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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
Creeped me out and kept me turning pages until way past my bed time. Now, if I can go to sleep, I'll count my lucky star.
Meh! There were times when I was interested in the mystery, but the supernatural elements did not work for me at all.
Yet another story about crime scene manipulation which leads to an unsolved murder case. Sheesh! This theme has been way too prevalent in my reading lately!
Katy returns to her childhood home after 30 years away. Coincidentally, a young girl is murdered that night in the exact same manner that Katy's childhood friend was all those years ago. The ensuing piecing together of facts is supposed to send chills down your spine as the childhood friend's spirit takes over Katy's aging mother's demented body.
Did I just write that? When summarized like that, I'm tempted to rate it 1 star.
But it did while away the hours of summer landscaping in the Queendom!
Katy returns to her childhood home after 30 years away. Coincidentally, a young girl is murdered that night in the exact same manner that Katy's childhood friend was all those years ago. The ensuing piecing together of facts is supposed to send chills down your spine as the childhood friend's spirit takes over Katy's aging mother's demented body.
Did I just write that? When summarized like that, I'm tempted to rate it 1 star.
But it did while away the hours of summer landscaping in the Queendom!
Kate returns home to care for her mother with Alzheimer's, but her return coincides with a murder that closely mimics a murder from Kate's childhood. Kate's remembers her small-town childhood and her friendship with the murdered "Potato Girl" while she explores what has become of her old family and friends and their possible connection to the recent murder. Promise Not to Tell is a promising combination of small rural town and ghostly murder mystery, but this potential is buried under mediocre writing, unremarkable characters, and an unbelievable plot twist. I was disappointed by this entirely mediocre book, and I don't recommend it.
Many aspects of this book—the small-town setting, the farmer's daughter, the ailing mother—aren't to my tastes, but I was open to trying something new and intrigued by the combination of a ghost story and a murder mystery. Unfortunately, the only good thing I have to say about this book is that the premise intrigued me enough to pick it up and, having picked it up, it was a fast and forgettable read. Promise Not to Tell is well-intended, and it has some promising aspects—including the premise and characters (which are a brave, unusual choice) and the intended themes. But all of these aspects are for naught: the book is dragged down into mediocrity, and the best thing about it is that it's soon finished and forgotten.
McMahon's writing style is amateur and undeveloped, and so it reads swiftly but leaves no lasting impact. It expresses the themes so blatantly that they become bland and meaningless. The narrator's constant dishonesty and weak sarcasm is vaguely irritating. The characters are sometimes promising, sometimes unpleasant, but largely—like the writing—forgettable. The plot does not redeem these factors: the book builds to pleasant (if exaggerated) suspense, but the final twist and reveal is so arbitrary and so unexplained that it's unbelievable and ruins everything that comes before. The book isn't outright bad or begging to be mocked, but it is entirely mediocre. It offers nothing, and it's not enjoyable to read. I had no idea what to expect from this author, but I certainly expected better of a book with such high reviews. I don't recommend it to any audience.
Many aspects of this book—the small-town setting, the farmer's daughter, the ailing mother—aren't to my tastes, but I was open to trying something new and intrigued by the combination of a ghost story and a murder mystery. Unfortunately, the only good thing I have to say about this book is that the premise intrigued me enough to pick it up and, having picked it up, it was a fast and forgettable read. Promise Not to Tell is well-intended, and it has some promising aspects—including the premise and characters (which are a brave, unusual choice) and the intended themes. But all of these aspects are for naught: the book is dragged down into mediocrity, and the best thing about it is that it's soon finished and forgotten.
McMahon's writing style is amateur and undeveloped, and so it reads swiftly but leaves no lasting impact. It expresses the themes so blatantly that they become bland and meaningless. The narrator's constant dishonesty and weak sarcasm is vaguely irritating. The characters are sometimes promising, sometimes unpleasant, but largely—like the writing—forgettable. The plot does not redeem these factors: the book builds to pleasant (if exaggerated) suspense, but the final twist and reveal is so arbitrary and so unexplained that it's unbelievable and ruins everything that comes before. The book isn't outright bad or begging to be mocked, but it is entirely mediocre. It offers nothing, and it's not enjoyable to read. I had no idea what to expect from this author, but I certainly expected better of a book with such high reviews. I don't recommend it to any audience.
Decent read
It took me a few chapters to get into this book but once I did I read it quickly. The writing was decent. The storyline was a little out there but I enjoyed it.
It took me a few chapters to get into this book but once I did I read it quickly. The writing was decent. The storyline was a little out there but I enjoyed it.
3.5 stars- a quick and easy read, definitely can tell it’s her debut novel but i really liked all of the elements - the utopia community, the supernatural aspect, poor Del and how she had to deal with a rough childhood. Most characters weren’t very developed but it was a short book to be able to detail too much. Overall i did enjoy it but wasn’t blown away by it. Also some very triggering and problematic wording & themes.
I liked the premise of this, but the storytelling and writing could have been better. I did find the main story intriguing, but I do wish it would have been a little less back and forth between then and now. I understand that it needed that, but it didn’t always feel like the right time to go back. The characters could have been developed a little more to make this more eery of a book. I was hoping it would be scarier than it was.
I love anything Jennifer McMahon writes. The way she blends history, mystery, and the uncanny/supernatural in every novel is my exact cup of tea.
I think I found this on the $1 shelf at Half Price Books, because I'm not sure why I would have picked it out otherwise. A nice, quick read for when you need to be distracted but not think. The story wasn't too bad, but I don't believe in ghosts, so that part was a little far out for me. I wouldn't read it again, but I enjoyed it the first time around.