Promise to Arlette

A Novel

By: Serena Burdick

Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham

With the scope of a saga and the heart of a thriller, this is an evocative historical novel following a married couple whose idyllic 1950s suburban life is threatened by the promises they made during World War II.

Sidney and Ida Whipple are living the suburban 1950s American dream, complete with two children and a white picket fence, which didn’t seem possible when they first met at the height of WWII in France. Reveling in the present, they can almost convince themselves that their past is behind them. But when their neighbors show off a newly purchased Man Ray photograph, Ida comes face-to-face with the person she loved and lost in the war: Arlette.

Only Ida knows the truth about the photograph, and why it can’t possibly be authentic. In an attempt to right past wrongs, she travels to California vowing to confront Man Ray. Sidney wakes to find his wife is missing, the photograph in question stolen, and all the secrets they’ve tried to bury come rushing back. With his daughters in tow, he travels after Ida, hoping to forge a new path together. Instead, their sojourn leads to a shocking discovery that could pull their family apart in this sweeping, unforgettable story about love and friendship, trust and betrayal, and how promises made, broken, and ultimately renewed, can determine our fate.

Good

4.5 Stars ⭐️ Burdick’s writing was engaging. I was invested in Ida’s story. Sidney is a good character, but Arlette. She is complicated, talented, and unlikable. I understood and empathized with Ida’s relationship (it is romantic) with Arlette, but Sidney was more of what Ida needed. There was a lot of twists in this book, and the ending was satisfying. While A Promise to Arlette did slow at parts, I ultimately enjoyed the storytelling, the characters, and the plot.