"Promise Not To Tell," by Jennifer McMahon (Book Thoughts)

"Book Thoughts" should have posted last Monday. Unfortunately, my brain was in a fog. "Spreading The News," which was scheduled for today, will post on Wednesday.

Interweaving past and present, Promise Not To Tell is a story of friendship, secrets, murder, and redemption. At its center is Kate Cypher, a reserved 41-year-old school nurse who returns to the small town of New Canaan, VT, to care for her Alzheimer’s-afflicted mother. The night she arrives, a young girl is murdered. Slowly Kate is drawn into the investigation—and deep into the childhood she’s tried to escape—for the killing eerily echoes the death of another young girl: her childhood friend, Del. Poor, misunderstood, Del suffered the taunts of classmates who shunned her and called her “Potato Girl.” But in Del, 10-year-old Kate found a kindred spirit, until a painful falling out shattered their relationship shortly before Del’s death.

"Promise Not to Tell" is Jennifer McMahon's debut novel. I recently talked about her second novel, "Island of Lost Girls." What can I say? I never do things in order. Anyway, "Promise Not To Tell" is a suspenseful murder mystery/ghost story which alternates between the 1970s and 2002.

The story took unexpected twists and turns and gave my heart quite a workout, but I also found myself in tears at times. This novel is quite unforgettable.

Kate and her mother live in a teepee on a hippie commune in Vermont. Del Griswold, who lives on a neighboring potato farm, dubs Kate her 'deputy' and the mysterious girl becomes her friend.

Kate just wants to fit in at school, but hides the truth about her friendship with Del because of rumors of the potato girl who rides naked on her pony and other assorted tales. She isn't cool enough to be friends with the popular girls, but she makes them believe she knows all about Del and can reveal the outcast's secrets. At the same time, Kate tells Del the secrets she learns about the popular girls.

Del is shunned and tormented by the class, and is brutally murdered. Kate lives with the shame of betraying Del, but still thirty years later, denies they were ever friends.

When Kate returns to Vermont to care for her ailing mother, another young girl is murdered and Kate's past and present collide in unexpected ways. Del does not rest in peace.

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

 ~~

Do you have a book suggestion or your own published book you'd like me to read? 

Drop me an e-mail at deestan62@gmail.com.

"Island of Lost Girls" by Jennifer McMahon (Book Thoughts)

(Source)

When Rhonda Farr watched six-year-old Ernestine Florucci climb out of her mother's car and follow the six-foot rabbit into the gold VW Beetle, she didn't realize a crime was being committed.

Feeling guilt over her inaction, Rhonda helps in the search for little Ernie's kidnapper. Like Alice in Wonderland, she follows the rabbit down the hole and brings back memories of a rabbit from her own childhood.

Every step brings Rhonda closer to the truth about disappearance of her best friend, Lizzy, years before, and along with some dirty secrets, she learns that people aren't always who they appear to be.

Although the subject matter is grim, Jennifer McMahon's writing is colorful, compelling, and sometimes very funny. The following excerpt is six-year-old Suzy's point-of-view of a mouse family she finds in a rusty old car, she believes to be a submarine.

...This was not just any mouse. This was the secret-underwater-periscope up-first officer-mama mouse who was friends with the octopus, who told her how to outwit the sharks, who had pushed seven wormy babies out from inside her...

"Island of Lost Girls" is a fast-paced and suspenseful mystery, switching back and forth between Rhonda's childhood and the present. The story twists and turns and keeps you on the edge of your seat. I read it in two evenings and honestly, I can't wait to pick up her debut novel, "Promise Not to Tell." She also has 3 other novels. Maybe you'd enjoy one of her novels, also.