Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
Part ghost story, part murder mystery, part self-discovery. Each character has their own story, and they all weave together beautifully.
It is now making its way around my circle of bookworm friends. :-)
It is now making its way around my circle of bookworm friends. :-)
This was one of those fantastic books that just pull you in from the start and don't let go until the very last page. Jennifer McMahon is such a talent, and I cant wait to read more of her books!
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Promise not to tell is a promising debut that hinted at many elements that McMahon would later continue to write about. Themes of abducted children, molested children, old romances, guilt-ridden protagonists. It's not bad, but she certainly has improved a lot. The dialogue is a bit clunky and the mystery not that intricate. You'd think the most obvious suspect, the one who the ghost of the victim has actually pointed to, would be too obvious an answer, but it is the answer we are given. The setting, apart from being Vermont, is a new and interesting one, being a commune formed by old 60s hippies.
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I enjoyed the overall story/mystery of this book. But I found myself annoyed at the repetitive writing. Yes, yes, we get it, our narrator betrayed her childhood friend. This book could have been shorter if it had moved a little faster and had some of that repetitiveness edited out.
Spoiler
The supernatural element....I'm typically fine with that. One of my favorite books from my youth was Wait Til Helen Comes. But in this book...it did not come off believable. I had a difficult time accepting that part of the story. Probably because it wasn't introduced until toward the end. If you want me to believe in the supernatural, it has to come at the start. To me, it would have been much more interesting to have Zach feeding her mother with all these details and her mother just falling into it due to her dementia. Making it supernatural? I wasn't buying.
Interesting ghost story. New author that I enjoyed very much. Looking forward to more books by this author.
I found myself a little bored at parts. I would probably have enjoyed this book if it wasn’t a thriller/ghost story, but a coming of age book about Kate being friends with Del. I did find myself getting a little chilled to the bone when the ghost story started taking over in the story.
It wasn't as good as I was hoping it would be, but (aside from the beginning) it was mostly well written and interesting. The ending didn't really do it for me. But I enjoyed it at least, and I can see why other people would also.
I enjoyed this book, many parts of it could have been a little too much for the story but the author did a good job of not having the whole hippie commune thing overtake the narrative. I found the ending a little obvious, but the story was still spooky. None of the characters were very likable, but I don't mind that in a book. (Though the teenage kleptomaniac storyline was interesting. I enjoyed that.)
The entire time I was reading this book I kept thinking I had already read it, the essence seemed so familiar. Later I realized that I read "The Winter People" a few years ago. Not necessarily a fault, but McMahon certainly has a distinct style.
I would recommend this book to someone who likes scary stories, I found it chilling.
The entire time I was reading this book I kept thinking I had already read it, the essence seemed so familiar. Later I realized that I read "The Winter People" a few years ago. Not necessarily a fault, but McMahon certainly has a distinct style.
I would recommend this book to someone who likes scary stories, I found it chilling.