This book took a bit for me to get into. I loved “I am watching you” also by this author and truly enjoyed reading it, but getting through this book took work. I think the overall premise of the book was good but it lacked engagement, at least for me. I was looking for more, but midway through the book, I realized the book had not gotten anywhere. It took me forever to get through this book and I just didn’t want to keep reading it. I typically do not quit on a book, but unfortunately, this was a DNF for me, maybe another day I can pick it back up, but this one just wasn’t for me!

I’m choosing to give it a 3 star because I felt like some people may enjoy it, so I don’t want to totally dash this book and perhaps the ending is better.!

To be honest, I did not love. The best part of the book was the ending, which I guess can be a positive, but the rest of the book seemed to drag. I understand a lot of the background was necessary for the ending to make sense, but it definitely could have been condensed or started the build up a little earlier. It took me awhile to get through this one. Again, the ending redeemed it a little, but overall I was a little underwhelmed.

Promises made when you are young can come back to haunt you in the future. Each of these friends promised to keep a secret regarding a tragedy, but the consequences of this promise cause issues later on in life. This book is a well written psychological drama, but it starts out slowly and builds upon the drama.

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it, it is a fast read and has some really fun aspects but also I found some of it not to my taste. Its not my usual genre but I was pleasantly surprised.

Three young girls in a boarding school and a secret. A promise is made. This secret will haunt them throughout their lives. And then they receive news that the boarding school will be torn down. Will their secret be revealed? Will one of them break the promise? Teresa Driscoll does a wonderful job of sharing the lives of these three girls. I was not expecting the twist at the end. Thoroughly enjoyed this book!

Just a Few Words:   The twists, the turns, the sheer magnitude of the revelations makes me want to turn around and read it again, but unfortunately, I only want to read the last half -- well, actually not that much.  Oh the dilemma.     Okay, let's begin...

The Promise by Teresa Driscoll is a psychological thriller

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Thomas & Mercer, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

My Synopsis:
Due to fewer nuns entering the order, and less students enrolling in the school, The Order of St. Colman is moving to a smaller site. The existing buildings will be demolished, and the site sold and re-developed.

Beth and Sally meet to discuss the ramifications of the destruction of their old boarding school. They agree. They have to find Carol. Their secret may be revealed, and they have to figure out what to do – together. The three girls had become inseparable during their school days, but Carol had drifted away. Now, a promise made at the age of 14, must be broken as adults, but all must agree.

In the last 30 years, the girls became women. Beth is happily married to Adam and they have two boys. She is terrified that she will lose Adam if the secret comes out. Sally is divorced after a miscarriage showed her the truth about her husband. She is finally getting her life back on track. She doesn’t want the secret to derail her now. Last they heard, Carol was living in France with her husband Ned, and doing a lot of travelling.

Without providing him with too much detail, the women hire Private Investigator Matthew Hill to find Carol.

Little do they know that there is someone out there watching them, and Beth starts getting warnings to drop things. It starts innocent enough, but the warnings escalate.

My Opinions:
This book is about loyalty, and love, and friendship. Friends that we make as children, and keep as we age. Those friends, even when separated by distance, have powerful bonds. And it is about a secret between three such friends. A secret that should never have been kept, and which has haunted them all.  I love this premise.

Unfortunately, the book started slow, and I truly thought there were just too many words…. There were definitely parts that could have been cut out, that didn’t really add to the plot – Matthew’s backstory, the crows, and that epilogue was just too long… Needless to say I must have skimmed parts, because I know Carol’s Mom came to stay at Beth’s, but I don’t remember her ever leaving… These things concern me.

However, again, the premise was great, and with a little patience, the story revealed itself, and it was good. It was told from different perspectives, from different time-lines, but it was very straightforward, no confusion. Some of the reveals were very predictable, but there were a couple of extra twists that surprised me.

The book really picked up speed by about 60%, and from there to the overly long ending, I really enjoyed it. Part of me thinks too late, and the other part says but it was good! So I’m struggling to give it a rating. In my book,” Good” is a 3 star rating, but I can’t do that because the bad part was so long, it deserves only 2. On the other hand, the good part was that good that I want to forget about all the bad and give it 4 stars…but I can’t do that either. See my dilemma? I’m going with 3.5. Don’t ask.

NetGalley | The Promise
By Teresa Driscoll


NetGalley Book 6

Spoilers...
5 ⭐️’s !!!

OMG this book! Amazing from cover to cover!

So many moving parts and so much going on but extremely well written and easy to follow! There was zero downtime during this read and for that I loved it!

The bond between three friends that ran so extremely deep is something you couldn’t help but envy! Knowing that no matter where you are in life, you have friends who are with you and support you every step in your journey!

The intense and thrilling drama with the various characters did not lack a thing!

Thank you NetGalley for and advanced reader copy! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend!

Not for me. I just couldn’t get into this book. The characters were not really likeable. Their lives were not interesting and I just didn’t care about them. The tease of something awful that happened years ago was not enough to make me like the characters. The story was just boring and I couldn’t make myself care about what would happen next. Sorry, I didn’t like this at all. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Three friends harbouring a promise, from as early as their teens, right through to adulthood.
This is a story of Beth, Sally and Carol, who were in the same convent boarding school and became fast friends from day 1.

At 40, Beth is happily married to Adam with two sons. Sally is living happily by herself, after a marriage gone wrong and Carol is not in contact with them.
When Sally and Beth learnt that their school is shutting down due to lack of funds, and the grounds will be excavated – they panic. After all, their secret is buried somewhere in the school. They actively seek out Carol, who is the main person behind the secret they are harbouring. However, she is not traceable. In desperation, they hire Matthew, a private investigator, to hunt out Carol – but he seems to be harbouring some secrets of his own.
Told alternatively by the various characters, between the now and the then, The Promise kept me intrigues enough till the end.

The characters are relatable and the mystery surrounding them unfolds eventually. The language is easy to follow, and add to it a dash of emotions, especially when told from Beth’s point of view, enhances the solidarity between the women.

The relationships between the girls and their mothers, both in their youth and as adults, was well crafted out.
This book gives an insight into the psyche about how one deals with difficult choices and situations and how they affect our lives and the lives of those we love. The story is more more focused on family drama and friendship, though there is an element of mystery to it.

Definitely worth a read!

I loved this wonderful domestic thriller. It takes you on a wild ride, full of chills and thrills
I felt truly connected to the characters and was really connected to the story. I recommend it highly. The author was able to create an atmosphere of suspense and pressure.

A very dark and disturbing read that kept me awake till the very end.... this story focuses on 3 friends and a secret that they hold from their school days, a secret that is to be revealed when news that their old school is to be closed and what they thought they had buried in the past is about to revealed

A highly recommended read for all Teresa Driscoll fans

A promise made 30 years ago between 3 girls shapes and influences their lives up until now, this secret is about to come out and turn their world upside down.

It took me quite some time to get into this book, the first half doesn’t give away a lot except for the fact there is a secret, but no hints towards what secret. But when you pass into the 2nd half it feels like a roller coaster, a steamroller which hits you with twist after twist. The amount of twists started to feel a bit unreal to me but ‘life is stranger than fiction‘ right?

It is worth it to keep on reading, The Promise will reward you in the end and leave you with a good feeling.

Beth, Sally, and Carol were best friends in a Catholic boarding school. While not actually knowing what the promise is we know that Beth and Sally are worried that because their school is getting torn down their promise will become know. Beth is happily married to Adam and has two sons. She is terrified that she could lose her husband, along with her sons, if Adam discovers her secret. Sally turned to drinking, many years ago, in an effort to forget what the girls did so long ago. , Beth, or Sally and Beth is desperate to contact Carol, so they can either make plans to do "something" about their secret or be freed from their promise.. The two women hire a private investigator to help decide if their promise will be kept,

Beth searches for Carol, she receives threatening messages, implying that Beth should stop her search.. What they did as teenagers seems to follow them everywhere and is still there when the story ends.

There are multiple layers to the story. Nothing is simple. Nothing predictable. Just when you think all has been revealed, there is more.

Beth, Sally and Carol, three schoolgirls at a private school made a promise to keep their deepest secret. Unexpected news threatens to expose the secret they have kept for so long and it seems someone is determined for that not to happen. Having lost touch with Carol, the other women hire a private investigator to track her down and are not prepared for what they find.

An interesting twist on three boarding school friends and the haunting past they all tried to leave behind. Something sinister rears its ugly head causing old wounds to resurface.

Well written mystery.

Three boarding school friends, Beth, Sally, and Carol, make a promise as adolescents. Now adults, the first two have lost touch with Carol; the secret that they promised not to tell threatens to be exposed and Beth’s family is endangered.

Moving back and forth from past to present, the story is told from four different points of view; that of the three friends and the private investigator hired to help Beth and Sally find Carol. The investigator appears to have secrets of his own.

There are lots of surprises in this well written psychological suspense novel.

Sometimes the promises that we make in our teenage years, become shackles and chains as we age. Anyone who has ever wrestled with loyalty, friendship, and rash promises, amidst all the regular complications of life will immediately relate to The Promise. Beth, Sally, and Carol meet as young girls in boarding school and immediately become best friends. However, a promise made between them binds them together and drives them apart at the same time. Check out this great story of the power of friends to heal our darkest wounds,

It was their darkest secret. Three schoolgirls made a promise – to take the horrible truth of what they did to the grave.

Three best friends at boarding school, Beth, Sally and Carol share a terrible secret and make a promise to each other to never tell. Thirty years later, it is at threat of being revealed. The book flits between Beth and Carol’s stories, as well as the perspective of Matthew the private investigator.

I gave this book a solid 3/5 stars as it was an entertaining read. However, my initial engagement waned as time went on- the ending felt a bit rushed and less believable. It was more of a suspense rather than psychological thriller. This was the first book I’ve read by Teresa Driscoll and I would be interested to look out her other titles. Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for an advance copy. I have shared this review on Goodreads.

My Rating: Three Stars
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Pub. Date: Feb. 7, 2019

On a personal note, my husband had open heart surgery on Feb. 8th and remains in the hospital from complications. He is not out of the woods yet, but he is one the mend. Thank you for all your support.

I hope you understand why this review only has a star rating. I miss reviewing but at the moment I am too preoccupied.

Sally, Beth, and Carol met when they were enrolled at The Convent, Order of St. Colman in Sussex. The three girls were inseparable. They helped each other with school courses, family issues, romantic desires, and supported each other in any way possible. So what could possibly happen to the three friends after graduation? Sally received information that the convent was going to be demolished for new construction, because there was no longer any funding to run the convent. However, there was a promise that each of the girls made to each other many years ago at the convent. This promise could be revealed if the construction continues. Sally and Beth need to reach Carol and let her know about the demolition. After they Facebook messaged her, terrorizing messages started appearing. Will they be able to reach Carol? Why has she basically vanished? Sally hires a private investigator to find Carol. He is only able to find Carol’s mother. The women want Carol’s mother to call her, so they can speak to her. The call is uneventful, with a Carol promising to get in touch with them. However, this doesn’t come to fruition. Even Carol’s husband is worried about her. He reaches out to Sally and Beth, but according to him, Carol doesn’t want anything to do with them any longer. Why is Carol evading them? What is this promise that neither Sally or Beth will divulge? This book is really a great psychological thriller. The plot was definitely contrived of multiple sub-themes of what each of the women were going through in their lives. The author kept the reader intrigued throughout the entire book. The ending was such a surprise. It was not at all what I expected. It was even better than what I expected. The character development was superb. The reader could definitely relate to each of the characters throughout the book. I enjoyed the writers writing style. The only complaint I have about the book is that I feel the book could’ve been a little shorter. I feel that just as much of the plot could have been accomplished in a shorter book. In some places, it seemed to drag. All in all, you will not be disappointed with this book. I highly recommend it.