“Deep and grand and altogether extraordinary….Miraculous.” –The Washington Post “Artful…Powerful…Magical.” – The New York Times Book Review “Superb” – People “A Great Reckoning succeeds on every level.” –St. Louis Post-Dispatch #1 New York Times bestselling author Louise Penny pulls back the layers to reveal a brilliant and emotionally powerful truth in her latest spellbinding novel. When … When an intricate old map is found stuffed into the walls of the bistro in Three Pines, it at first seems no more than a curiosity. But the closer the villagers look, the stranger it becomes. Given to Armand Gamache as a gift the first day of his new job, the map eventually leads him to shattering secrets. To an old friend and older adversary. It leads the former Chief of Homicide for the Sûreté du Québec to places even he is afraid to go. But must. And there he finds four young cadets in the Sûreté academy, and a dead professor. And, with the body, a copy of the old, odd map. Everywhere Gamache turns, he sees Amelia Choquet, one of the cadets. Tattooed and pierced. Guarded and angry. Amelia is more likely to be found on the other side of a police line-up. And yet she is in the academy. A protégée of the murdered professor. The focus of the investigation soon turns to Gamache himself and his mysterious relationship with Amelia, and his possible involvement in the crime. The frantic search for answers takes the investigators back to Three Pines and a stained glass window with its own horrific secrets. For both Amelia Choquet and Armand Gamache, the time has come for a great reckoning.
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All the books in Ms. Penny’s series are just fabulous!!
This was a complicated book and seemed to take more concentration than the other Penny books. Its a very important part of the Gamache story.
I have loved all of the books that I’ve read in this series. The story and the characters draw you in and you don’t want to leave. Although this is a murder mystery, the other stories that are happening in the book are just as engaging and intriguing. Another great book by Louise Penny!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
All of her books are fantastic
I savor these books. Even though I have the next two, I want time in between to appreciate the genius that is on display here, both by the characters and by the author.
I had to hold my breath so many times throughout this book. There is so much danger, and so much of it is understated, underestimated, and insidious as Gamache tackles the last cesspool in the Surete, the police academy. The mystery of the map is a delight, finally having the answer to the mystery of Three Pines, and a danger to all in Three Pines but Gamache in particular. There was so much I didn’t see coming that I was on the edge of my seat right down to the end. My only quibble is that the author occasionally–and somewhat obviously–manipulates point of view to hide something that would otherwise be known to the character in whose point of view the scene is written.
Excellent book!
A Great Reckoning is my favorite of this series to date! Penny is as much a master at thrilling mystery as she is at the cozy warmth of her Three Pines village and characters. Such a treat!
dependable and always interesting every sequel gets better
This story had me on the edge of my chair.With an ending I still can’t forget to this day. Masterful writing by Louise Penny.
Good storu
This author always delivers a great book.
The Three Pines series encompasses absolutely the best modern detective novels I’ve ever encountered. Armand Gamache is a man with a conscience and a heart who takes unlikely cops under his wing and teaches them not only to be good detectives but better human beings. This is one of the latest in Louise Penny’s series, so I strongly suggest you begin at the beginning with Still Life. Penny’s characters evolve, plots twist and turn, and you’ll miss a lot if you don’t read the series in order.
Ms. Penny is a masterful writer of wonderful and intricate characters as well as surprise twists to the ultimate conclusion. Gamache is perhaps a bit too perfect, but we like to have heroes and we want to believe that men like Gamache live and breathe in our own worlds.
I have read all of the Inspector Gamache Mystery series by Louise Penny. They are excellent and I highly recommend them to all mystery lovers.
Interesting characters are woven through this book and story and make this a great book to snuggle down and read. A great story teller.
Louise Penny is a fabulous writer. The characters are interesting and the locale intriguing. I always look forward to her next book with great anticipation, I want to live in Three Pines and I want Ruth as a friend.
I love this series of books about Chief Superintendent Gamache and the Village of Three Pines.
The cast of characters are wonderfully entertaining and the stories hold you right til the end
Not her best. It did not keep me interested so took for ever to finish. I may just be getting bored with this series. I do have to confess that what got me hooked on these books was the way she described the food they ate in Three Pines in the early books.
I do want to know if Bean was a girl or boy. Is it ever revealed????
I have read all of Louise Penny’s series and enjoyed them all.
I’ve read the entire Chief Inspector Gamache series. Louise Penny is a wonderful writer and her books draw me into her world of Three Pines and the characters that populate her stories.
This is such a great series. I finish one book and look forward to the next. I’m going to be sad to read the final book. Hope there are many more to come.