REVIEW: Promise Not to Tell by Jayne Ann Krentz

In Promise Not to Tell (Cutler, Sutter & Salinas #2) by Jayne Ann Krentz, Hiring a private detective firm was not something Virginia Troy ever saw herself doing, but after a local artist, a woman she considered a friend, apparently commits suicide, there are too many questions still left unanswered. The picture she is sent of Hannah Brewster’s final painting leads Virginia to believe that an evil man from both of their pasts, Quinton Zane, may not be dead as he’s been thought to be for over two decades. The cult he ran was a disturbing part of Virginia’s childhood. And Zane himself is to blame for her mother’s death in the inferno that also killed other women and children. Even though she knows she’s one of the lucky ones–having survived the ordeal–Virginia constantly battles the remaining demons.

‘What she found so deeply compelling about Cabot was that he adhered to a code, one that involved gritty, old-fashioned qualities like honor, determination and loyalty. This was a man who would walk into hell for those he loved and those whom he felt bound to protect.’

Cabot Sutter knows only too well about those demons Virginia fights, considering he faces them down on a daily basis as a survivor of the cult as well. Now a private investigator after a career in law enforcement, he has never stopped searching for the truth about Zane. Something about it has never sat well with him. And now with Virginia giving Cabot, his father and brothers some new leads to follow, she becomes a huge asset to their “Zane Conspiracy Club”. But she also gets under his skin like no other woman has. And the danger is mounting with every clue they uncover and every direction their investigation takes. Cabot never saw himself settling down with anyone, getting serious or starting a family. Virginia seems to be changing his mind about things, though. He can only hope they’ll get the chance to explore what they have between them as they face down the darkness from their past.

“You’re bending the rules. For me.”
He shook his head. “There are only two rules on this job: keep you safe and find out if Quinton Zane is still alive.”
She smiled. “In other words, you make your own rules.”
“Are you okay with that?”

Promise Not to Tell was the second thrilling installment in Jayne Ann Krentz’s Cutler, Sutter & Salinas series. A swiftly-paced romantic suspense, this was filled with secrets and revelations plus enough plot twists to keep me enthralled until the final page.

‘Theirs was an odd association, she reflected. They were, in some weird sense, intimate strangers. They had a history.’

Possible trigger warning: Murder, suicide.

I know I always say this, but Jayne Ann Krentz is such a solid, dependable author that I know every time I snag one of her books I will undoubtedly be entertained. But wow did Promise Not to Tell raise the bar. Not only did it pick up where book one left off (although you can read this as a standalone thanks to the backstory Krentz explains) but it also had the offbeat, realistic characters she’s known for. And believe me, the cast all definitely had their quirks. But honestly that’s what endeared some of them to me most.

Virginia and Cabot made a great team. The way Krentz didn’t hold back and showed their struggles with nightmares, panic attacks, and more from their shared time in Zane’s cult was so honest and raw. I think readers will be able to sympathize with it and it will help explain why Cabot and Virginia made the decisions they did. I adored how they worked through their personal issues together as well as watching them puzzle through Hannah’s suicide and all that subsequently snowballed from there. Cabot’s father Anson and a few other secondary characters were just as charming as our protagonists and had a big role assisting in the hunt for the truth about Quinton Zane.

Tender romance, family drama, and action-packed scenes made Promise Not to Tell a true page-turner. And with that teaser of an ending, it looks like book three will somehow be even more exciting!

Book Info:

Publication: Published January 2nd 2018 | by Berkley | Cutler, Sutter & Salinas #2

A painter of fiery, nightmarish visions throws herself into the sea—but she leaves her secrets behind . . .

Seattle gallery owner Virginia Troy has spent years battling the demons that stem from her childhood time in a cult and the night a fire burned through the compound, killing her mother. And now one of her artists has taken her own life, but not before sending Virginia a last picture: a painting that makes Virginia doubt everything about the so-called suicide—and her own past.

Like Virginia, private investigator Cabot Sutter was one of the children in the cult who survived that fire… and only he can help her now. As they struggle to unravel the clues in the painting, it becomes clear that someone thinks Virginia knows more than she does and that she must be stopped. Thrown into an inferno of desire and deception, Virginia and Cabot draw ever closer to the mystery of their shared memories—and the shocking fate of the one man who still wields the power to destroy everything they hold dear.