Wednesday, January 10, 2018

PROMISE NOT TO TELL by Jayne Ann Krentz



Publisher:     Berkley
Published:     January 2, 2018
ISBN:        978-0399585272
Genre:      Romantic Suspense
Format:     Print
Obtained via:  Publisher
Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina  myreviewbooks@aol.com

THREE HEARTS 



Twenty years ago cult leader Quintin Zane caused death and destruction of the compound he built…the compound where he, in essence, held his followers captive. A short time later Zane himself died in a boating accident…or did he?

In the years that followed the children who escaped the inferno Zane brought about grew up.  But their demons grew with them.  The demons instilled in their minds by Zane.  Each found a modicum of peace in their own way, but they never forgot.  Virginia Troy turned to art as a dealer.  Cabot Sutter turned to law enforcement.  Hannah Brewster began to paint…over and over the night of the fire and destruction of the compound.  While she brings those paintings to Virginia, they are nothing anyone would really want to buy, unless they are into a horrific display of death and destruction.  And then one night, Quintin returns…and once again destroys.

I was eager to dig into Jayne Ann Krenz’s newest read, PROMISE NOT TO TELL.  I was, sadly, disappointed and spent some time deciding if it was a 2-1/2 or 3 heart read.  The writing is good.  No rambling, no head hops, it reads really well. 

The story line really pulled me in.  The whisper of a resurrected cult or its leader, a series of mysterious deaths, a woman determined to find the truth.   There was pretty much non-stop action from the opening scene until the very end. 

It was very much the way I felt about Krenz’s earlier book, SECRET SISTERS.  There were several scenes when I felt like I was re-reading SECRET SISTERS because of the setting and actions of the characters.  It IS a different book, just very similar.  The other thing that turned me off is the “cliffhanger” ending – which is no real ending at all.  While it worked well in the ‘80’s on Dallas with “who killed JR”, those kinds of “wait till the next book to find out the answer” does not work well in books, at least for me.  Rather it makes it look like the author is doing it just to get the reader to buy the next book. 

When I picked up PROMISE NOT TO TELL I did not realize it was the second book in a series. Krentz tells the story, however, so that it is a standalone.  There is just enough of the backstory to Cutler, Sutter and Salinas that you feel you know the three principals.  She does tell a good story. 


This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

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