The Promise by Sally Jenkins

BLURB

A man has been stabbed. A woman is bloodstained. The nightmares from her teenage years have begun again for Olivia Field – just as she is preparing to marry.

Ex-convict, Tina is terminally ill. Before she dies, the care of her younger, psychologically unwell brother, Wayne must be ensured. So Tina calls in a promise made to her thirty years ago in a prison cell. A promise that was written down and placed with crucial evidence illustrating a miscarriage of justice in a murder case.

Tina believes Olivia is perfectly placed to provide the care Wayne needs, but to do so, Olivia must be forced to cancel her own wedding and wreck the lives of those close to her. Tina’s terrible blackmail demands put Olivia’s entire future and, ultimately, her freedom under threat.

The Promise is a fast-paced psychological thriller told from several third person viewpoints. The novel explores the lengths to which people are prepared go in order to protect those they love and the impossibility of ever fully escaping our past actions.

MY REVIEW

The thought of her upcoming wedding with Mark made Olivia’s nightmares easier to bear. She had come a long way from the young girl with a past, but her life was about to change for the worst. She’s being blackmailed by an evil woman who knows about Olivia’s past and will do anything to help her brother have a better life when she is gone. Olivia can’t let her fiance know her secret; it would destroy him and he wouldn’t forgive her. Should Olivia let this woman destroy everything she has accomplished? Should she tell her fiance everything and risk going to jail? How far would you go to protect the ones you love?

I found that most of the characters weren’t really likable and they all had issues, but that’s okay. Nobody’s perfect. The story is predictable, but it moves along pretty well and the psychological aspect of it is gripping. If you like psychological thrillers with some blackmail thrown in, take a look at this book.

BUY THE BOOK

Amazon US | Amazon UK

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sally Jenkins lives in the West Midlands. She is a member of a Speakers’ Club, a volunteer library reading group coordinator and a church bell ringer. Sally’s first psychological thriller, Bedsit Three won the Ian Govan Award.