Robin Allen
Award-Winning African American Romance & Suspense Author
IT STARTS WITH A PROMISE
A single promise made between sisters unravels into a powerful journey of love, danger, and truth.
When investigative journalist Nolah Holland dies in a suspicious accident, her sister Gillian DuBois—a successful freelance photographer—steps in to raise Nolah’s daughter, Jordy. Thrust into unexpected motherhood and mourning, Gillian begins to suspect her sister’s death is linked to the explosive article she was writing about oil industry corruption.
As she searches for the truth, Gillian finds herself falling for Romare Ellington—a high-level executive at one of the very companies under suspicion. With her niece’s safety and her sister’s legacy at stake, Gillian must decide: how much are promises worth when love, legacy, and danger collide?
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“Nothing like a good read to take your breath away…Lushfully details the romantic, career, and family entanglements surrounding a strong-willed Black woman who is trying to keep her life together.”
Upscale
Praise & Reviews
"Ms. Allen stirs up a pot of suspense and romance, mixes in family drama and seasons it with multiple mysteries. The result: a feast of a story that is provocative and entertaining."
Shirley Harrison, USA bestselling author
"Robin Allen has done a beautiful job emphasizing family reunions. The prose is strong: clear, informative, and concise. I love the tone-it is celebratory and triumphant. I love the thematic symmetry of the poetry. This is lovely crafted work--one that should engage and inspire with a wonderful balance between prose and poetry."
Dr. Jewell Parker Rhodes, New York Times best-selling author and educator, Voodoo Dreams and Magic City
Read The Book Review by Hope Magazine!!
Robin Allen didn’t just write a novel — she created a world shaped by the choices we make, the love we carry, and the promises that bind us. Her debut work, It Starts With a Promise, is the first installment in the Ripple Effect Trilogy — a stirring, layered series that explores how one moment can change the course of everything. With themes of loss, motherhood, Black womanhood, corporate identity, and environmental justice, Robin blends suspense, romance, and truth into a powerful literary journey. It’s the kind of story that doesn’t just entertain — it lingers, making readers think about what they owe to themselves, to others, and to the promises that define their lives.
