the suspicious death of one of the survivors. The police think it’s a suicide, but Virginia is convinced there’s more to her death when she receives a message in the form of a cryptic painting depicting the supposedly dead cult leader in a horror scene that looks like it was set in the present. It soon becomes apparent that Virginia is in grave danger.

Both Virginia and Cabot are haunted by the past. It’s made any romantic relationship difficult at best, so I was happy there was an immediate attraction between them, because they just got each other’s hang-ups resulting from the inevitable PTSD they experienced. I loved Cabot and Virginia working together, piecing together the clues and handling each new threat shot their way; and believe me there were plenty! It seemed there was danger at every turn! Just when they’d escape one threat another would slam them! I liked that they thought things through in the face of chaos, and handled whatever crazy thing came their way. Cabot and Virginia really made an excellent team!

I also liked the little side story of Cabot’s family and inheritance. Xavier, Cabot’s teenage cousin, was a delight and I hope we get to see him in future books.

Promise Not to Tell was page-turner! An exciting ride! Everything I love about romantic suspense: surprising twists, danger, action, and a romance you can root for!