Synopses & Reviews
The breakout author of The Forgotten Girl and Cemetery Girl, one of the brightest and best crime fiction writers of our time” (Suspense Magazine) delivers a new novel about a man who is haunted by a face from his past....
When Nick Hansen sees the young woman at the grocery store, his heart stops. She is the spitting image of his college girlfriend, Marissa Minor, who died in a campus house fire twenty years earlier. But when Nick tries to speak to her, she acts skittish and rushes off.
The next morning the police arrive at Nicks house and show him a photo of the woman from the store. Shes been found dead, murdered in a local motel, with Nicks name and address on a piece of paper in her pocket.
Convinced there's a connection between the two women, Nick enlists the help of his college friend Laurel Davidson to investigate the events leading up to the night of Marissas death. But the young womans murder is only the beginning...and the truths Nick uncovers may make him wish he never doubted the lies.
Review
“PROMISE NOT TO TELL takes you through the twisted world of adolescent friendship, betrayal and murder.” Pam Lewis, author of SPEAK SOFTLY, SHE CAN HEAR
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“This assured, ambitious debut novel offers an unusual mix of mystery novel and ghost story...” Booklist
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“A great, dark, spooky book for the summer.” Today Show
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“Well-plotted suspenseful fun.” Kirkus Reviews
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“Deeply disturbing and darkly compelling...” Sara Gruen, bestselling author of WATER FOR ELEPHANTS
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Praise for the novels of David Bell “A natural storyteller and a superb writer.”—#1 New York Times Bestselling Author Nelson DeMille
“An absolutely riveting, absorbing read not to be missed.”—New York Times Bestselling Author Lisa Unger
“David Bell writes spellbinding and gripping thrillers that get under your skin and refuse to let go."—Linwood Barclay, New York Times and #1 international bestselling author of No Safe House
Synopsis
Forty-one-year-old school nurse Kate Cypher has returned home to rural Vermont to care for her mother who's afflicted with Alzheimer's. On the night she arrives, a young girl is murdered—a horrific crime that eerily mirrors another from Kate's childhood. Three decades earlier, her dirt-poor friend Del—shunned and derided by classmates as "Potato Girl"—was brutally slain. Del's killer was never found, while the victim has since achieved immortality in local legends and ghost stories. Now, as this new murder investigation draws Kate irresistibly in, her past and present collide in terrifying, unexpected ways. Because nothing is quite what it seems . . . and the grim specters of her youth are far from forgotten.
More than just a murder mystery, Jennifer McMahon's extraordinary debut novel, Promise Not to Tell, is a story of friendship and family, devotion and betrayal—tautly written, deeply insightful, beautifully evocative, and utterly unforgettable.
Synopsis
New York Times bestselling author Jennifer McMahon's explosive debut
Forty-one-year-old school nurse Kate Cypher has returned home to rural Vermont to care for her mother who's afflicted with Alzheimer's. On the night she arrives, a young girl is murdered--a horrific crime that eerily mirrors another from Kate's childhood. Three decades earlier, her dirt-poor friend Del--shunned and derided by classmates as "Potato Girl"--was brutally slain. Del's killer was never found, while the victim has since achieved immortality in local legends and ghost stories. Now, as this new murder investigation draws Kate irresistibly in, her past and present collide in terrifying, unexpected ways. Because nothing is quite what it seems . . . and the grim specters of her youth are far from forgotten.
More than just a murder mystery, Jennifer McMahon's extraordinary debut novel, Promise Not to Tell, is a story of friendship and family, devotion and betrayal--tautly written, deeply insightful, beautifully evocative, and utterly unforgettable.
Synopsis
A woman's past and present collide in terrifying ways in this explosive debut by New York Times bestselling author Jennifer McMahon.
Forty-one-year-old school nurse Kate Cypher has returned home to rural Vermont to care for her mother, who's afflicted with Alzheimer's. On the night she arrives, a young girl is murdered--a horrific crime that eerily mirrors another from Kate's childhood. Three decades earlier, her dirt-poor friend Del--shunned and derided by classmates as Potato Girl--was brutally slain. Del's killer was never found, while the victim has since achieved immortality in local legends and ghost stories. Now, as this new murder investigation draws Kate irresistibly in, her past and present collide in terrifying, unexpected ways. Because nothing is quite what it seems . . . and the grim specters of her youth are far from forgotten.
More than just a murder mystery, Jennifer McMahon's extraordinary debut novel, Promise Not to Tell, is a story of friendship and family, devotion and betrayal--tautly written, deeply insightful, beautifully evocative, and utterly unforgettable.
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Publishers WeeklySynopsis
"McMahon unfurls a whirlwind of suspense...Combining murder mystery and coming-of-age tale with supernatural elements, this taut novel is above all a reflection on the haunting power of memory." -Entertainment Weekly
A woman's past and present collide in terrifying ways in this explosive debut by New York Times bestselling author Jennifer McMahon.
Forty-one-year-old school nurse Kate Cypher has returned home to rural Vermont to care for her mother, who's afflicted with Alzheimer's. On the night she arrives, a young girl is murdered--a horrific crime that eerily mirrors another from Kate's childhood. Three decades earlier, her dirt-poor friend Del--shunned and derided by classmates as Potato Girl--was brutally slain. Del's killer was never found, while the victim has since achieved immortality in local legends and ghost stories. Now, as this new murder investigation draws Kate irresistibly in, her past and present collide in terrifying, unexpected ways. Because nothing is quite what it seems . . . and the grim specters of her youth are far from forgotten.
More than just a murder mystery, Jennifer McMahon's extraordinary debut novel, Promise Not to Tell, is a story of friendship and family, devotion and betrayal--tautly written, deeply insightful, beautifully evocative, and utterly unforgettable.
About the Author
Jennifer McMahon is the New York Times bestselling author of Don't Breathe a Word, Dismantled, Island of Lost Girls, and Promise Not to Tell. She grew up in suburban Connecticut and graduated from Goddard College. Over the years, she has been a house painter, farm worker, paste-up artist, pizza delivery person, and homeless-shelter staff member, and she has worked with mentally ill adults and children in various capacities. She lives in Vermont with her partner, Drea, and their daughter, Zella.
Exclusive Essay
Read an exclusive essay by Jennifer McMahon