Promise Not to Tell by Jennifer McMahon is my favorite type of thriller: a dark mystery that dances between the present and the past, with just a sprinkling of the supernatural dusted in. It's a rare formula, and one McMahon nails in her debut novel.
Promise Not to Tell follows Kate, a 41-year-old school nurse, through the murders of two young girls in her hometown. The first, her childhood friend Del, has haunted Kate -- and the community -- for thirty years. The most recent death coincides with Kate's return to town to care for her ailing, commune-living mother, and bears suspicious similarities to Del's grisly killing many years before.
The mystery is managed masterfully by McMahon -- especially considering this is a first novel. The storytelling is superb, and alternates seamlessly between present and past. Both mysteries are compelling, with characters that aren't always likeable in the traditional sense, but intriguing nonetheless. I found the ending very surprising, with a resolution that is satisfying even if it isn't wrapped up with a pretty red bow.
I liked Promise Not to Tell even more than Island of Lost Girls. It cements my assumption that McMahon would soon be one of my new favorite authors. I'm off to seek out another of her books now.
Promise Not to Tell follows Kate, a 41-year-old school nurse, through the murders of two young girls in her hometown. The first, her childhood friend Del, has haunted Kate -- and the community -- for thirty years. The most recent death coincides with Kate's return to town to care for her ailing, commune-living mother, and bears suspicious similarities to Del's grisly killing many years before.
The mystery is managed masterfully by McMahon -- especially considering this is a first novel. The storytelling is superb, and alternates seamlessly between present and past. Both mysteries are compelling, with characters that aren't always likeable in the traditional sense, but intriguing nonetheless. I found the ending very surprising, with a resolution that is satisfying even if it isn't wrapped up with a pretty red bow.
I liked Promise Not to Tell even more than Island of Lost Girls. It cements my assumption that McMahon would soon be one of my new favorite authors. I'm off to seek out another of her books now.
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