I have to start by saying that this book had a good premise. It sounded very interesting and like it would pull the reader right in to the drama and mystery of it all. Three school friends that have a secret that they have been keeping and hiding for years and now suddenly the past is coming back to haunt them. Sounds great and I was very excited to read this book.

All that being said, it didn't pull me in and make me care about the characters. I tried numerous times to read this book and while I got a few chapters in, I couldn't finish it. I just did care about the characters enough to know what happened to them. It was a bit too slow for me and the jumping pulled me out of the story a bit.

I give it 2 stars because it has a good premise and maybe it just wasn't my type of book.

A gratifying novel about three women who make a promise in their youth and carry it through into adulthood. The story goes back and forth from their early years in a boarding school and how they came to be there; each for different reasons. But the forge an unbreakable bond, or so it seems. In adulthood however, one of the three has gone off on her own but the reader can't quite tell why? What was the "promise?" Should the other two tell it?? IT begins to take over the story because IT has a life of its own. The reader is imaging all sorts of horrible things and what a thing IT is! Yes, quite a surprise and yet realistic and sad. And then, the REAL surprise to add to it!! This book has more surprises to keep the reader engaged than you can imagine. HIGHLY recommend. Look at current news and you can see it all here. I will be following this writer. Intelligent, realistic, believable and a page turner. Just what I want in a book.

This psychological thriller is centered around a promise, made by three boarding school friends, to never reveal a terrible event and dark secret that constantly haunts them as the years move forward and shape their view of the world. While I overall enjoyed the book, I did feel it dragged for a while once their secret is revealed and never felt that intense curiosity and need to get to the truth that is so often the joy of reading a thriller novel. I am happy to say that it was worth hanging in there and reading through to the end, as all was not as it seemed and there were some surprising twists and revelations still waiting for us readers. The epilogue was a nice wrap up, though a bit drawn out. For me it just never dug it's claws in deep enough to really make me feel hooked. I give it ⭐⭐⭐/5.

This book is a bit of a mixed bag. Although it rattled along at a fair old pace I did struggle to get into it. With the strap line, “three girls. One dead”, I thought it would have echoes of a book I read last year that had similar dark themes and buried secrets (and am struggling to recall!).

undoubtedly Teresa Driscoll can craft words into a story, but there were pockets where I almost gave up. The opening chapters didn’t draw me in and the search for Carol seemed to hit brick walls constantly whilst other elements seemed to go from mistrust to full disclosure within the space of 60 seconds.

Whilst the big reveal wasn’t really much of a surprise (it was going to be one of two things), I thought it was well-handled and felt the agony of the girls. The last quarter or so of the book really came together, revealing layers of complexity that gave context to the girls’ stories and provided insights into the anguish that they had felt over the years.

A substantial psychological thriller that tells the story of three school friends at a boarding school in England. Something awful happens and they vow to cover up the secret for the rest of their lives. Thirty years or so later they receive a letter from the school which could jeopardise their secret. What happens next is told in the present with flashes back to their school days. A few twists and turns keeps the momentum up. An enthralling read. My thanks to #Netgalley for an advance copy.

This book was not what I thought it was going to be. About 80% of the way though I think my brain literally went "ooooh" and it changed my whole opinion on it. That doesn't mean I didn't like the first 80%, but it was a bit formulaic and I thought I knew what was going to happen and I thought it was pretty standard, OK, nothing special, but OK. And then it changed and I enjoyed it much more.

The story starts in a room where there are four girls, and one of them in dead. Skip forward 16 years or so and what hapepned in the room comes back to haunt Beth, Sally and Carol. With the closing of the boarding school where they met, comes the desperate need to reconnect and bring closure to this deadful event. But Carol has drifted from Beth and Sally, and everyone has their own demons to face. Including the private investigator Matthew (who at times makes what I feel are odd choices for a PI, but that's another issues).

No one is quite who they seem and everyone has secrets. Is this one of my favourite books? Probably not, would I tell people to read it? Absolutely.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of The Promise.

Wow--blown away! There was a slow build, but I was hooked instantly! This is a fabulous, devastating-secret mystery on several levels. Devoted friendship between Sally, Beth, and Carol from their boarding school days, self-preservation of more than one of the friends, and horrible events for a minimum of three characters complete this novel in glorious fashion. (I refuse to give spoilers, but this novel had more twists than an old country road--which I absolutely loved!). I will certainly be reading more from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and Teresa Driscoll for the ARC!

A thoroughly enjoyable thriller. fantastic read. Teresa Driscoll will keep you n the edge of your seat!

Unfortunately this was a bit of a slow burn for me. I had a hard time relating to the characters which made it difficult to digest.

The Promise was very well written and did a good job of transitioning the characters from young girls to young women. I liked the shifts in time, back and forth, almost like the girls were reliving times of their past in the current day setting. I was a little disappointed in the secret that was kept by the girls because I imagined a much 'bigger and badder' secret. Even so, there were still little surprises at the end that definitely added to the girls' emotional turmoil. Not your typical coming-of-age story, but a good story and a great read!

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine THAT would be "The Promise" three friends made to one another. This book kept me guessing the entire time and I was never quite able to figure out who did what until the evidence was right in front of me. I love a book that keeps me guessing and surprises me! I for one did not see a lot of that coming and enjoyed the fact Teresa Driscoll kept hitting the reader with another shock!! Extremely enjoyable read, looking forward to reading more of Teresa's work!!
Huge thank you to NetGalley for my arc!

The Promise by Teresa Driscoll sucked me in - hook, line and sinker. Wow. Stunning piece of thriller fiction.

Three women became fast friends at boarding school during their early preteen years. There is a terrible occurrence and three very young women promise to never reveal the truth.

Years later, Beth and Sally are still friends. Carol is estranged - basically dropped of the face of the earth - no social media, no word, no phone number, nada. Beth and Sally are shaken to learn their former school is not only shutting down for good, they are demolishing the building for a new development. That means digging. What will the crews uncover? They decide they have to find Carol and try to find a way to make past wrongs right.

Told from multiple points of view, this story explores the depths some people will go to hide their past. It is sometimes sad and emotional. I loved it. Couldn't put this one down, read it in a day. Highly recommended!

The Promise, Teresa' Driscoll's latest novel, is not quite the thriller it's billed as but nonetheless takes a slow burn approach to a startling conclusion. Readers meet Beth, the main narrator, a busy mom who shares a secret with friends from her boarding school. There is a lot of detail in the beginning about the boarding school, Sally and Carol (Beth's roommates that quickly become her best friends), and Beth's family and career. While the secret is the underlying current of the story, it doesn't come to the surface until much later in the book-and some readers may lose interest or find themselves hurrying the latter half of the novel along. The other main "secret" was surprising but clues are given and it creates an even more tragic aspect to the book. The ending was faster-paced and more exciting than the beginning. I think fans will continue to enjoy this story but it took a little long to become invested and for the payoff.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a good book about a group of friends and an unspeakable crime and the impact it has on the rest of their lives.
It was well written with a strong plot and plenty of twists and turns.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

I didn't like this novel nearly as much as the author's previous titles. Even though the pieces do come together in the end, I was so annoyed by Beth's overly dramatic response to the events that I really didn't care anymore. If the plot were sped up a bit and a few chapters had been shaved off, I might have felt differently.

One promise three friends make in boarding school ends up being more secrets they each hold as adults. Great book & all is revealed at the end!

An interesting and at times suspenseful book, it was hard to put the Promise down. There are some surprising twists and turns. I applaud author Teresa Driscoll for revealing only what was necessary to keep the plot rolling. Her adept writing kept me in suspense.

**I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley to provide an unbiased review.

Carol, Beth and Sally, three girls so innocent, hopeful and happy with no idea what lays ahead of them. Teresa Driscoll’s, The Promise, a pschological thriller that will keep you turning the pages to see what happens next. These three young girls experience a tragedy while attending a catholic boarding school that has a profound effect on the rest of there lives. When they find out the convent is closing and there secret may be revealed Beth and Sally hire a private detective to locate their friend Carol whose existence is mysterious at best. They start receiving anonymous threats and their lives become out of control. Ms. Driscoll adds twist and turns until all is revealed. I enjoyed this book and I look forward to reading other books by Teresa Driscoll. Highly recommend!

Beth, Carol, and Sally were the best of friends. It all seemed to change over night. The Promise is the story of how and why that happened. I found I was forcing myself through parts of this book. It was all very dramatic and often the decisions made by characters left me scratching my head. I felt as if I were reading a soap opera instead of a novel. The characters could somehow seem to be fantastically dramatic without seeming to really feel what was happening around them. There are a lot of hints to what is obvious when it is revealed. Just not for me.

This book kept me guessing until the end what was going on, in the best way possible. I was surprised by the twists and turns the book took, and what “the promise” was about. I enjoyed the friendship and character development of Carol, Sally, and Beth and the trials each woman faced in life and how it shaped them. This is my honest review of an ARC I received on netgalley.