The Three Of Us

Best Book of the Year Time • Real Simple • Oprah Daily A Belletrist Book Club Pick "As short and sharp as a pairing knife . . . Moves along so briskly and with such sly wit . . . Deliciously wicked." —Ron Charles, The Washington Post Long-standing tensions between a husband, his wife, and her best friend finally come to a breaking point in this sharp domestic comedy of manners, told brilliantly over the course of one day. What if your two favorite people hated each other with a passion? The wife has it all. A big house in a nice neighborhood, a ride-or-die snarky best friend, Temi, with whom to laugh about facile men, and a devoted husband who loves her above all else—even his distaste for Temi. On a seemingly normal day, Temi comes over to spend a lazy afternoon with the wife: drinking wine, eating snacks, and laughing caustically about the husband's shortcomings. But when the husband comes home and a series of confessions are made, the wife's two confidants are suddenly forced to jockey for their positions, throwing everyone's integrity into question—and their long-drawn-out territorial dance, carefully constructed over years, into utter chaos. Told in three taut, mesmerizing parts—the wife, the husband, the best friend—over the course of one day, The Three of Us is a subversively comical, wildly astute, and painfully compulsive triptych of domestic life that explores cultural truths, what it means to defy them, and the fine line between compromise and betrayal when it comes to ourselves and the people we're meant to love.

The marriage of George Jones and Tammy Wynette was hailed as a union made in honky-tonk heaven. And when little Tamala Georgette Jones was born in 1970, she was considered country music’s heir apparent. For the first four years of her life, Georgette had two adoring parents who showed her off at every opportunity, and between her parents, grandparents, older sisters, and cheering fans, Georgette’s feet seldom hit the ground. But as in every fairy tale, dark forces were just around the corner. Her parents fought, and George drank. George and Tammy divorced when Georgette was four, and it would be years before she understood just what that meant. The Three of Us is an honest and heartfelt look into the life of a broken family living in the glare of the public spotlight. Like so many of her generation, Georgette had to make sense of loving two parents who couldn’t love each other. With never-before-told stories about George and Tammy, it recounts Tammy’s descent into prescription pill addiction, her dependence on her fifth husband, George Richey, and her untimely death at the age of fifty-five. Georgette opens up about her broken relationship with her father and what it took for them to come back together. Lastly, Georgette discusses the ups and downs of her adult life: failed marriages, illness, an arrest, and now, an unexpected but thrilling career as a musician. The Three of Us is a story of both extreme privilege and great trials, of larger-than-life people with larger-than-life problems. Rich in country music history, it contains twists and turns, highs and lows, but in the end, it stands as an intensely moving tale of love, loss, heartbreak, and what it means to be a family.

A life lived in the shadows. A love that should never have been hidden. In the small town of Gawler, South Australia, the tang of cut grass and eucalyptus mingles on the warm air. The neat houses perched under the big gum trees on Church Street have been home to many over the years. Years of sprinklers stuttering over clipped lawns, children playing behind low brick walls. Family barbecues. Gossipy neighbours. Arguments. Accidents. Births, deaths, marriages. This ordinary street has seen it all. Until the arrival of newlyweds Thomas and Elsie Mullet. And when one day Elsie spies a face in the window of the silent house next door, nothing will ever be ordinary again... In Kim Lock's third novel of what really goes on behind closed doors, she weaves the tale of three people with one big secret; a story of fifty years of friendship, betrayal, loss and laughter in a heartwarming depiction of love against the odds. PRAISE FOR THE THREE OF US "Delightfully sweet and tender with moments of tragic poignancy, this is a wise and compelling Australian story with a vivid and tangible sense of time and place. I fell head over heels for Elsie, Thomas and Aida and was desperate for them to prevail against all odds on their tumultuous journey." NICOLA MORIARTY, author of The Fifth Letter "With great care and compassion for the lives and losses of human beings, Kim Lock artfully weaves this moving and surprising story of the simple complexity of relationships and how they shape us" SOPHIE GREEN, author the bestselling The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Bookclub "The Three of Us is a beautiful story about love against all odds. Heartwarming and heartbreaking in equal measures." EMMA VISKIC, author of the award-winning Resurrection Bay

***THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER*** 'A touching celebration of the beauty and endurance of female friendship. There is nothing mightier. Fact.' DAWN FRENCH The new novel from Ruth Jones, co-creator of Gavin & Stacey and author of the smash-hit, number one bestselling debut, Never Greener. Friends forever is a difficult promise to keep... Meet Lana, Judith and Catrin. Best friends since primary school when they swore an oath on a Curly Wurly wrapper that they would always be there for each other, come what may. After the trip of a lifetime, the three girls are closer than ever. But an unexpected turn of events shakes the foundation of their friendship to its core, leaving their future in doubt - there's simply too much to forgive, let alone forget. An innocent childhood promise they once made now seems impossible to keep . . . Packed with all the heart and empathy that made Ruth's name as a screenwriter and now author, Us Three is a funny, moving and uplifting novel about life's complications, the power of friendship and how it defines us all. Prepare to meet characters you'll feel you've known all your life - prepare to meet Us Three. ***** Praise for Us Three: 'A warm, smart, uplifting tale of true friendship.' BETH O'LEARY 'This novel oozes warmth and honesty. A big-hearted book that provides a cast of characters you'll lose your heart to.' ADELE PARKS 'I loved this brilliantly gripping depiction of the complexities of female friendship over the years. Love, betrayal, comedy and loss - Us Three has it all.' FIONA NEILL ***** Readers love Us Three: 'I love the way Ruth Jones writes. The relationship between the 3 friends is perfect and a wonderful book to read about friendship' 'I absolutely loved this so much. There were moments that made me cry and other moments that made me laugh.' 'Best book of the year so far. To sum it up I'd say "it was bloody lush"' ****RUTH'S BRILLIANT NEW NOVEL LOVE UNTOLD IS COMING SOON AND AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW****

Winner of the J. R. Ackerley Award This is the story of three people: Julia Blackburn, her father Thomas and her mother Rosalie. Thomas was a poet and an alcoholic, who for many years was addicted to barbiturates; Rosalie, a painter, was sociable and flirtatious. After her parents were divorced, Julia's mother took in lodgers, always men, on the understanding that each should become her lover. When one of the lodgers started an affair with Julia, Rosalie was devastated; when he later committed suicide the relationship between mother and daughter was shattered irrevocably. Or so it seemed until the spring of 1999, when Rosalie, diagnosed with leukaemia, came to live with Julia for the last month of her life.

'A beautiful novel about messy relationships, finding yourself and over-coming past trauma. I completely lost myself in this story' SARA JAFARI, author of The Mismatch 'I enjoyed this book very much' DOROTHY KOOMSON Taylor is in love with Ryan. She has been since the moment they met. But Ryan is with Marcy - her best friend. When everything fell apart around Taylor years before, Marcy was there for her. No matter how much Taylor wants Ryan, she refuses to lose Marcy's friendship. A master of burying her feelings, Taylor is determined to resist. But the unspoken bond she and Ryan share isn't going away. And when Marcy leaves for a few weeks, just as Ryan moves into their shared flat, the tension grows to unbearable proportions. As the line between right and wrong becomes blurred, Taylor will have to decide whether she can - or should - turn away from what might be the love of her life. Tender and poignant, The Three of Us is a story about real life and true love, grief and joy, and the power of friendship. 'Sareeta Domingo is the voice of a generation of women wanting to see themselves and their lives featured in romance literature. Domingo effortlessly weaves stories that allow us to think about love, being in love and, most of all, desired. Her ability to craft characters lovingly and tenderly whilst ensuring her readers have the drama, stolen glances and sweaty embraces they crave makes her a permanent feature on my bookshelf' MELISSA CUMMINGS-QUARRY, The Black Girls' Book Club *Previously published as THE NEARNESS OF YOU* Find out why readers LOVE The Three of Us 'Just that soft romantic and inspiring read that I needed' Amazon reviewer 'If you're looking for an emotional story about loss, love, friendship, and figuring out how to be happy, I definitely recommend this book' Goodreads reviewer 'This book, set in the beautiful streets of London was a great and touching read' Goodreads reviewer 'A joy from cover to cover' Amazon reviewer 'A beautifully-written, intense, emotional love story' Amazon reviewer

Two cowboys walk onto a ranch. The girl falls for both. But they're in love with each other, and she's stuck in the friend zone. Sounds like a bad joke, right? Welcome to my life... But I think I was wrong; my two cowboys are just friends. It's been the three of us since the day we met. I've settled for friendship for over a decade, but I want more. I've fantasized about getting between them, but they don't think I'm that type of girl. It's about time these boys wake up and realize they're in love with me. And each other too. Hold my beer while I sort this mess out. Three of Us is a standalone book in the Pearce Station universe. You'll meet new friends who become family and fall in love with Ally, Sam, and Craig.

Just Us Three is based on a true story about the unbreakable bond between a puppy named Mickey and his mommy, Cici. Mickey has had knee troubles since he was a baby and assumed that he would have to keep this a secret in order to be picked from the pet farm. As a lovely girl approaches the farm to take a puppy home, Mickey did all he could to hide his problem to be picked from the rest. Little did he know, Cici had her eye on him all along. Strong-willed, he continued to push himself every day, but leaped too high and injured his weak little knee. Trying to distract the veterinarian from telling Cici his condition, Mickey soon realizes that Cici chose him knowing he had a weak knee as she, too, has a similar foe. Mickey learns that affection and love are greater than any indisposition and that people will love you despite your weaknesses. This story is meant to encourage kindness and compassion while embracing others in all their differences and loving each of our own.