Promises to Keep [Paperback]

Kathryn Shay (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 6, 2002

A high-school principal resents the new Crisis Counselor assigned to her school. But Joe Stonehouse is really an undercover Secret Service Agent. Will the truth temper the attraction that threatens to set them both on fire?

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In one of life's greatest ironies, Joe Stonehouse, secret service agent, the man who'd always protected his family, is away on assignment when a fellow high-school student shoots and kills his beloved niece. Now part of the special School Threat Assessment Team, Joe uses his credentials as a clinical psychologist to help in his role as Fairholm High's school counselor, while youthful-looking agent Luke Ludzecky, masquerading as Joe's rebellious nephew, completes his cover. Principal Suzanna Quinn is furious to find out that the new staff member is actually a secret service agent, but a student's suicide note warns of plans to commit violent acts, so she reluctantly goes along with the charade. As they work together, Suzanna's resentment of Joe evaporates, and mutual respect turns to love. Shay does an admirable job with a difficult subject, writing about school violence with sensitivity and realism and without shying away from any of the hard issues, such as the balance between the students' protection and their civil liberties. Shelley Mosley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Berkley; Regular Print/Single Titl edition (August 6, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425185745
• ISBN-13: 978-0425185742
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,047,655 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of Kathryn Shay, January 28, 2004

By 

Dina_179 (Jakarta, Indonesia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Promises to Keep (Paperback)

I've read some of Kathryn Shay's books, but so far this is THE BEST!!! I was a bit reluctant at first to start reading a book where the hero is 47 and the heroine is a 43 year old single mom of a teenage boy. But once I started, I was hooked. I couldn't even put it down until the last page. WOW. The secondary characters Luke and Kelsey are also so likeable and their love story is so touching that I think they deserve their own book.
Kathryn Shay has carefully and precisely brought the reality of high school life into the book. I was a teacher once, and even so I learned a lot more from her book from my own very limited experience. I wished I paid more attention and understanding to my students beyond their scholastic work,then. Aside from the sweet romantic side, the book is very well researched and very informative that any readers can benefit from it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece....., March 16, 2003

By 

iheartjackbauer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Promises to Keep (Paperback)

Agent Joe Stonehouse has dedicated his life to preventing violence at schools nationwide. His current assignment has sent him to Fairholm High School where he has been hired as a school psychologist. Joe is a man that has had many tragedies in his life, from his horrific childhood to losing the niece that was like his daughter in a school shooting. He has trained himself not to feel anything for anyone but his family, however he had never met anyone like Suzanna Quinn, the principal at Fairholm.

Suzanna Quinn is the widowed principal at Fairholm. When Joe Stonehouse and his partner Luke Ludezky want to come into her school prentending to be uncle and nephew, she is incensed. She has always stressed how important honesty is between her staff and students and she feels like it's a betrayal of all that she thinks is important. The hardest thing Joe asks her to do is keep it from her fellow teacher and surrogate daughter, Kelsey Cunningham. Joe convinces her that it is worth keeping from Kelsey as the lives of many students are at risk.

This is my first Shay novel and I was very impressed. The way she depicts the emotions of the characters is heartbreaking. All the characters have had something happen in their past that they are trying to deal with and they all turn to eachother. The secondary characters of Luke and Kelsey is especially heartbreaking, as Kelsey honestly believes she has feelings for a student that aren't at all teacher-like.

Shay also stresses to the reader how common violence is in schools and how important it is that adults, whether parents or teachers or counselers, be available to talk with them without jugding. I can't wait to pick up another Shay!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book!, December 4, 2002

By 

Huntress Reviews (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Promises to Keep (Paperback)

Three years have passed since Secret Agent Joe Stonehouse's beloved niece was killed in a school shooting. Since then, he has been dedicated to stopping that kind of random violence. His latest assignment has him masquerading as a guidance counselor and the uncle of a troubled youth, who is another agent, in a high school. His mission is complicated when he meets the principal, Suzanna Quinn, an attractive single mom to whom he finds himself drawn, despite the complications such a romance would create. On top of that, his "nephew" has definitely more than student teacher relations in mind when he sees Kelsey, one of his teachers.

As the two couples dance along the fine line between business and pleasure, a plot to have another Columbine is forming in their school. Romance could compromise the whole mission, and love between any of them could endanger not only the mission, but their hearts and careers as well.

... A timely, current novel that is easy to identify with due to the relevance contained herein, it is a welcome addition to the shelves. Ms. Shay should have broken into the full length novel genre long ago. Her talents are always finely displayed in the deep emotion her words evoke and her well thought out characters. These are all living breathing people you might meet anywhere at any time. The action and suspense balance well with the love, so that neither plot is skimped upon. I eagerly await her next release...