I love Teresa Driscoll and her writing style. And of course, I wasn't disappointed with this book. Secrets, mysteries, old school - everything what I like. It was slow on the beginning but worth to wait till the end to unfold all the darknets and twists.


I would like to thank Netgalley, Thomas and Mercer, and Teresa Driscoll (who attended boarding school!) for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Promise is an emotionally charged tale, full of feeling and heartache, friendship, and loss, love and betrayal, hope and renewal, healing and second chances.
It portrays the deep bonds of friendship through the rich, but tragic histories of three school girls turned adults. Through the first half of the book we follow the mystery of Carol with building tension, hoping to discover her dark secret that’s scarred all three lives and shaped their future. Interwoven into the plot amongst her horrific reveal, we unravel the struggles the other two women face independently, as well as the heartbreak they’ve shared collectively all these years since. The plot peaks as they strive to come to grips with the past, face a new, unexpected threat that has been resurrected to haunt them, and find healing and resolution to move forward, despite all.

This story is not a thriller or a suspense novel, and though it contains two very distinct mysteries, it is so much more than that. It is really a piece of fiction that narrates the friendship of three girls with a ghastly secret, the struggles and drama of life that ensues, and the attempts to find healing and freedom. Admittedly, there were moments when I felt the story was a catchall of dramatic events and it felt a bit all over the place with its myriad of tragedies, some feeling a touch far-fetched, but despite that, it was a very moving and well-told story that I am so glad that I had the chance to read.

Combine three good friends, a boarding school operated by nuns and a decision that affects them for the rest of their lives. These are the main ingredients in The Promise.

Sally, Beth and Carol share a secret that they believe is buried forever. Then, with the news that their old school is closing and will be demolished, the secret doesn’t seem very buried anymore. What transpires is a twisty, suspenseful story that could keep you reading well into the night.

The story is told mainly from Beth’s perspective but occasionally from Carol, Sally and Matthew (a detective hired by Beth and Sally in order to locate Carol) point of view. Besides being an unpredictable, psychological tale, The Promise is also a story of friendships and courage. While there were a few weaknesses in the book, I recommend it for anyone who enjoys a mystery with interesting characters, a well-developed plot and great suspense. I would give it 3.5 but will bump it up to 4.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

Very interesting novel of 3 friends relationships and their coming of age. Ms. Driscoll has proved herself to have an easygoing manner of writing that keeps your attention and offers excellent insight into their personal lives. Good read!

Beth, Sally and Carole have a secret. A secret from their teenage years that no one can ever find out. Unfortunately, the book is so slow moving that the reader doesn’t find out much about this secret until over two-thirds into the book. The ending gets better so it’s a shame that the pace of the book meant I wasn’t that interested by the characters or the reveal.

A well written, well plotted book which I thoroughly enjoyed. I found the characters were intricately described and enjoyed the different time scales, which were used well to build the story and the tension. I read this in 36 hours and felt sad when I finished it as the girls had become like friends to me.

I give this book 2.5 stars. The premise seemed interesting and I liked the characters though I felt they were a little immature. My biggest issue with the book is it tried to throw in too many “twists” that I felt were unnecessary to the plot. It was a slow read that I felt took too long to get to the main secret, which wasn’t revealed until about 60% through the book. I think that exposing it earlier and then possibly expanding a little more on other plot points thrown in at the end would’ve helped the book move at a better pace.

Three girls held a deep, dark secret and they vowed to keep it forever. Someone is threatening their secret and the three must decide how far are they willing to go and their promise to one another.

It's a psychological suspenseful novel, which is a new area for me and it kept it me wanting more, page after page after page. I try and visualize each of the three characters and see how these three are able to keep this promise, even under dire consequences.

Delving and exploring the psyche of characters is tricky and tough, because you have to try and devoid your own psyche and tap into these three.

Without giving away too much of the story, you slowly start to recognize the significant traumas, they experience and how they can keep their bond and strength with one another.

Over the next decades, Beth and Sally remain close, but they haven't seen Carol, since Beth's 30th birthday. Beth's 40th birthday is fast approaching and Sally and Beth haven't heard or seen anything about Carol and a new twist starts to develop.

The school is going to be demolished and their secret might be exposed. It is now a race against time to locate Carol and somehow keep their promise among only the three of them......................Read the book to find out what happens!!

Fast-paced psychological thriller. 3 girls promise at boarding school to keep a secret. 30 years later the secret might get exposed. The reader doesn't find out what secret they had to keep until the last part of the book. I was a little disappointed when I found out what it actually was. I expected to be more remarkable as it affected all three girls throughout their life. But I still enjoyed the book, quite a few twists. Definitely recommend.

Throughout the book, I was sure I knew what the dark secret would be in the end and while I wasn't wrong, the author still managed to surprise me. I realized there was so much more going on behind the scenes, beneath the surface, for many of the characters and that I'd sensed, but never guessed what else was being kept secret.

This was a skillfully written book with complex characters and adeptly weaved suspense.

My full review is on Goodreads.

I tried to get through this but simply gave up at 40%. The problem for me is the way Driscoll keeps the "big event" -- the dead girl hinted at in the prologue -- away from the reader, letting the reader stew in some kind of tizzy trying to figure out what happened to the three best friends. She tries so badly to build momentum to get to that retelling that I know it won't be satisfactory. If the event was really good, she'd share it earlier, so the reader can be in on the characters' angst. At this point, it seems they're just spinning their wheels, and they aren't interesting enough to care about. I also find the flipping back and forth between characters and time too much work for the reader. What I mean is it comes off as lazy writing. For me, there's no narrative flow. Usually, I'm so intrigued to find out what happens in a novel, I'll look for a spoiler. Here, I just don't care.

Thank you to the publisher Thomas & Mercer and the author for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Carol, Beth, and Sally are friends who meet at school. One night, they experience an unthinkable tragedy and it tears them apart. Flash forward and their secret is being threatened to be exposed.

Told from each of the girls' POV over the span of the years when they were at school until current day, this book has a few twists and turns that you aren't expecting.

Good for readers that love suspense.

The Promise by Teresa Driscoll is a taut psychological thriller that will keep readers guessing all the way up to an explosive and jaw-dropping reveal. This novel had me caught up in the mysterious 'promise' right from the start, and the build-up to the shocking conclusion never wavered in its intensity.

Three friends, Beth, Sally, and Carol, become inseparable during their time at boarding school. Their special bond is strengthened by a shared secret that each girl vows that she will always keep. But twenty-five years later, the women learn that their school is slated for demolition and their decades long secret is at threat of being exposed. Beth and Sally engage private investigator Matthew to help them track down the long estranged Carol, but it seems that Matthew may be hiding secrets of his own. And why is a promise made over twenty-five years earlier continuing to haunt each of the three women all these years later?

This is a compelling story of secrets, lies, friendships, and loyalties, and I was racing through pages to discover the nature of the promise. I would highly recommend this book to any fan of the genre who appreciates the element of surprise in a taut and well-plotted mystery.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC.

This is the second book I have read by Teresa Driscoll. I wanted to see if her writing style was the same as a recent book I read by her. She is amazing with building up to the secret. But, once you get the big reveal it seems to fall flat for me. It just doesn’t match the build up. That’s the best way I can describe it. It’s not bad, it’s just an average read. I wouldn’t be opposed to reading more in the future but I won’t be seeking it out. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this.

While I do think this was a well written and tense thriller, I felt that it just was a bit slow and dragging too, which made me rate it at a 3-4 instead of a 5. It had some good tension, twists, chills, and thrills, and did keep my focus in a way that made it enjoyable to read. I think if it were a bit shorter, it would have been a 5 star read. Overall, I recommend to my fellow thriller lovers.
Will use in a challenge and let the members of Chapter Chatter Pub know about it’s release!

In my opinion, I felt this was too drawn out, to the extent that when I got to the twist, it felt unremarkable. Well written though, certainly enough for me to finish the book and read apace, In summary, i just personally felt a little deflated.

If only we all had 1 friend, let alone 2 that could keep a secret for that long of a time. Carol, Sal and Beth all are keeping a secret from their early teen years. But one of the is also keeping a secret from them.
Their private school is being torn down, and their secret by be revealed. What will they do now? Thank you netgalley.

Three teenage girls at a boarding school suffer through a harrowing experience that locks them permanently together. Years later they receive a letter from the school indicating that it is closing and their dorm is scheduled to be torn down. New buildings will go up in the site which means digging, and digging is the last thing the three want to have happen. They make their plan and two of them head to the school. The third member of the trio separated herself out years ago to the point of moving to another country.

As they move through their plan they have to deal with telling lies and half truths to husbands, new boyfriends, and children. At times the reader will think they’ve figured the book out but no. Teresa Driscoll has woven a magnificent mystery. Readers are in for big surprises. 5 stars!

A Captivating Read:
Being suddenly confronted with a demon of their past, Beth and Sally try to get in touch with their friend Carol. The three friends had been at boarding school together, but after they left the school their lives have taken very different turns. As the story unfolds, the reader gets a glimpse into their past and present lives and the unseen burdens these women have been carrying around, unable to share them with the people they love. What I like about The Promise is the complexity of each of the characters. I am sure a lot of readers can relate to one or more aspects of their struggles and how they try to find happiness despite them. This book captivated me and I enjoyed reading it from beginning to end.

Beth, Sally, and Carol were the best of friends at their convent boarding school as teenagers. One traumatic event changed everything for Carol and she distanced herself, moving to a different country and eventually cutting all ties. Years later the convent is being torn down and all former students are invited back for a reunion. Beth and Sally instantly become worried that the event in the past will become uncovered and they scramble to get in touch with Carol. They soon find themselves in harm's way and start to feel threatened. Is it Carol? Or someone else who knows their terrible secret?

This was a 3.5 star read for me. It was an easy read and I wanted to get to the end to find out what happened. Some of the characters didn't make much sense to me (Melody) but I suppose that was just to add to the mystery of who was responsible for certain things. Overall it was a well written story, the second I've read from Teresa Driscoll. Not really a "thriller" per say, more like a drama with some mystery sprinkled in.