A spellbinding novel
about a writer who breaks a promise and faces the implications of penning the
story of a shattered romantic relationship.
Your Promise, an exciting new novel by award-winning French writer, Camille Laurens, packs one helluva punch! This riveting psychological thriller examines self-awareness when played out amidst the memory of a shattered, long-term romantic relationship.
The story launches with 50-year-old, Claire Lancel, who writes the story of an old love, Gilles Fabian—this despite her once making a promise to never to share details about him, his domineering, narcissist proclivities, and/or their relationship.
Readers know right from the start that the story of Claire and Gilles will not end well, but that is precisely the hook. Claire conveys her story from prison. Why is she incarcerated? What did she do?
These questions drive a masterfully constructed narrative rooted in a legal court case that slowly divvies out details about the lovers. This includes witness testimonies that trace--and often contradict--the story of an idyllic and seductive relationship, where emotion and passion turn to pain, and “love” succumbs to terminal insidiousness. Claire ultimately becomes a victim of control that forces her to grapple with hard truths about who she was and who she is; her choices and mistakes; and the meaning of her now reduced life.
Rendered with spellbinding suspense, Laurens (In His Arms, Girl) sets up a broad canvas then gradually zooms in closer and closer on stark details that ultimately trap and ensnare her characters--and surprise readers.
Your Promise by Camille Laurens (Translated from the French
by Adriana Hunter)
Other Press, Paperback $18.99, 978163545734, 400
pages
Publication Date: May 12, 2026
To order this novel on Bookshop.org,
link HERE
Learn more about Camille Laurens and
her work HERE
