The Three of Us by Ore Agbaje-Williams – Book review

I devoured The Three of Us in one sitting. It’s a tight, taught story that takes place over an afternoon. Told in three perspectives, we get narratives from an unnamed husband and wife and the wife’s best friend, Temi. The conflict comes as Temi does not like her best friend’s husband. At all. He’s not a fan of her, either.

Opening sentence: Temi comes over at twelve.

It takes three to tango

The couple live in a nice London home and the action takes place mainly in their kitchen when Temi comes over to visit her best friend.

The narration bounces between the characters throughout the afternoon so as the story chronologically progresses we get an insight into what they are all thinking at the time. This format works excellently to steadily build the tension in this domestic simmering-pot of a story.

Doubt and truth are so close that it’s sometimes impossible to tell them apart.

What’s so enticing is that all of the characters have personality traits that send alarm bells ringing when you’re reading, so when you mix them all together, you’re left with a toxic environment.

I particularly enjoyed Temi’s narrative as it had some laugh out loud moments and you know she’s not going to hold back. I also loved all the contemporary references (including opening with this epic line from House of Gucci: I don’t consider myself a particularly ethical person, but I am fair.) It perfectly set the tone for the book.

Temi loves these stories, sharing in a kind of forbidden intimacy to which only she, myself and my husband are privy.

The Three of Us is a great one-session read, I was fully engrossed in the characters and the tension built up in just the right way. If you enjoy eavesdropping on a stranger’s juicy conversation that spills the secrets on their private life (let’s face it, who doesn’t?) then you’re going to be totally drawn into this book, like I was.

• Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC;
• Get your copy of The Three of Us here;
• Published by Jonathan Cape 11th May 2023;
• 192 pages;
• My rating: