A New York Times Notable Crime Book and Favorite Cozy for 2011 A Publishers Weekly Best Mystery/Thriller books for 2011 “Penny has been compared to Agatha Christie [but] it sells her short. Her characters are too rich, her grasp of nuance and human psychology too firm….” –Booklist (starred review) “Hearts are broken,” Lillian Dyson carefully underlined in a book. “Sweet relationships are … Lillian Dyson carefully underlined in a book. “Sweet relationships are dead.”
But now Lillian herself is dead. Found among the bleeding hearts and lilacs of Clara Morrow’s garden in Three Pines, shattering the celebrations of Clara’s solo show at the famed Musée in Montreal. Chief Inspector Gamache, the head of homicide at the Sûreté du Québec, is called to the tiny Quebec village and there he finds the art world gathered, and with it a world of shading and nuance, a world of shadow and light. Where nothing is as it seems. Behind every smile there lurks a sneer. Inside every sweet relationship there hides a broken heart. And even when facts are slowly exposed, it is no longer clear to Gamache and his team if what they’ve found is the truth, or simply a trick of the light.
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“It’s exactly that. Lillian Dyson murdered, or tried to murder, many people. Not physically, but just as cruelly. By taking away their dreams. Their creations.”
“Her weapon was her reviews,” said Normand.
“They weren’t just reviews,” agreed Gamache. “Creative people know being reviewed, and sometimes badly, is part of the package. Not pleasant, but a reality. But Lillian’s words were vitriolic. Designed to push sensitive people over the edge. And they did. More than one person gave up being an artist in the face of such judgment and humiliation.”
I finished reading A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny and this mini-scene is the near the end of the novel where the protagonist, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, is solving the murder of art critic Lillian Dyson, whom died an artist’s home after a gallery showing. This mini-scene reveals a lot about creativity, the sensitivity of artists, and need for recognition and approval from reviews. Something to keep in mind and how the power of fiction has a way of revealing human nature better than any other of artistic medium out there.
Penny does an excellent job creating characters that captures and captivates a readers’ interest and making you feel connected to their journey throughout the novel. I’m not a mystery buff but after my second Louise Penny novel in the past few weeks, I plan to read the entire Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series for my pleasure reading.
If you looking for a great series to read that transcend the genre as well as being entertaining, then you will find it in these novels by Louise Penny.
Important to become familiar with the characters who follow from book to book; I love mysteries with moral points of view— each of the six later books follow this pattern
Wonderful writing and fascinating insights to the art world.
Wonderful series, rich is characters, plot, setting, and language, simple amazing.
I enjoy all of her books.
You can never go wrong with a Louise Penny book. Wonderful author.
Love to read Louise Penny…This is her best yet.