NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS

In the isolated hamlet of The Three Lone Girls, Patrice, a farmer, has inherited the family’s farm and lives with his wife Marion and their daughter Ida near their neighbour Christine, a painter seeking peacefulness in rural life. But we soon understand that living in the country is not as calm as it seems. Quietness is only apparent as strange events start to happen. Christine receives anonymous, threatening letters, Patrice seems to suffer from frustrations, Marion feels indifferent and weary, latent suspicion is visible between the two women until a spectacular twist turns this social novel into a gripping thriller: While Patrice has gone to town to buy supplies for Marion ‘s birthday party, Ida and Christine are in the farmhouse when suddenly three strangers intrude and take them hostage. Every evening Marion reads stories from a book entitled “Stories of the night” to Ida before she goes to sleep. These tales are terrifying, and that’s exactly what happens to the characters during this stifling claustrophobic birthday party artfully rendered by Mauvignier. His intricate thriller is full of relentless suspense and his cast of characters is richly portrayed. He also draws an uncompromising portrait of rural life, of domestic intimacy and social violence. He uses long and winding sentences to delve into each character’s inner thoughts and the rhythm of the narrative is slow. He revisits the thriller-writing conventions thanks to his remarkable literary style suffused with details and psychological insights. The action takes place over two days and the tension never abates. The novel also questions class divide, domestic abuse and how one’s backstory and secrets can have unpredictable consequences in the present.