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A Promise
to Keep is a romantic suspense novel by Ann
Durand, aka Kathe Gogolewski. Right
from the start of this
riveting story, we are caught up in Karen Hudson's life as she
desperately tries
to find, and clear the name of, the man she
loves. Karen is soon plunged into a nightmare that tests her
love for Michael and finally brings her into contact with
cold-blooded evil. The plot twists and turns and leaves
you
breathless as you follow the characters' fortunes.
What sets this book apart from others in the genuine
"likability" of the characters. Karen is feisty, caring and very human--a heroine all of us can relate to. Michael is a good
man caught up in criminal circumstances, but his love for his little girl, and for Karen, never falters. Jeannie, Michael's
daughter, is that rarity in fiction, a sweet-natured child who acts believably in the face of adversity. The secondary characters
are all deftly drawn and believable--Ann Durand's characterization is an outstanding feature of her writing.
The dialog
is believable and sweeps the reader up into the
characters' lives. It is easy to read and smoothly-written. Much
of the book's humour comes from Karen's internal dialog,
which reveals wry observations such as the likelihood
of joining Michael as a skeleton because of her lack of food.
That Ann Durand meticulously researched the setting for
"A
Promise to Keep" is obvious. She skillfully interweaves the
main plot with details about the Barrancas
del Cobre. This
gives her novel another dimension and allows us an insight into the lives of the Tarahumara Indians.
Do
yourself a favor and buy a copy of "A Promise to Keep."
Plot, characterization, dialogue, authenticity and those
wonderful flashes of humour make it a rattling good read. It is
available from Double Dragon Press in February.
Reviewer's Bio:
Susan Stephenson is an Australian freelance writer who enjoys the challenge of creating both fiction and non-fiction text.
Her essay, "Reflections on Moon Hill", is due to be published in the March, 2005 edition of The Traveler newsletter.
Susan has recently finished writing "MouseHouse", a novel for middle readers.
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