Three - by Valérie Perrin

About the Book

From the international bestselling author of Fresh Water for Flowers, a beautifully told and suspenseful story about the ties that bind us and the choices that make us who we are. 1986: Adrien, Etienne and Nina are 10 years old when they meet at school and quickly become inseparable. They promise each other they will one day leave their provincial backwater, move to Paris, and never part. 2017: A car is pulled up from the bottom of the lake, a body inside. Virginie, a local journalist with an enigmatic past reports on the case while also reflecting on the relationship between the three friends, who were unusually close when younger but now no longer speak. . As Virginie moves closer to the surprising truth, relationships fray and others are formed. Valerie Perrin has an unerring gift for delving into life. In Three, she brings readers along with her through a sequence of heart-wrenching events and revelations that span three decades. Three tells a moving story of love and loss, hope and grief, friendship and adversity, and of time as an ineluctable agent of change.

Book Synopsis

A June 2022 Indie Next List Pick

From the international bestselling author of Fresh Water for Flowers, a beautifully told and suspenseful story about the ties that bind us and the choices that make us who we are.

1986: Adrien, Etienne and Nina are 10 years old when they meet at school and quickly become inseparable. They promise each other they will one day leave their provincial backwater, move to Paris, and never part.

2017: A car is pulled up from the bottom of the lake, a body inside. Virginie, a local journalist with an enigmatic past reports on the case while also reflecting on the relationship between the three friends, who were unusually close when younger but now no longer speak. . As Virginie moves closer to the surprising truth, relationships fray and others are formed.

Valérie Perrin has an unerring gift for delving into life. In Three, she brings readers along with her through a sequence of heart-wrenching events and revelations that span three decades. Three tells a moving story of love and loss, hope and grief, friendship and adversity, and of time as an ineluctable agent of change.

Review Quotes

Praise for Three

★ "Perrin's prose is engrossing, transforming ordinary situations into delectable treats... Startling and affecting, Three is a novel about the refuge found in true friends, and about the mercy of self-acceptance."--ForeWord Reviews (Starred Review)

"While the mystery of the car is thrilling and heartbreaking, the real power of this work is in the way Perrin captures the experience of growing up... Tender and often raw, this moody novel is a complex tale of friendship wrapped around a mystery."--Kirkus Reviews

"Friendship is complicated in Perrin's enticing exploration of a trio who meet on the first day of fifth grade and remain inseparable... The numerous twists and eye-opening revelations will keep readers riveted. This offers a bounty of rewards."--Publishers Weekly

"Three transplants you wholly onto its pages, leaving you between two drags of air and twice as many enigmas. This is a remarkable feat, as the plot swaggers up and down its timeline frantically, conveying a sense of derailment that's as thematic as it is subliminal."--Delphic Reviews

Praise for Valérie Perrin's Fresh Water for Flowers

"Melancholic and yet ebullient... An appealing indulgence in nature, food and drink, and, above all, friendships."--The Guardian

"It's very healing... I haven't read a more beautifully written book for a long time."--Sarah Harden, CEO of Hello Sunshine, in the Wall Street Journal

"Full of contentment and hope... Fans of Elizabeth Berg will enjoy this thoughtful take on the inner life of an unforgettable woman."--Booklist

"A glorious read. Touching, thought provoking, taut: a tribute to our power to heal. Another must read."--OCinsite.com

★ "Exuberant."--ForeWord Reviews (Starred Review)

"Colorful and highly enjoyable."--Kirkus Reviews

"Enchanting."--Publishers Weekly

"A beautiful, intensely atmospheric bittersweet dream of a book."--Matt Haig, author of The Midnight Library

"Romantic, yes; light, yes; meaningless, no."--Bethanne Patrick, Literary Hub

"Fresh Water for Flowers entranced me with its quiet joy."--Kathi Kirby, Powell's Books, Portland, OR

"Fresh Water For Flowers goes to show how debuts can be great works. Perrin plumbs the depths of motherhood, life on the streets, and regret in her story [...] It is an extremely well-written book that was frankly difficult to put down..."--San Francisco Book Review

"Fresh Water for Flowers is a moving and lyrical portrait of one woman's quest for happiness and love. A splendid work that will keep readers absorbed to the last page. A charming must-read."--Lindsey Bartlett, formerly of Ellen Plumb's City Bookstore, Emporia, KS

"Fresh Water for Flowers is a saga of a woman's life from nothing to something...A story representative of many girls and women trapped by social and financial circumstances."--The Winnipeg Free Press

"Readers will be swept away by the poetic gentleness of the narration, by the generous gaze that the two protagonists cast over human affairs, by the desire for peace felt by both Julian and Violette."--La Croix (France)

"This book left me breathless and in tears!...A story of life with love, loss, yearning, sadness and all of the emotions that humans experience during their lifetimes."--Stephanie Crowe, Page & Palette, Fairhope, AL

"Gorgeous."--Cat Chapman, Oxford Exchange, Tampa, FL

"One of those special books that defy description and make you glad it was written!"--Deon Stonehouse, Sunriver Books & Music, Sunriver, OR

"The only way I can describe this book is that it's an epic...It is contemporary fiction, a murder mystery, a thriller, a tragedy, and a romance all rolled into one."--Katie MacKendrick, librarian, Denver Public Library

"Reading [Fresh Water for Flowers] was truly a magical experience."--Quentin Greif, Little City Books, Hoboken, NJ

"This story is simply beautiful. Fresh, fun, and so unique."--Kappy Kling, HearthFire Books, Evergreen, CO

"A novel of astonishing humanity accomplished with an art so subtle it will take your breath away."--Mary McDonald, Nicola's Books, Ann Arbor, MI