Eli's Promise is a powerhouse novel by Ronald H. Balson. It is the first that I have read by this author. While it spans decades it is the life of one man and his family. It is a heart wrenching story that gives the horrific treatment of Jewish people in Poland by the Nazi with the aftermath as Eli searches for one betrayer.

The writing is beautifully done, descriptive, even poetic at times. I will forever remember what Eli says to his wife Esther, “Good will always prevail over evil-we must believe that or there is no purpose in the universe.” The resilience of the people who survived is extraordinary including their desire to see justice served.

The story alternates between three periods of time. Each section has chapters from these times: WWII in Poland; after WWII in American Displace Persons Camps; and then the 1960’s in Chicago. Some may find the jumping from one time to the other disconcerting but each chapter is clearly labeled so I had no problem. Altogether I found Eli's Promise to be an amazing, sensitive read.

The publisher through Net Galley provided an ARC. I have voluntarily decided to read and review, giving my personal opinions and thoughts.

Eli's Promise by Ronald H Balson is filled with facts and dates and emotion, just not the blatantly manipulating emotion that is a part of so many books about the Holocaust. It's there . . . in spades: the pain of manipulation, of not knowing, of death. Balson is a masterful writer, one who knows his subject and tells his story. His story is about A man named Eli Rosen and is told by skipping through three time periods: during World War II in Poland, after the end of the war in a repatriation camp and during the Viet Nam war in Chicago. Eli during the war, Eli lost his entire family except for his son who he and his wife placed with a Catholic woman who had volunteered to help. Izaak was with her for two years and Eli finally retrieved him only to end up in a concentration camp. Fortunately the war was over and they both survived. In the camp Eli was a leader, his natural place in life and lived with Izaak as they awaited a visa to come to America. In the third time period, Eli is an investigator, for whom remains nebulous, following a congressman and his staff; one who has gotten rich off the misery in Viet Nam. All this time he is tracking one man: Maximilian Poleski, who has been a part of his life forever, it seems. A criminal man to whom nothing ever seems to stick. He is always able to move on to his next enterprise.

Eli's Promise is a story of perseverance and of love. Max had promised to protect Eli's loved ones during the war, but one by one they were carted off to their deaths, with immediate or down the road. Eli, being a good man, kept believing. He really had not choice, being a Jew in Poland in the early 40s. He never forgot but never took the law into his own hands. In Chicago he met a young woman named Mimi who showed strength of character far beyond her years and became Eli's good friend. Elis' Promise is a powerful, moving book, so full of the agony of war that is it hard to believe that one can ever move past the tragedy. Yet, like millions of others, Eli did. Hats off to Balson, a writer for his time. I recommend it.

I was invited to read a free ARC of Eli's Promise by Netgalley. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #elispromise

Eli’s Promise continues Ronald H. Balson’s focus on the Holocaust and its survivors. However, it is a departure from his previous novels in several ways. It is not part of the Taggart-Lockhart series that began with Once We Were Brothers. Also, it also does not involve civil law in the resolution of the central conflict. Although I did miss those aspects of his previous novels, this also is a riveting story of Holocaust survivors, their enduring pain and their remarkable ability to adapt. Eli Rosen is a character that you will not forget!

The story covers three time periods: the occupation of Poland during WWII, life in a post-war displaced persons camp, and Chicago in 1965, and tracks the efforts of one survivor to extract information and retribution from a corrupt “fixer.” The plot is not entirely linear; the story jumps forward and back in time. The cliffhangers were frustrating, but always compelling, and I found it very hard to stop reading. Two truths stood out. First, antisemitism (and racism) is pervasive. It only needs the right environment to flourish. Second, survivors, regardless of whether they are honorable or evil, demonstrate resilience.

In my opinion, this is not the best of Balson’s novels, but it is very, very good! Balson tells stories of the Holocaust with sensitivity and without sentimentality. Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review. It was a pleasure.

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Ronald H. Balson for my copy of Eli’s Promise.
Eli’s Promise by Ronald H. Balson is his latest historical fiction masterpiece it spans three eras and included are: Poland during WW II, post war Germany and living in American displaced persons camp, and corrupt Chicago during the Vietnam War. Three timelines that are all linked to each other by family ties, circumstances, deceit, greed and war.

1939: Eli Rosen lives with his wife Esther and their young son Izaak and the Rosen family is happy, until the Nazi’s easily invade Poland and this changes everything. Eli runs the family’s construction business started by his father, and together they have built many impressive buildings in Lublin and including the local Yeshiva. This is a traditional Jewish building used for educational purposes and a place where sacred books and papers are kept.
Esther has been worried about the German army invading and she tries to share her concerns with Eli and he believes the family has nothing to worry about until they find themselves stuck in Poland, and surrounded by Nazi occupied territory and with no safe way out. The Germans of course changed the rules and lives of Jewish people in Poland and it limited, where they could work, shop, study, they seized businesses, assets and houses. Many Jewish people made the difficult decision to sign over their businesses to non Jewish friends or paid huge amounts of money to try to keep their property from being taken by the Germans.

1946: Eli is living in a displaced persons camp in Germany with Izaak and he’s desperately trying to find out what happened to his wife Esther, she went missing during the war and thousands of people are in a similar position. Everyone is searching for missing love ones, most have lost everything they owned and they want to immigrate to America. But the amount of visas available isn’t anywhere near enough to cater for the demand and people are forced to wait in crowded camps for years, full of disease and people are getting extremely desperate. Only one man knows what happened to Eli’s wife, its Maximilian Poleski and could he be the mysterious person called Max who’s selling illegal visas to people wanting to jump the immigration queue?

1965: Eli Rosen rents a room in Albany Park, Chicago; he meets his neighbor Mimi and she thinks he’s working for the FBI? He’s a man on a mission after 25 years of waiting for justice, Eli needs information about Chicago's dangerous political underworld, and it involves corruption, draft dodging, and murder and will he finally catch Max who has more lives than a cat? Eli’s Promise is about one man’s promise he made to his wife, it’s about family, duty, survival and never ever giving up despite the passing of time and the odds.

Tragedy often brings out the best in us but, unfortunately, it also brings out the worse which we witness in Eli's Promise by Ronald H. Balson. Though this novel is a WWII based work of fiction it is also a great deal about the aftermath of war and the feelings victims are left with when all is said and done.

Eli, his wife Esther and his son Izaak lead a nice life in Poland until the Nazi occupation in 1939. Eli can no longer own his successful construction company and brickyard because he is Jewish. As many Jewish business owners were forced to do Eli puts his business in the name of a non Jewish person while he still runs the business. The problem is the man he trust, Max, is in a Yiddish based word, a shyster. Max just cares about Max.

When Max breaks his promise that he will keep Eli's family safe from the Nazis in exchange for a cut of the firm's profits and Esther is sent to a labor camp Max does everything humanly possible to find her.

In 1946 with the war over Eli is still looking for Esther while he and his son live in a displaced person camp. He hears someone is selling fake visas to America. Want to guess who the con man selling these visas is?

In 1965 Eli is living in Chicago as the Vietnam War is raging on in everyone's living room. His landlady thinks he is a spy because of his late hours and cryptic responses to any personal question. Eli is being sneaky but that because he is looking for someone who helped destroy his family for pure profit. Can you guess who he is searching for in the underbelly of Chicago's world of mobsters?

Eli's Promise tells the story of a man who is truly a decent human being brought to the brink of indecent acts by the people who took advantage of the fact that Eli expected people to be as decent as himself.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

I went into this book only knowing it was a historical fiction. Going based on the cover I assumed it was going to focus on the families struggling in concentration camps. It did cover a bit of that but this story focused more on the main character Eli and his determination on finding Maximillian, the guy who stole money from the struggling families promising a better future.

I was a bit disappointed in this book. I couldn’t connect to the story and any of the characters by the way the book jumped around from timelines. There wasn’t enough character development.
This is my first read by this author and interested in reading his other works.

I would like to thank NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and the author for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Eli’s Promise is a well written historical fiction story.

I was very engrossed in the story and found the references to historical places and characters intriguing.

This book took place in multiple periods of time. The author bounced from one period to another, which I found to be difficult to follow at some points. It also frustrated me at times as a climatic point would end a chapter and the next chapter jumped back twenty years.
Overall, a very good book that I will recommend to my friends. .

Thank you to Netgalley for providing this book, in exchange for an honest review.

I have just spent the last two days totally absorbed in Ron Balson’s new book, Eli’s Promise. I read a lot of WWII historical fiction and this book is one of the best that I have read. While most of the characters are fictional, the places and events are true to the three time periods of this story. My sister-in-law’s parents were poor Roman Catholic farmers who met in a labor camp in Poland where they spent most of the war. The book alternates between three time periods. The first time period takes place during the war in Lublin and I definitely thought of some of the stories I have heard from my sister-in-law. The second time period is after the war which finds the main character in a resettlement area Föhrenwald and describes how hard it was to get a visa and the character, Maximillian, who sells visas on the black market to displaced Jewish war survivors. Max appears in Lublin during the war too and took so much away from Eli and his family. Eli works with the U,S, Army at the displaced camp in Föhrenwald and tries to get some information from Max. I know my sister-in-law’s parents had to wait several years to get a visa to the U.S. The third setting in Chicago in 1965 finds Eli living there and has something to do with Vietnam Nam corruption.

I don’t want to spoil any of the story that is masterfully told by Balson.. I will say that in the epilogue he explains what is fictional and who were real people. This is a book that I will read a second time, and I recommend it to people who are in bookclubs as there is lots to discuss. Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ronald Balson has written an excellent book of historical fiction. It grabbed me right from the first page, with the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration camp by the U.S. Army and our introduction to the titular Eli and his son Izaak. There are lots of promises in this novel but the main one Eli makes is to bring the black marketer Max to justice and to find out what happened to his (Eli’s) wife.

The story takes place during World War II in Poland, specifically in Lublin and Lodz, and in the years immediately following the war in Displaced Persons camps. The story also jumps to the mid-1960s in Chicago. The author states in the Acknowledgments that “Eli’s Promise is at its heart a story about corruption and war profiteering.”

I didn’t care for the portion of the story in Chicago as much as the story that took place during and after World War II, but the theme remained the same: corruption and war profiteering.

Possible spoiler:
The author doesn’t specify how Eli got his visa to get to the US or how he came to work for the State Department. I would have liked to read about both those things.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this book. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed the book and it was overall written well; however, at times I felt like something was lacking in the book. Not sure if it was how everything fit so perfectly together or the writing style though. Overall a good read though.

Eli's Promise is set during WWII and the 1960's. It's a story of one man's journey to get revenge on a Nazi Collaborator. It's well researched, so much so that sometimes I felt I was reading a history textbook. To me, that was not a bad thing, because I enjoy history and learned some interesting facts, but others may not feel the same way.

Eli Rossen is the main character of the book. He is disillusioned about what the Germans actually have planned for the Jews of Poland. He puts is trust into Maximilian instead of listening to his family. By the time, he realizes his mistake it is to late. He makes a promise that he will find Maximilian and do whatever it takes to get revenge.

You can tell from reading the book, that Balson took his time with the research. He developed all the characters well and they grew throughout the book. Balson wrote in a way that made you feel for Eli and it didn't take much to imagine yourself right along with him. If you like historical fiction or WWII, I don't think you would be disappointed with this book. I recommend it.

Thanks to Netgalley for a Kindle version of the book for my honest opinion and thoughts.

Before diving into this book, I was already a Ronald Balson fan. I was intrigued to read a book that was not a part of his series and for it to stand alone. I was excited to see him tackle a different character's story and see what he would do.

Told through one mans eyes in basically three time frames - The first, Eli Rosen was a Jewish businessman in Poland when Hitler and his cohorts were invading Europe and he was in a lucky spot with a Nazi sympathizer finding favor in him. Maximillian Poleski was able to him stay safe much longer than most Jewish people could as Hitler and his followers started exterminating an entire race. The second is Eli after he has been rescued from a concentration camp and has become a leader in a DP camp and someone from his past may make another appearance. The final glimpse into Eli's life is in 1965, and he is in Chicago and in pursuit of some real bad guys and he is hoping to finally make sure that those get what they deserve.

What a book! Between the three timelines, I enjoyed reading the times he was in the DP camp and in Chicago much more than 1946 as Europe is falling into Nazi hands and not because of the obvious, but goodness gracious, I wanted to hit Eli up the head for his repeated actions! I don't want to give too much away, but in those pages he was a character that greatly frustrated me and I wanted so much more for him and his family.

The stories at the DP camp had a glimmer of hope which I appreciated in a story that could seem very dismal and negative. I loved that the plot in Chicago wasn't present day and still felt historical and perfectly placed in its time.

I wouldn't not read this book because I didn't love one of the three plots because those pages laid the groundwork for the other two, but I possibly wouldn't have edited them down and would have given the Chicago storyline a few more pages.

If you haven't Ronald Balson this would be a great introduction and if you have read his Liam and Catherine series, then pick this one up and enjoy!

Eli Rosen owns a brickyard and construction company in Poland with his father. Down on his luck, the Rosens hire Maximilian Polenski to help with sales and the business in an effort to help him land on his feet.

As Germany starts invading Europe, Eli is in denial that Poland will be impacted. His wife, Esther, a strong willed and wise woman, sees the writing on the wall and predicts that their world will never be the same. Not ready to abandon his business or his town, Eli decides to keep his family in Ludz and wait out the war.

Quickly, the world around them begins to change. With the Jewish hospital closing, Esther is forced to work long hours for a Nazi seamstress company and their son, Izaak, must go to work with Eli every day so they can make sure he is safe. Maximilian, currying favors with the Nazis, ensures Esther’s safety and return to the family home every evening - for a steep cost. Maximilian also takes over the ownership of the Rosen’s brickyard as the business is still needed but can’t be Jewish owned.

As Eli’s life dramatically changes and those around him are shipped to ghettos or off to labor camps, he begins to begrudgingly rely on Maximilian more and more. Under the guise of Maximilian’s protection and goodwill, Eli is forced to move several hours from his family to open a new brickyard in a growing German city in Poland. When Eli learns that Esther has been shipped to labor camp, he realizes that Maximilian has been lying to him the entire time and that he must finally take action to protect his son.

Flash forward twenty years and Eli seeks vengeance for Maximilian’s betrayal. He moves to Chicago where he befriends his landlord and her daughter, the Golds. The Golds suspect that Eli is an FBI or CIA agent because of his odd hours, busy travel schedule, and rotating visits from businessmen. Mimi, an aspiring journalist, begins to take a keen interest in Eli and his story. As Eli and Mimi grow closer, we learn of incredible ties that connect them and watch their story unfold in a dramatic and unexpected way.

I often feel that the WWII genre is over saturated, however, I found this novel quite different from other books that cover this time period. For starters, I really appreciated the timeline as it showed the gradual changes the Nazis made to infiltrate and segregate the Polish Jewish communities. It hit closer to home seeing how one concession could turn to two, could turn to wearing Jewish stars, to being forced into a ghetto, to being shipped off to camps and losing their humanity and lives. I also liked that very little of the book took place in a concentration camp. Eli actually held his job for the majority of the war so it was an entirely different story that I’m used to reading. I also really liked that it span several decades and was essentially three stories in one - all revolving around Maximilian’s betrayal and deceit and Eli’s promise for justice.

Some of the dialogue felt a little mechanical and some of the historical information was presented in a bit of a textbook manner, but overall I really enjoyed this novel. It was an emotional read with well-developed characters and engaging and unique storylines.

I definitely highly recommend for fans of historical fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this novel.

Eli's Promise by Ronald H. Balson. This is the story of Eli and his family, Esther his wife and Isaak his son. It Eli's story is told during three different time periods, and three different places ( 1940 Poland, 1946 American camp in Germany and 1960's Chicago). I loved how the author was able to create a compelling story while going back and forth in time. This story is fast paced, and though I kind of figured out the plot, I had the "who" totally wrong. So I had to stay up late to finish!! This book will come out on September 22 and is definitely worth the read!! 4 ⭐
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Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and Ronald H. Balson for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I loved the story. I loved the fact that the author finished the story and tied everything up nicely. It was an amazing story of love, strength, and faith to make it through such a horrible time in history. Eli was willing to do anything to keep his family safe from the atrocities of Nazi Germany.

The only thing I didn’t like about Eli’s Promise was the jumping around of the timeline. I generally don’t mind a good past/present format in a book. I felt this one was a little too drastic. Maybe it helped keep the suspense built. As soon as something big was about to happen, Balson would jump to another timeframe.

I did enjoy Eli’s Promise. I would recommend to friends and I will also keep an eye out for Ronald H. Balson books in the future.

Eli’s Promise is Ronald Balson’s sixth novel but his first without recurring characters Liam Taggart and Catherine Lockhart. Balson does not disappoint his reader with this unique story. Eli Rosen is the central character in a plot that at its core is about corruption and war profiteering. Eli’s strong disposition and amazing integrity are demonstrated as he proceeds with his quest to capture his former employee, scoundrel Maximilian (Max) Poleski. The plot moves between three locations over three time periods ranging from 1939 to 1966. In 1939 Eli lives with his wife and young son in Lublin, Poland and works at his family’s successful construction business. As the Nazis gain ground the Rosen’s lives are in peril. Under duress, Eli trusts Max and pays him for protection. After the war Eli is a leader in a Displaced Persons Camp in the foothills of Bavaria. His story continues when he moves to the Albany Park section of Chicago in 1965. Though the locations change, Eli’s mission remains steadfast. He must bring Poleski to justice for the countless crimes he has committed. Balson has again created memorable characters and a heart wrenching plot. This familiar combination guarantees readers of Eli’s Promise an entertaining and thought-provoking experience.

This book falls into one of my favorite genres to read. Because I read a lot of WW2 fiction I have some higher standards of story expectations, and this book did not meet those expectations at all. The story moves quickly, but at chapter 10 I still did not feel a strong enough connection to the characters and story to continue reading.

Ronald H. Balson's Eli's Promise is an intriguing historical mystery that begins in 1939 Nazi-occupied Poland, continues in a German displaced persons camp in 1946, and ends in 1965 Chicago. The author moves the reader back and forth in time to link events.

When the Nazis invade Poland, they take over Eli's family's brickyard and construction company, fronted by a local collaborator, unprincipled profiteer Maximilian Poleski. He doesn't keep his many promises to protect the family, but betrays them.

Eli promises to seek justice and works to keep that promise across continents and down through the decades.

I enjoyed the books I read from Ronald Balson’s Taggart and Lockhart series, so I was curious what he’d do with this stand alone.
Maximillian Poleski was a fixer during WWII. He was a middle man between the Ladin community and the Nazis. He stole Eli Rosen’s business “to keep it out of the hands of the Nazis”. Throughout, he’s a sleazy, disgusting character; an easy villain to hate. But Balson does a good job of showing us how the Jews were so much between a rock and a hard place that they often chose to work with him.
We are witness to Eli through three eras- During German occupied Poland in WWII, resettlement after WWII and Chicago during the Vietnam War. The mark of a good historical fiction is that I learn something through the story. The first part of the book didn’t fulfill that requirement as it’s all been done before. Things improved during the resettlement section as this is the first book I’ve read that handles it in depth. Another historical moment of the US failing to act honorably. (Canada, too.) Then, as the plot moved to 1965 Chicago and the ramping up of the Vietnam War, there was nothing new here. Balson switches back and forth between these three stories rather than going in a straight line. It’s obviously done to create some suspense, but it never truly drew me in. In the author’s note, Balson states he was trying to show the commonality of profiteering throughout the years. But is it really news that evil people will seek to scam others?
This was probably my least favorite of his books that I’ve read.
My thanks to netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of this book.

This historical fiction novel was gripping. I have never read historical fiction written by a male author and I really liked the way the story was told. The story itself was heartbreaking which most WWII novels are. It is very sad about the government corruption and the weasels who took advantage and money from the Jewish people trying to stay alive and protect their families. Eli's Promise is a promise made by Eli Rosen to get answers and revenge for his family who was to be protected from the Nazi's by Maximilian Poleski. He spent his life searching for these answers and this vile man. When reading this book you have to pay attention the the chapter headlines of where and what time frame is being written about. That is very important. I learned a lot from this book and although is historical fiction, only the characters are fictitious. The events and even some the the Nazi generals are real. I think this book will stay with me for a long while. I will definitely be recommending it to my friends.

Thanks to #StMartin'sPress, #netgalley and #RonaldHBalson for the ARC of this book