Promise Not to Tell by Jayne Ann Krentz

Title: Promise Not to Tell
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz
Series: #2 in the Cutler, Sutter, and Salinas series
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Berkley (January 2, 2018)
Source: Library Find
Rating: ☕☕☕

Synopsis: 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.

My Thoughts: While I found the mystery interesting this book just won't stick with me in the long run.

The Good: The underlying cult theme that started in the first book moved forward during this book which I actually enjoyed even though I don't gravitate towards books with cults in them. I'm looking forward to seeing how JAK wraps it up in the last book of this trilogy but having to wait until January of next year seems like such a long wait. I liked some of the supporting characters in this book especially Anson (Cabot's dad) and Xavier (Cabot's young cousin). The pacing of the book is really good as the suspense and tension starts right away and continues to grow through out the book.

The Bad: Once again, as with the first book, I found the romance just not quite right. I didn't see their attraction and despite JAK having dialogue to support it (in the form of "I want to kiss you,") it just wasn't there. There were no epiphanies of "I can't live without you". There were no instances where I just felt they had to be together.

In addition, the mystery was subpar. Although, Cabot is a PI, and we follow his methods to investigating Hannah's death they seem to jump to conclusions a lot. Even with Cabot explaining to Virginia they can't rely on speculation as facts they seem to make some conclusions just because it fits the storyline instead of relying on just the facts. "Follow the money" makes perfect sense but to draw a conclusion that the entire thing was about money with no hard evidence seemed a stretch. Also, the number of murderers in this one, similarly to the first book, seems more complex than necessary.

In a Nutshell: So, even though these are only average reads and there are way better Romantic Suspense books out there I'm going to read the last book when it comes out. I want to read how the underlying story-arc pans out.

When All the Girls Have Gone by Jayne Ann Krentz

Title: When All the Girls Have Gone
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz
Series: #1 in the Cutler, Sutter, and Salinas Trilogy
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Berkley (November 29, 2016)
Source: Library Find
Rating: ☕☕☕

Synopsis: When Charlotte Sawyer is unable to contact her stepsister, Jocelyn, to tell her that one of her closest friends was found dead, she discovers that Jocelyn has vanished. 

Beautiful, brilliant—and reckless—Jocelyn has gone off the grid before, but never like this. In a desperate effort to find her, Charlotte joins forces with Max Cutler, a struggling PI who recently moved to Seattle after his previous career as a criminal profiler went down in flames—literally. Burned out, divorced and almost broke, Max needs the job.  

After surviving a near-fatal attack, Charlotte and Max turn to Jocelyn’s closest friends, women in a Seattle-based online investment club, for answers. But what they find is chilling...

When her uneasy alliance with Max turns into a full-blown affair, Charlotte has no choice but to trust him with her life. For the shadows of Jocelyn’s past are threatening to consume her—and anyone else who gets in their way...

My Thoughts: As a fan of many of JAK's books this one was just lukewarm for me.

The Good: The underlying plot thread which should continue throughout the trilogy is actually pretty interesting even though I don't usually care for "cult" themed novels. Max and his 2 brothers were children when their parents joined a cult. They were orphaned when the leader lit fire to the entire complex, including the barn where the children were kept. Placed in  foster care, Max, Cabot, and Jack were taken in my the cop who saved all the children. Anyway, this plot thread is actually pretty interesting as they all three believe the cult leader is still alive despite being pronounced dead in a boating accident years after the cult complex fire.

I did like Max and Charlotte but didn't necessarily believe in their romance completely. I liked Charlotte's quirkiness and absolutely loved the retirement home she worked at. With the retirement home came with some wonderful residents. Their appearances in the story stood out to me in such a positive way.

The Bad: While I did like the darker themes within the book (rape cases in addition to murders) I thought they were underplayed a bit while JAK was trying to pull off a believable romance. Also, the mystery was a bit convoluted as the number of murderers increased and finding connections between everything seemed a bit of a stretch.

Even though Max and Charlotte fell in love and we could see how they were heading towards this I thought it was not quite believable because of the time frame and well, insta-love. Throwing in an ex-fiancé into the mix didn't do much to propel the story forward either.

In a Nutshell: Even though this book was just an OK for me I definitely will continue the trilogy to find out how the cult story arch plays out.