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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
I found this book to be ok, the characters were entertaining, but it seemed to take the entire book to bring their relationships to each other together. I believe I would read more by this author.
McMahon's debut novel is a decent murder mystery, that veers, unfortunately into the world of ghosts and unsettled spirits. Really good writing, and well-rounded characters, but I'll read a good ghost story if it's advertised as such. This was as annoying as when James Lee Burke goes down this road.
dark
sad
slow-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I’m just not a fan of this author, I had also made an attempt at Winter People and couldn’t get into it. This is trying too hard to be a Gillian Flynn book, but it really feels like a Lifetime movie.
I don't know why I decided to read this one, considering I didn't like the one other book I read by her. We'll see...
ETA: Better. Not great, but definitely better.
ETA: Better. Not great, but definitely better.
More like 3 1/2 stars. Good, but a little too much going on for it to all work well.
An interesting look at old and new murder mysteries. Throw in some interesting characters, a different environment than most of us grew up in, and modern challenges many of us do or will face and it was challenging novel to put down.
When I picked up this book and read the back it interested me considerably. I like reading alot of crime kinda horror books lately so it caught my eye.I wasn't kean kean on it but i thought id give it a try. I started reading and it started in 2002 when she goes back to look after her mother who is suffering from alzemhias. At the exact time she came bk the night before a murder took place in thwe woods the same woods and the same incident that happened to another girl 30 years ago. The kids called her potato girl and everyone knew about potato girl and told stories about her. Kate knew potato girl from waaay back but she always told everyone she never knew her. Kate was best friends with her and always just wanted to fit in. It then flickers back to her childhood 5th grade when the incident happened and leading up to her death. It flickers back and forward as she tries to find out how del died and how the girl in the woods death was connected? Or maybe they wasn't Was potato girl really back from the dead? This is a realy good book to be reading espcieally if you like murder mysteries. It isnt the best book i read but i enjoyed reading it alot
I enjoyed The Night Sister by Jennifer McMahon so I resolved to read whatever I could get my hands on by her. I have a similar reaction to her stories as I do to Ruth Ware: I like them, I can't always figure out the whole puzzle, and there's just enough to keep me interested but not enough to blow my socks off.
McMahon's main character in Promise, Kate Cypher, is not a very sympathetic character. Sure, she made some mean girl mistakes as a kid and her "on the downlow" best friend died but Kate just kind of sucked at everything. I think the thing I was most appalled at was her nursing ability. For someone who was an RN, she didn't take care of her mom very well. Maybe that was the point: that she was so guilt-ridden by her treatment of Del that she just kind of sucked at life. A stronger person would have seen life as a gift instead of an endurement? I don't know, I just didn't really like Kate.
But, I was interested in the mystery and I always love a paranormal aspect so that kept me going and I was duly surprised in the end.
I've added the other McMahon works that I can readily get and am interested in them all.
McMahon's main character in Promise, Kate Cypher, is not a very sympathetic character. Sure, she made some mean girl mistakes as a kid and her "on the downlow" best friend died but Kate just kind of sucked at everything. I think the thing I was most appalled at was her nursing ability. For someone who was an RN, she didn't take care of her mom very well. Maybe that was the point: that she was so guilt-ridden by her treatment of Del that she just kind of sucked at life. A stronger person would have seen life as a gift instead of an endurement? I don't know, I just didn't really like Kate.
But, I was interested in the mystery and I always love a paranormal aspect so that kept me going and I was duly surprised in the end.
I've added the other McMahon works that I can readily get and am interested in them all.