hree girls, a secret from the past resurfaced, and a promise kept…these are the things that will keep you reading through Teresa Driscoll’s newest title, “The Promise”.
There are secrets that Carol, Sally and Beth wish they could keep buried in the past. However, when news breaks that the school they attended is closing and they have been invited to a closing ceremony, the buried secrets are resurfaced. As a matter of fact, when one secret surfaces there are usually more that follow.
Layers of characters intertwined in ways you won’t expect will dance around the pages as the plot unravels. You will be surprised to see who can be trusted, who should never have been trusted, and who is behind the sinister happenings in this twisted tale.
Teresa Driscoll is a talented author of psychological thrillers! We have been lucky enough to receive this ARC in exchange for an honest review! Amazing!

A dark character study of the impact a promise made long ago has on the lives of three women. Theresa Driscoll’s The Promise is more of a suspense novel than psychological thriller, but with some fascinating secrets that await being revealed!
About the Book
The chilling new psychological thriller from the #1 bestselling author of I Am Watching You.
It was their darkest secret. Three schoolgirls made a promise – to take the horrible truth of what they did to the grave.
Thirty years later, Beth and Sally have tried to put the trauma behind them. Though Carol has distanced herself from her former friends, the three are adamant that the truth must never come to light, even if the memory still haunts them.
But when some shocking news threatens to unearth their dark secret, Beth enlists the help of private investigator Matthew Hill to help her and Sally reconnect with estranged Carol ¬– before the terrible act they committed as teenagers is revealed.
Beth wishes she could take back the vow they made.
But somebody is watching and will stop at nothing to ensure the secret stays buried. Now, with her beloved family in peril, can Beth still keep the promise?
Reflection
I’ve wanted to read something by Theresa Driscoll for awhile, and I actually bought a copy of one of her previous novels based on recommendations from some book friends! After reading The Promise, I can see why so many people are a fan of her work. She builds some fascinating characters and settings for psychological suspense!
Told mainly from Beth’s perspective then and now, the story revolves around three friends who made a promise to keep a dark secret many years ago, when they were just fourteen and away at boarding school. Though Beth and Sally have remained good friends into adulthood, they’ve lost touch with their other best friend Carol. And not just lost touch, something is not quite right with Carol ever since she left boarding school… Weekend trips cut short, and Carol begging out of group outings.
I found Carol to be a frustratingly enigmatic character. She was on the periphery of the book, while she also felt like the central character. The chapters narrated by Carol are scattered and emotional. She doesn’t eat enough, and she doesn’t like to acknowledge what has happened, in the past or the present.
When news of the Convent where they attended school being torn down reaches them, Beth and Sally panic. Is this when their secret will finally come out? After so many years staying buried? Desperate to talk to Carol about their next steps, Beth hires a private investigator with his own dark past to help them find Carol. And as they get closer to finding her, the clues only become more confusing…
I found Beth to be partially sympathetic, and partially infuriating. She’s a character whose instincts are spot on, but who also is somewhat self-sabotaging in the way she behaves. Often, Beth seems to have a knack for doing the one thing that will make a situation worse. But I sympathized with that because Beth is someone who hates secrets. The truth is important to Beth, and we really see the toll this secret has taken on her.
As the plot creeps closer to the reveal, this becomes more suspense than psychological thriller, which is to say that the major reveals come just past the halfway point. Keep reading though! There are a few twists yet to come as the book heads towards closure…
I hope readers enjoy this book! I certainly plan to read more by Theresa Driscoll. Thank you to Thomas & Mercer for my copy. Opinions are my own.

Three women have a secret that goes all the way back to when they were in boarding school together. They made a promise not to tell anyone - and twenty years later the horrible truth may need to come out. An emotional story of three friends who have gone through something so traumatic that it brings them in different directions, but in the end their friendship and love for each other gets them through it all.

A very great story filled with mystery and drama that keeps the reader intrigued. It was a little slow going in the beginning with Beth and Sally trying to track down Carol, but it picked up about half way through. Driscoll writes such gripping traumatic events for each character which makes you as the reader so emotionally involved. Really enjoyed reading this, and would like to read Driscoll's other novels.

The book revolves around a promise made by three teenage girls to keep secret a tragic criminal event that involved them burying something in the woods at their boarding school. It is years later and the convent who ran the boarding school is closing and much of the property is being sold. Beth and Sally are worried that with the property being sold and re-developed, their secret will come out, and Beth decides that Carol, the third girl who was involved in the events of years ago, must be found, so they can decide what to do. The story addresses the efforts to find and contact Carol, including hiring a private investigator (Matthew), whose presence becomes a big part of the story; flashbacks to the boarding school years; the lives of the three women; the stress for Beth of keeping the secret and having to lie to her husband; the turmoil for Beth and Sally as they try to decide what to do to protect the secret or whether it is still worth protecting; and threats from an unknown person that seem to relate to the secret.

I have conflicted feelings about this book. The incident that the girls (now women) are continuing to hide is not as bad as some of the hints earlier in the book suggest, which was disappointing; however, it is still quite serious and would certainly have been traumatic for three teenagers to experience. About midway through the book, some of the characters, in particular Beth, become whiny and annoying. There were some side plots that I did not much like. If I had not obtained this book in exchange for leaving a review, I am not sure I would have finished it. However, I am glad I did, because the book improves in the final third. The author does a good job of drawing out the suspense and mystery. In fact, there are quite a few surprising twists in the final chapters -- some the reader might pick up on or suspect from some of the clues scattered throughout the story, but others that will probably be a complete surprise.

While I am not sure I would recommend this book to others, there are enough promising (no pun intended) elements in the book that I would be willing to read another of the psychological thrillers by Ms. Driscoll.

I read a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Three girls, a secret from the past resurfaced, and a promise kept...these are the things that will keep you reading through Teresa Driscoll's newest title, "The Promise".
There are secrets that Carol, Sally and Beth wish they could keep buried in the past. However, when news breaks that the school they attended is closing and they have been invited to a closing ceremony, the buried secrets are resurfaced. As a matter of fact, when one secret surfaces there are usually more that follow.
Layers of characters intertwined in ways you won't expect will dance around the pages as the plot unravels. You will be surprised to see who can be trusted, who should never have been trusted, and who is behind the sinister happenings in this twisted tale.
Teresa Driscoll is a talented author of psychological thrillers! We have been lucky enough to receive this ARC in exchange for an honest review! Amazing!

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this early copy!

This was well done mystery thriller. I will be checking out more from this author in the future! I recommend checking it out.

Who can make mature decisions as a young teen? Certainly few, especially when faced with adult dilemmas. Three girls at a Catholic school are faced with an unimaginable situation. Decisions are made in haste and panic. The past can always come back to haunt you, and that is the case for three former friends who have never really recovered from the event that bound them forever and drove them apart.

Damaged people can make terrible decisions with unforeseen consequences. They can also portray themselves as just an average normal person. You will be fascinated as this book unfolds and you look behind the scenes in three adult lives.

4.0 out of 5 starsInteresting read.
February 19, 2019
Format: Kindle Edition
I enjoyed this book about friendship and secrets. I thought it read well and was well written. I would recommend it to others. I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

Three things...

1) slow to start, but it picked up near the middle and I read the second half pretty quickly.

2) the slow climb to the middle made it hard to attach to any of the characters.

3) it kept me guessing which is super important to me in thrillers. this once definetely delivered on that end.

While I enjoyed the book overall, I found it a bit difficult to lose myself in. Perhaps it was the varying viewpoints, but I had trouble really connecting with the characters.

First of all, thanks NetGalley and Teresa Driscoll for the advanced copy. This book revolves around Beth, Sally and Carol, 3 boarding school friends and something awful that happened when they were 14 and their promised not to tell. The secret is not revealed until you're 2/3 in the book. I was so wrong thinking it was something else! There were twists and turns until the very end. Around 80% into the book I figured out who was causing all the drama but had no explanation of why...a few pages later my guess was out the door!! The characters are very well developed but not overdone. The story-line is believable so it's very easy to get hooked and wanting to know more about it. It's a good read, I'd recommend it.

So this book is marketed as a thriller and I guess it could be considered that, but I was never on the edge of my seat. Not that the book was bad. I did enjoy reading about the friendship and lives of the three women involved and there were certainly twists and turns throughout the story.

The book switches between past and present, first and third person, and narrators. Surprisingly, none of that bothered me. It was clearly done, and the voices of the narrators were different enough that confusion was not an issue. I do think perhaps it was a bit overdone and slightly unnecessary but it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book.

The story kept me engaged, and the pace was great, but I wanted a little more mystery.

An unexpected event brings a terrible secret to the forefront of Beth’s mind, although her life since teenage has been blighted by the promise, she and her two friends made. Told mainly from Beth’s point of view this is a domestic rather than psychological thriller. The present-day story centres around her family and friends and is more of a suspenseful family drama.

Two further points of view are also key to the story, Carol, one of Beth’s school friends and Mathew, the private detective she and her friend Sally hire to find Carol.

The promise and the secret it protects isn’t revealed until two- thirds through the book, although there are clues before this. The late reveal doesn’t spoil the story, which explores Beth, Carol and Sally’s state of mind as the weight of keeping the promise intensifies. The plot is clever and there are two unexpected twists, which impact significantly on the characters and outcome of the story. These are believable but do stray away from the original storyline.

This story lacks the menacing undertone necessary for a psychological thriller, but it still an absorbing read, as the women struggle with their promise, their mental health and the truth’s they have denied for too many years.
The ending is realistic and satisfying but it is the sadness of this story that resonates and makes it worth reading.

I received a copy of this book from Thomas and Mercer - Amazon via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I don’t know where to begin on this book I had thoughts and ideas of what might have happened or what might not have happened but the twist in the terms of this book will make you think cry laugh sadness whore the truth about youth with that you will love this book I couldn’t put it down I read the book from front to back in one sitting while sitting on my patio you should not miss this fuck I have never read from the softener before and I will definitely look for her books in the future. Thanks for a great book

Loved this book and it kept me well gripped from the beginning!

This is a fantastic story as how tragedy can impact on friendship and what is hidden behind closed doors.

There are some great twists and you won't be able to put it down.

This story is about three girls who were friends in school- Beth, Sal and Carol News that the school is going to
Close and be torn down cause alarm and fear of a horrible secret finally being revealed and the promise they made to never tell coming out.
This story dragged a bit for me. I was not attached to any of the characters and the anguish seemed forced. None of the three has an honest relationship and even when others are hurt they hold on to unreasonable actions.
It is not a bad story just not my personal taste and I think it may be miscatergorized as a mystery/thriller.
Thank you @ netgalley for the ARC and the chance to give my opinion.

This was the first I've read of this author and I quite enjoyed it. I had a hard time keeping up with the jumps in the timeline in the beginning, but it worked itself out. The girls secret was definitely not what I was expecting. A new twist.

This book wasn't what I expected. It starts out a little slow and about halfway through the pacing really picks up with a lot of suspense. Then as the reveals begin the story becomes something completely different. The characters are well developed. The ending is full of twists and surprises. Overall it's a good read, but not what I typically expect from a psychological thriller.

This book was just alright for me, although I have read a lot about it. Three girls keep a secret from their boarding school days that ends up creating a rift in their group. When the school is going to be torn down, they become compelled to make a decision in the case that their secret is found. I really struggled with forming attachments to the two main girls and this made it hard for me to really understand why they cared about finding the estranged friend. The story seemed forced in places and the curves did not make much sense. Thanks for the ARC, Netgalley.

I always enjoy a quick psychological thriller, and once again Teresa Driscoll comes to the rescue. If you have a long flight or just need a break from your day-to-day routine, this is an interesting but “not too much work” type of book. You’ll have a good idea what the bad memory for these three schoolgirls entails, but there are still some interesting twists and unforeseen revelations. And we always enjoy a secret, possibly a crime at an all-girls Catholic boarding school, now, don’t we?
(I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for making it available.)