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Release date: February 17, 2017

Publisher: Bookouture 

Genre: Thriller

Blurb: 

Family ties can be deadly…

THE PROMISE

Two sisters. One murder. And an unbreakable bond.

Growing up in squalor with their drug-addicted prostitute mother, sisters Georgie and Marnie Parker have had to endure the very darkest side of life. 

When their mother is sentenced for brutally murdering a client, Georgie and Marnie’s already precarious lives are blown apart and they now share a terrible secret. Sent to a children’s home, the sisters hope this might finally be their safe haven after years of neglect. But they soon discover they’re in real danger.

Desperate to find a place of safety, Georgie and Marnie run for their lives, but end up in the hands of Delray Anderton. A violent London gangster and notorious pimp, Delray has big plans for beautiful teenager Georgie, seeing her as a chance to make some serious money.

Fiercely protective of each other, Georgie and Marnie must escape the clutches of a man who will do anything to keep the sisters for himself. And, they must keep the promise they made to each other – no one can ever know the truth. 

A gritty, shocking and gripping thriller that will engross fans of Kimberly Chambers, Martina Cole and Jessie Keane.

Review:

I’m delighted to welcome you to my stop on the blog tour for The Promise. Today is the last day and I’m sharing it with the lovely Chelle’s Book Reviews, do check out the previous stops on the tour. 

Kelleher has managed to write yet another electrifying, dark and twisted book. I’m beginning to appreciate a good thriller more and more lately, not just a thriller with a huge mystery. Though this earns a firm spot in the thriller category, there were some surprising elements that I wasn’t expecting, making for a riveting read. 

This one was heartbreaking on so many levels. Georgie and Marnie have had such a sad and tough life. Their mother Josie is a prostitute and a drug addict who can’t seem to get it together and be the mother that her children deserve. The poor little things have witnessed some horrifying stuff that no one, much less a child should ever see. This is an extremely dark and gritty read, there are several instances of abuse and at times it was very hard to read. But what kept me going was my concern for these sweet girls, I so badly wanted them to be well taken care of. 

There are a wide variety of characters in this book and many of them are downright awful, but along the way I may have changed my mind about a few. Josie was a hard woman to like, she cares more about herself and what she wants than what her children want or need. From the start I hated her, but as I began to learn more about her history and what drove her to make the decisions she made, I understood why she was this way. Her life hasn’t been easy and there were times when she really did think that she was doing right by her girls even if she really wasn’t. 

This was a harsh and difficult read, but in the end still a very enjoyable one for me. There was loads of action and the pacing was lightning fast and utterly absorbing. I compared her last book, The Taken to an action movie and this had the same gripping qualities. If you’re not adverse to reading about the sad reality of abuse and neglect, give this a try. 

Overall rating: 4.5/5

Thanks to Bookouture for my review copy. 

About the Author: 

Born in Cuckfield, West Sussex, Casey Kelleher grew up as an avid reader and a huge fan of author Martina Cole. 

 Whilst working as a beauty therapist and bringing up her three children together with her husband, Casey penned her debut novel Rotten to the Core. Its success meant that she could give up her day job and concentrate on writing full time. 

 She has since published Rise and Fall, Heartless, Bad Blood, The Taken and her latest release, The Promise. 

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