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Promise Me
A Myron Bolitar Novel
613 pages
A gripping, guilt-fueled descent into the dark secrets hiding behind manicured suburban lawns.
What it feels like
Reading this thriller feels like riding in the passenger seat of a speeding car at three in the morning, fueled by adrenaline and a gnawing sense of regret. The narrative moves at a breakneck, propulsive pace, pulling you through a labyrinth of suburban hypocrisy and desperate parental love. Despite the heavy, guilt-soaked atmosphere, the experience is buoyed by a wry, sarcastic narrative voice that uses humor as a shield against the darkness. It is a story about the crushing weight of good intentions and the terrifying lengths people will go to protect their own. Fans of character-driven mysteries will devour the punchy dialogue and the deeply flawed, fiercely loyal protagonist who anchors this tense, twisty ride.
- Mood
- tense
- guilt-ridden
- shadowy
- Tone
- wry
- urgent
- compassionate
- suspenseful
- Pace
- propulsive
- Themes
- the burden of promises · suburban secrets · parental desperation · guilt and redemption · moral ambiguity
- The writing
- Punchy and dialogue-driven, the prose balances sharp, sarcastic wit with moments of stark emotional vulnerability.
- The arc
- The journey begins with a crushing sense of guilt and accelerates into a frantic, high-stakes scramble for the truth, ending in a sobering, bittersweet clarity.
- Who it's for
- Readers who crave fast-paced, twisty mysteries anchored by a wisecracking but deeply moral protagonist.
Content notes
- missing teenagers
- violence
- parental grief
- kidnapping
About the book
It began with a promise... 2.17am: the phone rings on Myron Bolitar's nightstand; at the other end of the line is Aimee Biel - a frightened teenager who has called the one adult who had promised to help her if she ever got into any trouble. But Myron's help will not be enough. Stumbling from his Manhattan bed, he races down to pick her up from a cold street corner and take her back to safety. But - against his better judgment - she persuades him to drop her at an unknown address in the suburbs. This is a mistake that he lives to regret, for Aimee's final wave from a darkened porch is not the end of the story. She turns and disappears into the night -and apparently off the face of the earth. Driven by guilt and the desperation of her family, Myron decides to break his vow of six years and get involved in the search himself. But his past will not be buried so easily - for trouble has always stalked him, and his loved ones often bear the brunt. Now Myron must decide once and for all who he is and what he will stand up if he is to have any hope of rescuing both Aimee and himself. But what he doesn't realise is just how far people will go to protect the ones they love...
Description from Open Library.
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