Promise Not to Tell: A Novel by Jennifer…

Promise Not to Tell: A Novel (edition 2007)

by Jennifer Mcmahon

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
1,114	68	18,030	(3.46)	44
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.… (more)

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Member:	abarnett
Title:	Promise Not to Tell: A Novel
Authors:	Jennifer Mcmahon
Info:	Harper Paperbacks (2007), Paperback, 256 pages
Collections:	Your library
Rating:
Tags:	Suspense

Work Information

Promise Not to Tell by Jennifer McMahon

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Showing 1-5 of 67 (next | show all)

one of My friends recommended this had it read in 3 days if you like gripping stories that will make youu laugh and cry all in one this is it

b00kdarling87 | Jan 7, 2024 |

Pretty good story. It was sort of confusing the back and forth between then and now, but I finally got the rhythm. (

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Fish_Witch | Jul 4, 2023 |

I love this author and her style of mysteries. Always a pleasure to read. (

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maddogish | May 9, 2022 |

Review to come. Audiobook. (

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purple_pisces22 | Mar 14, 2021 |

This is the story of Kate Cypher (who is a nurse....like me). She has returned to her childhood home when she gets a call from folks who live near her mother saying her mom is sinking into Alzheimers and can no longer care for herself. Her mother set her house on fire, and so Kate is not faced with the task of putting her mom in a nursing home. On the night she arrives, a little girl is murdered, and it mirrors a murder that happened to one of Kate's friends when she was a child. The killer of Kate's friend, Del, was never found, but now the police are searching for either a copy cat murderer or Del's killer. Kate becomes wrapped up in finding out who killed the little girl figuring it will lead her to Del's killer.

This was a pretty good book. It is a really quick, short book. The story flips back and forth between 1971 - the year Del was killed, and 2002 - the year the other girl is killed. Kate is remembering her friendship with Del and the guilt that she has thinking it was her fault that Del was killed.

I encourage you to read this book - it was well written and wrapped up nicely in the end. Check it out! (

)

JenMat | Jan 10, 2019 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Jennifer McMahon	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Ostrop, Barbara	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

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The Jennifer McMahon Collection by Jennifer McMahon

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Canonical title

Promise Not to Tell

Original title

Promise Not to Tell

Alternative titles

Original publication date

2007-04-10

People/Characters

Delores "Potato Girl" Griswold

Important places

New Canaan, Vermont, USA

Burlington, Vermont, USA

Important events

Related movies

Epigraph

One potato, two potato, three potato, four she used to live here long ago, she doesn't anymore

One potato, two potato, three potato, four she's coming after you now, better lock the door.

Dedication

For my mother, who taught me to believe in ghosts, And my father, ever skeptical

First words

PROLOGUE: When the Potato Girl was murdered, the killer cut out her heart.

CHAPTER ONE: "Touch it." she said.

Quotations

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

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Original language

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

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Wikipedia in English (1)

Promise Not to Tell

▾Book descriptions

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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Book description

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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