Chaos is coming, old son. With those words the peace of Three Pines is shattered. As families prepare to head back to the city and children say goodbye to summer, a stranger is found murdered in the village bistro and antiques store. Once again, Chief Inspector Gamache and his team are called in to strip back layers of lies, exposing both treasures and rancid secrets buried in the wilderness. No … secrets buried in the wilderness.
No one admits to knowing the murdered man, but as secrets are revealed, chaos begins to close in on the beloved bistro owner, Olivier. How did he make such a spectacular success of his business? What past did he leave behind and why has he buried himself in this tiny village? And why does every lead in the investigation find its way back to him?
As Olivier grows more frantic, a trail of clues and treasures– from first editions of Charlotte’s Web and Jane Eyre to a spider web with the word “WOE” woven in it–lead the Chief Inspector deep into the woods and across the continent in search of the truth, and finally back to Three Pines as the little village braces for the truth and the final, brutal telling.
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Inspector Gamache is one of my favorite literary detectives. Loiuse Penney continues to reveal more about him and he becomes a better character with each new story.
I love Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache series. Her characters are exquisitely drawn. Love this book.
Love Louise Penny. Her Inspector Gamashe books never fail to entertain.
Louise Penny has once again delivered. Armand Gamache is a character worth following.
Louise Penny never disappoints!
Dumbfounded! Blown away! I just can’t believe it; really, I can’t believe who the murderer turned out to be! What a ride Louise Penny gives her readers.
I thoroughly enjoy “The” story, but it is all the layers Penny gives us that makes the Gamache series so intriguing. I hope never in my life to experience a Brutal Telling. I think it would break my heart, and I don’t think I could produce anything good to come from it, either. Then, there’s this title’s carvings. WHOA! the revelation of the carvings is something else, really, really clever, and so completely true!
“The” story takes readers back to Three Pines where another murder has occurred. The murdered is unknown to the villagers. With Gamache’s and Beauvoir’s search for who the victim was, and why he was killed, characters we have come to love, are exposed–their flaws, their failures, their shortcomings…their humanness, so to speak. One of the virtues of Penny’s writing is that the characters seem like real people, not just people in a story. This novel tests our willingness to cope with “real” people, and even though it’s fiction, we may not like all that these characters have to show us, but that decision is left to the individual reader.
I’m upset with the murderer, but I think I’d still associate with the person, especially since I found myself more upset with the murder victim. I found I like some characters even more than when I previously met them, and I found I disliked some characters even more than I did previously, especially Peter, but next to Gamache, I still love Ruth! Oh, I believe everyone needs a Ruth in their life; however, there are circumstances that made Ruth in to what she is, and I don’t wish that on anyone, but I love Ruth, just as she is. My favorite scenes are those with only Ruth and Gamache–what introspection we receive from their conversations. The Gamache stories make me think, but the Ruth-Gamache scenes make me think, reflect, and feel.
I’m still reading the series out of order and based upon the library’s availability, but that’s okay with me. It provides “Aha” and “Oh My” moments that I would not have had otherwise, and it teaches me something a little different, too.
Louise Penney has a wonderful main character with Gamache in this series. You will fall in love with the town of Three Pines and all it’s inhabitants. But pulling you through is always a well thought out mystery. Penney is a beautiful writer, not only in plot but in describing emotional issues of her characters. Start the series from the beginning to really enjoy the characters.
As usual, love her books!
This is a wonderful book, the latest (and final?) in the Inspector Gamache series. It is, as all these books are, a complicated mystery building on, and to some extent resolving, situations and events from the previous books in the series. I recommend the entire series, in order. I hope it isn’t the last book. I am fast friends with Armand, Jean-Guy, Isabelle, Myra, Clara, Reine Marie, and Ruth and would (will?) sorely miss their company.
I am working my way through this outstanding mystery series and its wonderful characters. The revelation of the murderer is hugely shocking. I recommend starting with book 1 to get the most out of the series.
I continue to be entertained by the characters in Louise Penny’s 3 Pines series. I’m ready to plan a trip to Quebec and experience the beauty, food, history and charm. I’ll leave the murders for her to create.
Really enjoy all of the Louise Penny books in this series.
This is a mystery that has great characters with depth and humanity. The book has humor and pathos, suspense and surprise.
Louise Penny’s books get better and better with each book, if that is possible.
These are mystery’s but not who done it ( well yes,) but the character’s make the books real.
Wow! Love this and all of Louise Penny works of art. Fiction at its best