Book Review: The Promise by Teresa Driscoll

**Disclaimer: I received a free electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Release Date: February 7, 2019 
Description:

" It was their darkest secret. Three schoolgirls made a promise – to take the horrible truth of what they did to the grave.

Thirty years later, Beth and Sally have tried to put the trauma behind them. Though Carol has distanced herself from her former friends, the three are adamant that the truth must never come to light, even if the memory still haunts them.

But when some shocking news threatens to unearth their dark secret, Beth enlists the help of private investigator Matthew Hill to help her and Sally reconnect with estranged Carol ­– before the terrible act they committed as teenagers is revealed.

Beth wishes she could take back the vow they made.

But somebody is watching and will stop at nothing to ensure the secret stays buried. Now, with her beloved family in peril, can Beth still keep the promise?"

I thought the premise of the book was pretty interesting, at least it's what got me intrigued. However, I found that the plot was a slow burner, and the thriller aspect to not be very thrilling. Yes, the plot of three school girls making a promise years go only to have the feelings of guilt made from the said promise to resurface, was interesting, but the execution...not so much. I also almost lost interest in the plot because of its pacing and somewhat dull characters, as I got attached to none of them. 

In the end, I found the mystery of the promise to be rather anti-climactic (since Beth, Sally, and Carol make it seem to be something very, VERY traumatic, which it was, don't get me wrong, but the hype of it all didn't meet my expectations). As mentioned before, the pacing of the book was one the stories weak points, as the plot did not really pick up until like 3/4 of the way through the book. From that point on things get interesting and everything gets revealed, though the ending was a bit abrupt, but at least it was a good enough of a conclusion as all the questions were answered. 

Overall rating: 2.5/5 😐