But tying up loose ends brings a shocking secret to light, and calls into question everything Dan knew about his older brother. With more than just his promise on the line, Dan is faced with an ultimatum: Should he tell the truth and risk his family’s fragile happiness, or will his brother’s secrets end up becoming his own?
Lucy Diamond has been a favourite author of mine since I read Summer at Shell Cottage, I then looked forward to each future release and she has never disappointed me. I was excited to see she had a new novel due for release entitled The Promise, wasting no time I popped over to read the synopsis to see what Lucy was going to treat us to in this novel and it was the first time I have ever been nervous and hesitant to read one of her books.
After the sudden unexplained death of Dan’s brother Patrick, he deals with his grieving process by wanting to step into his brother shoes and so he draws up a plan to take over all the jobs he used to do and support his sister in-law Zoe and her three children with chores but if Zoe hasn’t already had the most life shattering news already Dan has uncovered something else that is set to break her heart into even more pieces.
Phew…… That was a hard book to read and I know this is going to be an incredibly hard review to write too. Since losing my husband to the Thames I have avoided all books to do with references to lost lives to it and anything that is too heavy on the loss of a loved one but reading this book was an emotional journey for me.
The storyline is told from Dan, Zoe and Lydia’s points of view so we are able to see how each character is affected by the death of Patrick and how they are dealing with their grief. Each of the characters in this novel were so well developed they felt so alive which made me feel emotionally attached to them.
The thing I often find in novels is the death of a character is brushed over with rose tinted glasses but in The Promise Lucy Diamond has explored the reality of losing someone in a tragic way capturing honest and raw emotions of grief and looks at how once someone dies it is all to easy for everyone to put them on a pedal stool and only see the good in that person never dare to mention or highlight any weaknesses or wrong doings that they had and especially when things come to light after the passing of a loved one. The author also explores the way people act around a new widow often ignoring them as they don’t know what to say but with emotions high sometimes can feel like you are being blamed or judged so the novel sheds light on these reactions.
There were no slow point to this novel there was so much packed into the storyline and with secrets being unravelled throughout the book it made it such an addictive and captivating read, a novel that just kept on giving. The issues that were tackled were dealt with so beautifully with tender care. The author was clever in the way she delivered the circumstances surrounding Patricks death as we know from the opening of the book that Patrick is found in the Thames but we don’t know what happens so we are in the dark with so many questions in our mind, was it an accident, was it suicide the same questions that Zoe and Dan will always roll around in their head but never have the answers too so we are in the dark all the way through the storyline with them but we are given the one thing they desperately need at the end which is the last piece of the puzzle- the closure that they need.
This was a heartfelt poignant read that really resonated with me and will be a novel that will never leave me. SO beautifully written this book will appeal to those who look for a story of love, loss and secrets.
Hardback Kindle
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