
Three Keys
A Novel
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $18.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Rebecca Lowman
-
By:
-
Laura Pritchett
About this listen
Newly widowed and unemployed, a woman in her mid-fifties sets off on a journey of trespassing and adventure through the American West and beyond in Three Keys, a witty, thought-provoking novel from the PEN USA Award–winning writer.
“Filled with award-winner Pritchett’s electric prose and love of the natural world, Three Keys is irresistible.”—Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Days of Wonder1
Becoming invisible is painful . . . unless you know how to work it.
Ammalie Brinks has just lost the three keys of her life’s purpose—her husband, her job, and her role as a mom, after her son went off to college. She’s also mystified to find herself in middle age: How exactly had that happened? The terrifying idea of becoming irrelevant, invisible, of letting her life slip away Into obscurity, has her driving distracted through Nebraska with a broken plastic fork in her tangled hair.
But what Ammalie has found are three literal keys, saved in a drawer for years, from her and her husband’s past. They are the keys to homes that she hopes will be empty—and plans on spending time in. Embarking on an international and increasingly complicated journey (criminal behavior turns out to be challenging!), she seeks to find a life truly her own. And that middle-age business? As someone breaking the law, Ammalie finds there's a real benefit to being invisible when you’re working on becoming the striking, bold, and very much manifested self you want to be.
Laura Pritchett, winner of the PEN USA Award for Fiction and the Colorado Book Award, offers a delightful exploration of the very serious business of living a full and honest life. Filled with love, heartbreak, and misdemeanors, Three Keys tackles the unavoidable sorrows and joys experienced during a second coming of age with the zest and vigor that it deserves.
Critic reviews
“Laura Pritchett gives us an unforgettable portrait of a woman—every woman—who has lived a life for others and needs to start living for herself. Recently widowed Ammalie isn’t entirely sure how she feels about her late husband and so sets off to find him in the places he most loved. Fancying herself a fugitive, not deserving of society, she finds instead a world full of grace and compassion—for herself, her journey, and for all who grieve. This is a beautiful, funny, meditative novel that will bring you to tears with its optimism.”—Melanie Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of California Golden and The Swans of Fifth Avenue
“In her mid-fifties, everything about Ammalie’s life changes. She knew the empty nest was coming, but the loss of her job and her husband’s sudden death are brutal, unexpected blows. Reeling, she sets off on a trip she doesn’t quite know how to define. Is it a quest or an escape? A crime spree or a hero’s journey? Pritchett has written a beautiful, age-defying story about discovering your inextricable connection to the whole wide world. This is a book to hold close not only while you read, but as you march into your own battles against the joys and terrors of a life in constant motion.”—Nina de Gramont, author of The Christie Affair
“How could I not adore a book featuring a strong, feisty, fifty-something woman, who despite being widowed, unemployed, and empty-nested, goes out on the road to break into three very different homes she just happens to have the keys to? Audacious and inspiring, Three Keys isn’t just about breaking in, it’s about breaking out, of finding the person you were meant to be all along, despite anyone else’s expectations or insistence that you be invisible. Filled with award-winner Pritchett’s electric prose and love of the natural world, this book is irresistible.”—Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You and Days of Wonder
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
A Season of Perfect Happiness
- A Novel
- By: Maribeth Fischer
- Narrated by: Beth Hicks
- Length: 10 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ten years after an unspeakable tragedy caused Claire to flee her hometown in Delaware, she finally feels content. She has a quiet, tidy life in Wisconsin, a place she picked at random for its shape on a map. Her careful existence centers on a simple plan: keep her social circle small and keep the past a secret. But when she meets Erik—a lighthearted theater nerd who gives Claire more of a chance than she’s given herself in a long time—that plan seems increasingly impossible.
-
-
Couldn’t put it down!
- By Lawrence S. Weigand on 11-19-24
By: Maribeth Fischer
-
But How Are You, Really
- A Novel
- By: Ella Dawson
- Narrated by: Jaime Lamchick
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Charlotte Thorne does not want to go back to Hein University. Her life postcollege isn’t what she expected—her career in media is stalled, and she’s done a terrible job keeping in touch with her queer chosen family. Not to mention she hasn’t spoken to Reece Krueger, the hockey player she rebounded with after a traumatic breakup, since she ghosted him on graduation day…But when her demanding boss is invited to give the commencement address at this year’s graduation—which falls on the same weekend as her five-year reunion—Charlotte has no choice but to return to campus.
-
-
Yay Ella!!!!
- By Alexis Murphy on 09-16-24
By: Ella Dawson
-
The Burning Island
- By: Hester Young
- Narrated by: January LaVoy
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Journalist Charlie Cates has always believed in facts, in what can be proved - her career depends on it. Which is why she has never truly accepted the supernatural visions that guide her to children in danger. After her work on a high-profile missing-child case brings unwanted fame, she reluctantly flees to the lush Big Island of Hawaii with her best friend, Rae. Determined to avoid her disturbing visions, Charlie begins writing what seems to be a harmless interview of a prominent volcanologist. But soon, she's haunted by dreams of a local girl who went missing six weeks earlier.
-
-
I enjoyed the story
- By M. Abrego on 03-04-20
By: Hester Young
-
A House Among the Trees
- A Novel
- By: Julia Glass
- Narrated by: Mary Stuart Masterson
- Length: 13 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the revered children's book author Mort Lear dies accidentally at his Connecticut home, he leaves his property and all its contents to his trusted assistant, Tomasina Daulair, who is moved by his generosity but dismayed by the complicated and defiant directives in his will. Tommy knew Morty for more than four decades, since meeting him in a Manhattan playground when she was 12 and he was working on sketches for the book that would make him a star.
-
-
Glass Fan
- By G Eliot on 07-17-17
By: Julia Glass
-
The Majority
- A Novel
- By: Elizabeth L. Silver
- Narrated by: Sierra Prasada
- Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Half of the United States is waiting for Justice Sylvia Olin Bernstein to die. The other half is praying for her to hold on. At 83, “the contemptuous S.O.B.” doesn’t have much time left. What she has is a story, one she has wrested from the grip of history to tell herself—of how she rose to her historic position on the Supreme Court, and the barriers she broke along the way.
-
-
Unusual story - what makes a supreme court justice
- By Angela on 07-14-23
-
Lo Fi
- A Novel
- By: Liz Riggs
- Narrated by: Jesse Vilinsky
- Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Most nights, you’ll find Alison Hunter at The Venue, the kind of sweaty Nashville spot that’s on the circuit for bands like Bon Iver and Death Cab. Sounds glamorous—but not for Al, who stamps hands at the door with Julien, the quiet coworker who treats her like a little sister. When she can sneak off, she bums drinks from the tattooed bartender and watches the bands, wondering if she’ll ever finish a song of her own after her disastrous attempt to play in public.
-
-
Nostalgia in Nashville
- By Kalee Barbis on 07-11-24
By: Liz Riggs
-
A Season of Perfect Happiness
- A Novel
- By: Maribeth Fischer
- Narrated by: Beth Hicks
- Length: 10 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ten years after an unspeakable tragedy caused Claire to flee her hometown in Delaware, she finally feels content. She has a quiet, tidy life in Wisconsin, a place she picked at random for its shape on a map. Her careful existence centers on a simple plan: keep her social circle small and keep the past a secret. But when she meets Erik—a lighthearted theater nerd who gives Claire more of a chance than she’s given herself in a long time—that plan seems increasingly impossible.
-
-
Couldn’t put it down!
- By Lawrence S. Weigand on 11-19-24
By: Maribeth Fischer
-
But How Are You, Really
- A Novel
- By: Ella Dawson
- Narrated by: Jaime Lamchick
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Charlotte Thorne does not want to go back to Hein University. Her life postcollege isn’t what she expected—her career in media is stalled, and she’s done a terrible job keeping in touch with her queer chosen family. Not to mention she hasn’t spoken to Reece Krueger, the hockey player she rebounded with after a traumatic breakup, since she ghosted him on graduation day…But when her demanding boss is invited to give the commencement address at this year’s graduation—which falls on the same weekend as her five-year reunion—Charlotte has no choice but to return to campus.
-
-
Yay Ella!!!!
- By Alexis Murphy on 09-16-24
By: Ella Dawson
-
The Burning Island
- By: Hester Young
- Narrated by: January LaVoy
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Journalist Charlie Cates has always believed in facts, in what can be proved - her career depends on it. Which is why she has never truly accepted the supernatural visions that guide her to children in danger. After her work on a high-profile missing-child case brings unwanted fame, she reluctantly flees to the lush Big Island of Hawaii with her best friend, Rae. Determined to avoid her disturbing visions, Charlie begins writing what seems to be a harmless interview of a prominent volcanologist. But soon, she's haunted by dreams of a local girl who went missing six weeks earlier.
-
-
I enjoyed the story
- By M. Abrego on 03-04-20
By: Hester Young
-
A House Among the Trees
- A Novel
- By: Julia Glass
- Narrated by: Mary Stuart Masterson
- Length: 13 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the revered children's book author Mort Lear dies accidentally at his Connecticut home, he leaves his property and all its contents to his trusted assistant, Tomasina Daulair, who is moved by his generosity but dismayed by the complicated and defiant directives in his will. Tommy knew Morty for more than four decades, since meeting him in a Manhattan playground when she was 12 and he was working on sketches for the book that would make him a star.
-
-
Glass Fan
- By G Eliot on 07-17-17
By: Julia Glass
-
The Majority
- A Novel
- By: Elizabeth L. Silver
- Narrated by: Sierra Prasada
- Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Half of the United States is waiting for Justice Sylvia Olin Bernstein to die. The other half is praying for her to hold on. At 83, “the contemptuous S.O.B.” doesn’t have much time left. What she has is a story, one she has wrested from the grip of history to tell herself—of how she rose to her historic position on the Supreme Court, and the barriers she broke along the way.
-
-
Unusual story - what makes a supreme court justice
- By Angela on 07-14-23
-
Lo Fi
- A Novel
- By: Liz Riggs
- Narrated by: Jesse Vilinsky
- Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Most nights, you’ll find Alison Hunter at The Venue, the kind of sweaty Nashville spot that’s on the circuit for bands like Bon Iver and Death Cab. Sounds glamorous—but not for Al, who stamps hands at the door with Julien, the quiet coworker who treats her like a little sister. When she can sneak off, she bums drinks from the tattooed bartender and watches the bands, wondering if she’ll ever finish a song of her own after her disastrous attempt to play in public.
-
-
Nostalgia in Nashville
- By Kalee Barbis on 07-11-24
By: Liz Riggs
-
The Freedom Clause
- A Novel
- By: Hannah Sloane
- Narrated by: Jayne Entwistle
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Could one night off a year save a marriage—or destroy it? In this bold and sexy debut, a young couple agrees to open their marriage, but they soon discover that a little freedom has surprising consequences.
-
-
Interesting Concept, Dragged Out Too Long
- By S. C. on 10-25-23
By: Hannah Sloane
-
The Incorrigibles
- A Novel
- By: Meredith Jaeger
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Barrie Kreinik
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
1890, San Francisco. Seduced by her employer’s nephew, Annie Gilmurray, an Irish maid, is accused of stealing the ring he promised her. Sentenced to one year in San Quentin, Annie is heartbroken and frightened among the inmates of the women’s ward: prostitutes, murderers, and pickpockets. But Annie finds beauty and friendship in a brutal place, where the women look out for one another, dreaming of a better life after release. But their world inside San Quentin's walls is a dangerous one, and when the unthinkable happens, Annie makes a choice that will alter the course of her future forever.
-
-
A page-turner following strong women finding their agency imbued with rich, local SF history
- By S. Brett on 06-04-24
By: Meredith Jaeger
-
The Perfect Sister
- A Novel
- By: Stephanie DeCarolis
- Narrated by: Jesse Vilinsky, Kaleo Griffith, Andrew Eiden, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alex Walker has always looked up to her perfect older sister. Maddie has succeeded in all the ways Alex has not: She escaped their hometown and seems to have put the memories of their unstable childhood behind her. But despite the different paths their lives have taken, the two sisters made a pact to spend one week together every summer. It was a promise they’d never broken . . . until now.
-
-
Thrilling!
- By Amazon Customer on 08-07-24
-
My Name Is Venus Black
- A Novel
- By: Heather Lloyd
- Narrated by: Alex McKenna, Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Venus Black is a straitlaced A student fascinated by the study of astronomy - until the night she commits a shocking crime that tears her family apart and ignites a media firestorm. Venus refuses to talk about what happened or why, except to blame her mother. Adding to the mystery, Venus’ developmentally challenged younger brother, Leo, goes missing. More than five years later, Venus is released from prison with a suitcase of used clothes, a fake identity, and a determination to escape her painful past.
-
-
Loved it!
- By Yikes on 03-24-18
By: Heather Lloyd
-
The City Baker's Guide to Country Living
- By: Louise Miller
- Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Olivia Rawlings - pastry chef extraordinaire for an exclusive Boston dinner club - sets not just her flambéed dessert but the entire building alight, she escapes to the most comforting place she can think of - the idyllic town of Guthrie, Vermont, home of Bag Balm, the country's longest-running contra dance, and her best friend, Hannah. But the getaway turns into something more lasting when Margaret Hurley, the cantankerous, sweater-set-wearing owner of the Sugar Maple Inn, offers Livvy a job.
-
-
I’m so hungry now
- By MomIsReading on 08-01-18
By: Louise Miller
-
Unbreak Me
- By: Michelle Hazen
- Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo
- Length: 11 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Andra Lawler lives isolated at her family’s horse ranch, imprisoned by the memories of an assault in college. When she needs help training her foals, she hires a Haitian-Creole cowboy from New Orleans with a laugh as big as the Montana sky. LJ Delisle can’t stand the idea that Andra might be lonely - or eating frozen TV dinners. He bakes his way into her kitchen with a lemon velvet cake, and offers her cooking lessons that set them on the road to romance. But even their love can’t escape the shadow of what they've been through.
-
-
Tender Love Story
- By Astrid on 09-01-19
By: Michelle Hazen
-
The Circus Train
- By: Amita Parikh
- Narrated by: Imogen Church
- Length: 14 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
1938. Lena Papadopoulos has never quite found her place within the circus, even as the daughter of the extraordinary headlining illusionist, Theo. Brilliant and curious, Lena—who uses a wheelchair after a childhood bout with polio—yearns for the real-world magic of science and medicine, her mind stronger than the limitations placed on her by society. Then her unconventional life takes an exciting turn when she rescues Alexandre, an orphan with his own secrets and a mysterious past.
-
-
Beautiful
- By Lisa M. Jolley on 03-19-23
By: Amita Parikh
-
Jenny James Is Not a Disaster
- A Novel
- By: Debbie Johnson
- Narrated by: Beth Eyre
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thirty-something single mom Jenny James is used to the typical run-in-your-tights, milk-turned-sour, break-a-nail bad kind of day. Attitude from her teenage son? Count on it. Car problems? To be expected. Never quite enough money for monthly expenses? Guaranteed. And then arrives the Very Bad Day—when Jenny finds out her dull but reliable office job is in jeopardy, her car totally and completely breaks down, and she arrives home (on foot) just in time to see her modest-but-cozy cottage sliding off a cliff into the sea. Jenny's life—not to mention her home—has reached its ultimate low point.
-
-
Enjoyed the narration
- By Anonymous User on 05-10-25
By: Debbie Johnson
-
Daughters of the Dust
- A Gullah-Geechee Novel
- By: Julie Dash
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 15 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Drawing from the magical world of her iconic Sundance award-winning film, Julie Dash’s stand-alone novel tells another rich, historical tale of the Gullah-Geechee people: a multigenerational story about a Brooklyn College anthropology student who finds an unexpected homecoming when she heads to the South Carolina Sea Islands to study her ancestors.
-
-
My BFF Bahni...
- By Lillian Collins on 12-31-22
By: Julie Dash
-
Bear with Me Now
- By: Katie Shepard
- Narrated by: Savannah Peachwood
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After being hospitalized for panic attacks two years after his mother’s death, charitable foundation executive Teagan van Zijl is dragged by his sister to a wilderness therapy retreat in Montana. Lost in the woods, Teagan nearly gets eaten by a bear but is saved by an angel in muddy hiking boots—the program’s handywoman, Darcy Albano, that is. After spending the summer with Darcy, Teagan realizes he doesn’t want to return to New York without her.
-
-
Amazing listen!
- By Rose on 05-01-23
By: Katie Shepard
-
Scarlet in Blue
- A Novel
- By: Jennifer Murphy
- Narrated by: Justis Bolding, Stephen Graybill, Rebecca Lowman, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For Blue Lake’s entire life, she and her mother, Scarlet, have been on the run from HIM - the man who Scarlet, a talented and enigmatic painter, insists is chasing them. But now, at 15 years old, Blue has begun to resent the nomadic life that once seemed like an adventure, increasingly unsure what to make of the phantom pursuer she’s never seen. She only yearns to settle down in one place, to live a normal life.
-
-
Great production of a good and interesting book
- By K. Gruber on 07-19-23
By: Jennifer Murphy
-
The Paris Connection
- By: Lorraine Brown
- Narrated by: Imogen Church
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Hannah and her boyfriend, Simon, set out to Amsterdam, they’re confident that they’ll make it to his sister’s wedding in time. However, unbeknownst to them, their train is scheduled to divide in the middle of the night. And when it does, half of it continues the route to Amsterdam. And the other half—the one with Hannah in it—heads three hundred miles away, to Paris. Left without her belongings or hope of reuniting with Simon, Hannah has no choice but to spend the day in Paris before the next train out.
-
-
cute, clean book for the wonderlust
- By university student - usa on 04-27-23
By: Lorraine Brown
Why all the f—- words???
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Happy ending.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
An unlikely, honest story about coming into your own.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Believable! I’m envious!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In Amelie, we get to live into adventures, encounters, relationships, outside of work, marriage, and parenting. We get to take on our fears and grow, transform. We get to indulge dreams far beyond what our deceptively rigid culture places upon us, what our society expects of us. "Us". Women that have aged out of 'the male gaze' we were trained to live into.
Three Keys feels like the tired, knowing, shared gaze between female comrades in the unspoken battle against feminine power—a reassuring hug and a wink that we'll get through it in the way women do. Not with masculine force or retaliation, but with un-cliched love, risky kindness, naked courage, and tender honesty. On the other side? Our truer, brighter, freer selves.
I devoured it~
A universally honest epic on aging and renewal
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Delightful, hilarious and full of truth
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Adventurous and relatable!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
love the narration!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
That said, I have to admit I was disappointed with "Three Keys."
The idea of a mild-mannered middle-aged woman sneaking into empty residences with a collection of stolen keys sounded like great fun, a road trip romp with plenty of opportunities or goofs and shenanigans! But instead of laughs, I found myself scratching my head, wondering if we were expected to root for someone with a talent for compulsive lying and manipulation, playing the "grieving widow card." Seriously?
Ammalie makes some ill-advised choices, like tearing out barbed wire to “save” a tree—hello, pine tree anatomy? And her rationalizations for cutting fences and driving over desert terrain to maybe aid some desperate migrants -- that kind of turned my stomach.
While Pritchett does showcase some beautiful prose, "Three Keys" feels more like a lecture on feminism, environmentalism, and social justice than an engaging story. It’s like the book is yelling at us about important issues rather than inviting us into a captivating journey that might lead a reader to reevaluate assumptions, which is what Pritchett's writing can do.
Not Pritchett's Best Work
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.