I was so excited that Katerina Diamond was back! I love this series so much however this book just didn't do it for me.

In the last book I empathised with all the characters and Gabriel came across so well however I just didn't feel that for Connor, despite his awful past and dark childhood I didn't get that connection that I normally do.

I love Diamond's writing - I think it is so clever and I love all the different voices. I really enjoy the aha moment where everything clicks into place!

This, sadly, is not my favourite in the series but I will definitely be reading more of her books and continue to recommend her.

I thoroughly enjoyed this, a really well written plot with lots of interwoven strands. The characters are interesting and dark, everyone has their own demons to battle.
Based in Exeter this is one of my favourite crime series at the moment, definitely deserving of more attention.

The book pretends to be more mysterious than it really is and overall I was disappointed.

Adrian and Imogen are police partners trying to catch a new serial killer who strangles his prey while having sex. I enjoyed the use of social media and technology to trace the killer. It made the book feel very modern.

But overall, the book felt a bit one-dimensional, which is odd when so much care was taken to create character back stories. Some scenes didn't appear to add anything and it felt like the book had run out of story. And there was far to much reference to previous books involving the Adrian and Imogen. There was also a half-hearted attempt at romance between the detectives.

This book could have been great, but it felt like it was a few re-writes short of the final.

I’ve loved every one of Katerina Diamond’s books so was eagerly anticipating The Promise, the fourth instalment in the DI Imogen Grey series.

The story follows Connor, he’s moved to Exeter from the US to escape his past. Everyone wants to be his friend especially the popular kids, but no one knows about his past, or his dad. Slowly his life in Exeter begins to unravel, meanwhile, Imogen and her partner Adrian Miles are on the hunt for a serial killer. He dates his victims prior to killing them. Imogen decides she must act as bait - but will she survive?

This book is well written and you’re hooked from the first chapter. The story flows well and there is an easy rapport between Imogen and Adrian.

I can highly recommend this book and would give it 4.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books and the author for the chance to review.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. D S Imogen Grey is back and it was absolutely brilliant to read her as well. Another well earned 5 stars

This is a really good read. Fast and gritty with plenty of action thrown in. It was a bit predictable but that did not spoil my enjoyment of the book. This is a really good series that I would definitely recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I read this book, unaware that it was part of a series, but that didn't spoil my enjoyment in any way.
It is an intriguing book, with several seemingly separate story lines and different perspectives that works really well. The main story is that of the police detectives Adrian and Imogen who are tasked with solving the chilling murders of women who appear to have dated the serial killer before they are killed. Although it is unclear at first, linked to these crimes are the characters of Connor and the female author of a diary.
Connor is a great character, here the author really manages to get inside the head of a teenage boy and pull out both teenage angst, and the complicated feelings he has for his abusive father. The stronger voice, for me, is that of the woman writing the diary entries. It was chilling to read about the abuse she suffers and hers could almost have been a story in its own right.
The book cracks along at a great pace and is very readable. However, towards the end I felt that the different plot lines didn't quite come together cohesively; some of the events and seemed a little incongruous and some of the links between plot and characters were a little tenuous for my liking.
Overall though, a great holiday read.

My thanks go to the publishers and Net Galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Big thanks to Katerina Diamond and Net Galley for the chance to read this in exchange for and honest review! This was one of my favorite books that I have read this month. I had a soft spot for Conner and Selina from the start, I didn't know where the story was going and was shocked at the twists that was involved in their story. I was even more shocked at the whole plot! I loved how it went between Conner and Imogen like you knew that there was a connection but she lead up to it just right. I didn't care for Conner's dad just because of the way that he was. I liked the way that she also included the diary entries, I was at a loss when I first started reading them, trying to figure out who was writing them and how they fit in but once the story came together it made so much sense. I would have like to see what happened to some of the characters in the end. I felt like the ending was bam there and I still had a few questions but I really enjoyed the book! Thanks!!

There's a murderer in Exeter who is praying on lonely, vulnerable women, playing on their insecurities to draw them out only to leave them dead. Connor is a 16 year boy who's returned to England with his father having left the USA behind after a life changing incident. D S Imogen Grey and her partner Adrian Miles are the officers in charge of the murdered women. As the novel unfolds so we see these two tales suddenly begin to unravel and entwine simultaneously.
Although The Promise is a DS Imogen Grey book 4, I read this as a standalone having not read the previous books by Katerina Diamond. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment and read it in one sitting as I couldn't bare to put it down and needed to know what was going to happen, especially as the tales began to converge and yet unravel. I would highly recommend this even if you haven't read previous DS Grey books, this is a wonderful read and will be going back to read books 1-3.

The Promise is the first Book of Katerina Diamond I have read and it won’t be the last. I know this is part of the DS Imogen Grey series but you can read it as a standalone.
The story starts when a man is chatting and meeting women online and strangling them after having sex. When more bodies turn up DS Grey knows she has a serial killer on her hands. Even placing herself in danger to find out who the killer is.
Connor and his dad has come back from America to live in the family’s old house in Exeter. After a shooting at his school. Which somehow he was involved in. His mum left when he was a baby and it’s now just him and his Uncle Joel.
Then we learn of a woman who get repeatedly raped by a family friend. Which her partner knows nothing about.
All three stories are good in their own right, but as the story goes along, we learn that they are linked.
Wow I loved this. I do have the other books in the series and I don’t know why I haven’t read them yet. This was well written, it gripped me, there was a lot of twists and turns that kept me reading throughout. I like the partnership between DS Imogen Grey and Adrian Miles. I will definitely make sure that I will soon read the other in the series.
Thank you NetGalley and Avon books for a copy of this book.

Brilliantly twisted book that takes your breath away. As always the author tales you on a rollercoaster ride that leaves you guessing right until the very end. Brilliant characters

This is book four in the series, I say often you can pick up a book and start reading but with this I would advise going back to get the back story of the characters and more understanding of the existing relationships. Connor is 16 and moved with his dad to where his dad grew up, Connor is beautiful, popular and soon pulled into school life but they don't know why Connor had to leave his old school. Nor do they realise what Connor's father is really like and what is the pull to the neighbour next door?

Detective Imogen Grey and Adrian Moles are on the case of a murdered woman, why was she targeted and is this a serial killer? We then split into another narrative, a young trouble woman being abused, targeted and in fear for what is coming next. It took me a wee bit to settle into the three separate stories, Connor - we know something in his past happened but why and what is the deal with his father? The young woman whose story will bring chills to anyone who has dealt with an abusive and or manipulative partner. We get to see a more personal side to the detectives, four books we have been with them, seen them survives challenges, killers, family life, work life engagement. It is a really busy wee book but it works, I think Connor's story was the main focus rather than the killer/detectives or the unidentified woman but I found them all engaging .

I sank into the story quickly, I have read all the books in this series so was eager to see what came next for our officers. It is brutal in parts, riveting, shocking but we also see a gentler side of our detectives from the reverberations of everything that has passed so far. During a few scenes I gasped out loud, one in particular I had to read over again I was so shocked, I LOVE when a book catches you like that! 4/5 for me this time, I cannot wait for the next installment in the series, hurry up writing Diamond.

Thank you for providing me with a copy of this to read. DArk, gripping and easy to read. Couldn't put it down.Worth a read

I've read one book by Katerina Diamond before, so was excited to start this one. I haven't read the others in this series though, although that didn't detract from this book. I liked that the book was set in the Westcountry - it's always nice when books are set somewhere familiar to you. I found the characters likable, and wanted to find out more about them (which will prompt me to read previous books in the series). I did work out who the killer was earlier than I thought I would, but that didn't spoil the book, as I was invested in the characters then and wanted to find out how the story would play out. A great read.

I've read all of the Miles and Grey series, and really enjoyed them, so I was excited to read this latest one. I have to say that it didn't disappoint! A man is meeting women online, and then strangling them after having sex. A 16 year old boy has just returned from the US with his father after a shooting at his school. There is also a first person narrative of a woman describing how she became involved in a controlling and abusive relationship. Exactly who are the men she calls Rocket and JD? How are they connected to these other strands of the story? In the meantime, Miles and Grey's relationship takes on new complications. This is a real page turner which will keep you on the edge of your seat. My only criticism is that the ending is rather abrupt! Thanks to Netgalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

I love Katerina Diamond! She is a fab author. This is the 4th of her books and does not disappoint in any way.
Adrian Miles and Imogen Grey are back!!! I love these detectives and their partnership. They are very likeable and i love the relationship between them.
This tells the story of Conor a young lad starting a new life with his dad in Exeter. His mum left him when he was a baby and now it is just him and his Dad and his uncle Joel who we meet in the book. Meanwhile the 2 detectives are having to deal with the murders of women who met men from online and later are found dead.
the chapters are told from different persepectives which i like, and you may well wonder right now, how these 2 stories will come together. You will need to read to find that part out.!

This book needed an editor. It contradicted itself several times with regards to alibis and other details. It was very distracting and made me not want to read the book at all since nothing really made sense or could be trusted.

I feel like I should have looked into this book before I requested it because I had no idea it was part of a series. It can be read as a stand-alone but there were some parts that I could tell bled over from the previous books. This was a pretty good little mystery but I feel like it wrapped up rather quickly. I kept checking my kindle because I was on 98% and there was still quite a bit left to unravel. I’ll probably read the next one, if there is one because I’m now invested in DI Grey and DS Miles’ lives.

The book started reasonably well but the further it progressed, the more unbelievable yet ironically, predictable it became. Note - this review contains spoilers.

It was poorly written with numerous grammatical errors - the author should learn about semi-colons or conjunctions instead of comma splices.

The proof-reading was poor - a victim's boyfriend had a cast-iron alibi as he was on a stag weekend in Amsterdam yet a few pages later, his alibi was that he was in business in Ireland and then a few pages on, it was Amsterdam again.

Many of the premises were totally unbelievable. For example, would an experienced policeman really have never heard of a 'walking holiday'? Would a policewoman who had been told not to contact her criminal ex-boyfriend as her career would be in jeopardy really ignore this and invite him for Christmas lunch (of fish fingers!) because she felt sorry for him. Would a stabbed man, described as 'grey' and not moving, really miraculously climb out from under a bed and walk into another room? My list could go on and on.

I ploughed through though and couldn't believe the number of aspects that were left unresolved - Selina and Connor, Connor and his father, Connor and Selina's mother, Jacob discovering the truth about Joel, Imogen and Dean, Imogen and Adrian, Adrian and his ex.....

I'm sorry but I won't be looking for this author's other books.

The Promise is my first book of Katarina Diamond's and I enjoyed it a lot. An easy read, it tells the story of Conor, a 16 year old starting a new life with his dad in the UK following a major life changing incident in the States. Conor's mother left him and his dad 15 years earlier when Conor was just a baby. Conor has a hard time adjusting to life and school in the UK and his dad's erratic and violent behaviour doesn't help. Thankfully his uncle Joel is around to help Conor and his dad.

In a dual timeline, women are meeting a mysterious man from the internet and turning up dead shortly after. Detectives Imogen Grey and Adrian Miles are working the case.

In a throwback to a past, we meet Victoria who is committing to paper her life story. Who is Victoria and where does she fit into any of the above?

I thoroughly enjoyed The Promise and found it an easy read. I loved the chemistry between Adrian and Imogen and I thought the storyline was compulsive and addictive reading. I did guess the perpetrator towards the end but that didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book. I would definitely like to read more by Katarina Diamond.

Thank you to Netgalley, Ms Diamond and the publisher for the opportunity to read The Promise in exchange for my honest opinion.