Changer l'eau des fleurs

Violette Toussaint works as the keeper of a cemetery in a small Burgundy town, where she lives alongside the graves and the visitors who come to leave flowers. When a police officer named Julien Seul arrives with a request from his late mother, asking to be buried next to a man he has never heard of, Violette finds herself pulled into a mystery that reaches back across decades. Valerie Perrin alternates between this investigation and the story of Violette's own past, including a loveless marriage and a devastating loss. The novel sold widely in France and was translated into dozens of languages.

It is a good fit for readers who like moving, slow-burning fiction about grief and community.

Inward-looking; an easy read.

Best for readers like The Empathetic Explorer. Which reader are you?