Three girls . . . Beth, Carol, and Sally . . . share a room at the boarding school at the Convent of Saint Colman, and for thirty years, find themselves held captive by a promise. A promise of schoolchildren, a promise rooted in fear, a promise they’ve kept but tried to forget. But, like most promises, the seed of it lives on in their memories, rising at times to haunt each of them.

When circumstances conspire to threaten exposure of their secret, they enlist a private investigator and work to keep it buried. But, as they consider the possibility of revealing their secret, someone is watching them, threatening to make certain it remains untold. And when Beth’s family is threatened, will she be able to keep the promise?

The story slowly unfolds, alternating between the boarding school years and the present. Tension builds slowly, but it pulls the reader into the story from the beginning. Peopled by believable characters, the realistic narrative keeps the pages turning.

The strong friendship between the women is a highlight of the story, as is the inner struggle with the keeping of the promise. This thoughtful narrative keeps the reader involved in the telling of the tale. Some unexpected reveals ramp up the suspense, making it difficult to set this one aside before turning the final page.

Recommended.

I received a free Advance Reader’s Copy of this eBook from Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley
#ThePromise #NetGalley

This book was an enjoyable mystery with some interesting suspense. It keeps the reader guessing. I gave it a four-star rather than five star rating because I thought that the ending was too 'fairy tale'.

In my family, I am the one who is hardest to surprise when it comes to plot twists. I tell my husband that it's probably due to my life-long involvement with the world of theater - I'm always asking myself "what are the possible plot twists?"

This book kept me guessing right up until the reveal. There were hints of something tragic; a horrible event that forever altered the lives of boarding school friends Carol, Beth, and Sally.

With carefully crafted flashbacks, Driscoll beautifully weaves a story of three boarding school students who become inseparable but find their friendships strained almost to the breaking point by something awful that occurred during their school years. The three friends promised never to tell anyone what had happened. But that secret begins to cause the unraveling of most other aspects of their lives.

I finished this book less than 24 hours after I started it. It's that good. The writer kept me guessing about the tragedy that these girls were hiding but kept feeding just enough descriptions - descriptions of blood on the floor, a lifeless figure, blue lips, and more - to keep you captivated and guessing. Once the truth is revealed, there is yet more to be discovered since Beth and her family have been receiving anonymous threats from someone who knows about the big secret.

The women eventually confide in loved ones and find support and love instead of the judgment and anger they feared. As for the threats to Beth's family - and even some serious injuries in one case - will the culprit be discovered? More importantly, will he or she be punished? And will the most common victim of this person's anger ever find peace and healing?

Very well thought out story but progressed rather slowly. The readers knows there is a secret and I'm sure imaginations will run wild with what it could be. The three schoolgirl friends made a promise never to tell, but of course secrets always have a way of showing themselves. There are lots of twists and turns in this story. I think the answers of what happens will surprise most. Recommended!

Three girls held a deep, dark secret. Three girls made a promise they vowed to keep forever. Now something and someone is threatening that promise. Will the truth come out or will these women do anything possible to keep their secret hidden forever?

I am a huge Teresa Driscoll fan and have previously rated her books very highly. The Promise is a slow burning psychological suspense novel - not a thriller - but a book filled with plenty of atmospheric drama. The book begins when the three women are at a private girls school. While we don't actually learn what the secret is, I suspect that most of us can guess. It's a terrible thing that happens and traumatizing, too, for each of the girls. However, the secret more than the event becomes the catalyst for problems down the road as is generally the case with secrets, right?

Without giving any of the plot away, I will say that I enjoyed The Promise but not nearly as much as I have liked Driscoll's precious work. While it's well written, I had a difficult time actually connecting with any of the three women. Perhaps it's because I'm too bluntly honest for my own good and keeping a secret for a lifetime isn't something I can conceive of doing. Just deal it already! Despite misgivings, however, I found myself engrossed in their story and I did read it in one very quick sitting. I suspect that if, like me, you are a Driscoll fan then you will like this selection. If you enjoy slow-burning psychological reads then this will be good one for you as well. If, however, you like thrillers, then this one is not for you. It is very much a solid three-star rating from me.

Thank you to #Netgalley and #ThomasMercer for my advanced copy of #ThePromise

My first time reading this author, but I will definitely look for her other works!. Starts a little slow as you learn all the characters and the movement of the character's voices. They are expressed 'to and fro', 'then and now', but it is easy to follow the timeline. Once you are ''listening '' to each of them tell their stories you won't want to put the book down. While you may guess what the promise is you will never guess the additional twists and turns all the way to the end of the book. No spoilers from me, the jacket cover and other reviews have given adequate descriptions. I only laid the book down for a few hours sleep once started! I am 'stingy' with 5 stars, but this one is deserving.
Many thanks to the author, Thomas & Mercer Publishing, and NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review. The opinions expressed are my own. Enjoy!

I really loved the friendship of these girls and the unfortunate event that lead to the promise. It’s a long time since I’ve read a book this quick , it’s hard to put down . I love this author and this is one not to be missed .

When three young schoolgirls make a promise thirty years ago they expected their secret to remain as such forever. However, thirty years later there is danger of the past being uncovered which leads to a dangerous time for the three women.

The story slowly unravels and leads you to the dark secret that has remained hidden for so many years and you discover the bond that keeps the three women together through their toughest years.

I found the story slow in places and not sure where this was going, how bad could this incident have been for the girls and what happened. The last quarter of the book did pick up the pace a bit and ended ok.

Beth, Sally and Carol made a promise to each other when they were 14, a promise to keep their darkest secret to themselves, to take it to the grave with them.  Thirty years later, Beth and Sally are still best of friends, although Carol has distanced herself from them.  Suddenly they get some shocking news, and Beth and Sally realise their secret is at risk of discovery.  They hire a private detective to try and trace Carol so that they can decide what to do.  Unknown to the three of them someone else knows their secret, someone who will stop at nothing to ensure the secret isn't discovered.

This was a great read.  I am a big fan of thrillers of all description, so I usually find them easy to get into, and this was no exception.  Beth and Sally are both likeable characters, and their friendship comes off the pages as a genuine and believable friendship.  Carol is very different, and we don't learn much about her as she is now, as she is estranged from the others. 
I enjoyed having the book narrated by different characters, and for the chapters to move between past and present.  From the very start of the book we are aware that the girls have a terrible secret from their time at school, and each chapter leads us closer to understanding what happened. We don't get many chapters from Carol, and I think that works well.  It helps to reinforce Beth and Sally's feeling that they don't understand why Carol has drawn away.
I don't want to say too much more, as I don't want to give away any details that will spoil the story for people.  I will say though that I think this hits the mark for psychological thrillers.  It's a quick read, easy to get into and moves at a good pace.  I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes thrillers, or books about secrets.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an arc in exchange for an honest review

I thoroughly enjoyed this dark and brooding psychological thriller. The book is well writen with a great cast of characters and a story line that is interesting and believable. It is a very emotional book with an unexpected ending. I was fortunate to receive this novel from Netgalley as an Advance Reader Copy, in exchange for an objective review.

I keep hearing great things about author Teresa Driscoll so I was excited to read her newest psychological suspense thriller The Promise as an advanced reading copy from NetGalley. I am a sucker for books about friends with a secret from their school days. This idea has been done a lot but she has a bit of a fresh take on it with the secret these Catholics boarding school girls have kept for many years. Now, their school is about to be torn down and developed so their secret may be revealed. The book is told from alternating viewpoints and takes awhile to build up to the action. I was so focused on the main secret that I missed other secrets along the way. The books come together well at the end. 3.5 rounded to 4 stars.

Three boarding school friends receive information that their old school that bonded them many years ago... is gone.

It’s a relief eat first, because maybe the secret they share will go to the grave with the demolished building.

But just as they think everything gets laid to rest.. a secrets climbs it’s way through the dirt.

A little predictable but over all fun to read. Seemed like Roanoke Girls meets Pretty Little Liars.

Three friends, Beth, Sally and Carol meet at boarding school but while they are there something terrible happens and they make a promise never to tell anyone what happened. But the boarding school is about to be demolished and Beth and Sally have lost touch with Carol, and feel they must find her in case their secret is discovered. So they hire Matthew, an ex-cop private detective.

The story, past and present, is told mainly from Beth's perspective, interspersed with that of Matthew and Carol, and there is a long, slow build up before we finally find out what the secret is. From that point things start to move pretty fast and there were a couple of big reveals that I didn’t see coming.

I enjoyed Ms Driscoll’s writing style and her descriptions of life at boarding school. It came as no surprise to read in the authors notes at the end that she did actually go to boarding school herself. The back story of Matthew was also very interesting.

This was my first book by Teresa Driscoll and I will now be looking up her back catalogue.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received this book "The Promise" from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own. I had trouble staying focused on this story. Towards the end it did get better but not sure I can recommend. This was a slow story to get going. I really thought the "incident" was going to be much more severe. Overall an okay read. The chilling new psychological thriller is in the title but I did not find it to be a thriller.

With thanks to Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

The Promise is about three school friends Beth, Sally and Carol. At the age of 14 tragedy struck one of the girls during the Easter holidays. Scared to tell their parents the three girls make a promise not to tell.

In the present day Beth and Sally receive a letter to say their catholic boarding school is due to close. Beth and Sally have tried to forget the tragedy and are reluctant to go. Carol left the convent when she was 16 and now lives in France. Carol distanced herself as an adult and not seen her friends for years. Unsure whether to go Beth decided to hire ex policeman Matthew Hill to find her.

I agree with other readers that The Promise is a slow burner but that didn't put me off. The story really got going for me at the 60% mark, but after that there were so many twists and turns I was left reeling. I kicked myself for not guessing the girls secret, it was heart breaking but sensitively done.

The chapters were divided between Before and Now 2016, ,the story is told from the POV of Beth, Matthew and Carole.

I liked the characters in this book especially Sally, Matthew and Carol`s young next door neighbour.

I highly recommend this five .star 🌟 read.

What did Beth, Carol, and Sally do that was so bad they promised never ever to tell? Well, you won't find out for a while. Whatever it was, it happened at a school run by nuns and that school is about to be demolished. Sally and Beth are frantically trying to find Carol, even hiring a private detective. Told in dual time lines, this one takes a while to get going but eventually it delivers. You might guess the secret but there are other aspects of this that make it a good read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

The Promise is the story of three friends; Beth, Sally and Carol, who met at a Catholic boarding school and became inseparable, then something terrible happened and the girls made a promise to never speak of it again and take the secret to their graves. Thirty years later Beth and Sally are still best friends but they have lost touch with Carol who moved away. When they both receive a letter which could unearth their secret they panic and know they have to find Carol, whatever the cost, so they hire Matthew, a private investigator to help find her, but someone else knows their secret and will do anything to prevent the secret being revealed. Beth is torn between keeping her promise and ensuring her family are not in danger.

The story is told over two timelines and the chapters alternate between all four main characters, so you get to connect with each of them and learn what happened from each of their perspectives. I've read this author's work before and find her books very easy to read, I devoured this one in just one day! Teresa Driscoll knows how to draw her readers in and completely engulf them in the story, I found this one very hard to put down and am looking forward to reading I am Watching You which I also have on my kindle. If you like a psychological thriller which grips you from the start and keeps you wanting more then I recommend The Promise.

I would like to thank Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for the auto approval, I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.

Promises are forever – and can ruin lives. Three teenage girls vow to keep one and it haunts them way into adulthood. When something happens that threatens to reveal their dark secret, things come to a head. I enjoyed the author’s depiction of the carefree, happy childhood these three friends had at boarding school, and seeing how their lives panned out (this didn’t unfold in linear fashion but as occasional flashbacks into the past). I was kept guessing by the subsequent strange behaviour of one of them, who’d been sunny, beautiful and bright as a youngster. In particular, I loved Beth and Carol’s mothers, both of whom – despite their trials – were wonderfully loving characters. Mystery abounds and I was kept guessing. Just exactly what was the promise? And what on earth was wrong with Carol? There are new relationships, interesting projects and some awful revelations - a great mix.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

The Promise by Teresa Driscoll is a 'psychological thriller' set around three friends who have held a secret since childhood.

I found this to be a slow read and not particularly thrilling. I guessed the secret fairly early and had to muddle my way through until I found out I was correct.

An easy but slow read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for this ARC, in exchange for an honest review!
This book starts off fairly slow, but I went in pretty blind in the hope for surprises. Curious to find out what the secret was… I was keen to keep reading. However, I did feel a bit disappointed. Although I liked the characters and the writing of this book.. I found that even going in blind I guessed every single twist way in advance of it being revealed. I was hoping to be pleasantly surprised by some unknown, or maybe a shocking twist at the end, however, I wasn't. Who knows, maybe I have read/seen too many thrillers these days to be surprised.. But maybe I am being unfair, I guess the overall promise was a slight surprise… but then I found that part to be delivered a bit flatly.
Either way I did enjoy the book, and I give this one 3 stars!