PROMISE NOT TO TELL

Celeste Ciulla smoothly juggles the back-and-forth narrative of Kate Cypher's past and present. Returning home to the hippie commune in Vermont where she grew up, Kate is immediately pulled back into memories of a childhood she's spent her life trying to forget. Forgetting is the theme here. Kate is forced to return by her mother's profound slide into dementia. Soon it becomes apparent that her mother is somehow channeling Kate’s murdered fifth-grade friend, Del. With deliberate creepiness, Ciulla believably evokes Kate’s sense of fear. When another girl dies in a similar fashion, Kate's guilt over turning her back on her old friend makes her set out to solve both crimes. This convincing blend of mystery and ghost story is a lot of fun. D.G. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2009]