It is Winter Carnival in Quebec City, bitterly cold and surpassingly beautiful. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache has come not to join the revels but to recover from an investigation gone hauntingly wrong. But violent death is inescapable, even in the apparent sanctuary of the Literary and Historical Society– where an obsessive historian’s quest for the remains of the founder of Quebec, Samuel de … de Champlain, ends in murder. Could a secret buried with Champlain for nearly 400 years be so dreadful that someone would kill to protect it?
Although he is supposed to be on leave, Gamache cannot walk away from a crime that threatens to ignite long-smoldering tensions between the English and the French. Meanwhile, he is receiving disquieting letters from the village of Three Pines, where beloved Bistro owner Olivier was recently convicted of murder. “It doesn’t make sense,” Olivier’s partner writes every day. “He didn’t do it, you know.” As past and present collide in this astonishing novel, Gamache must relive the terrible event of his own past before he can bury his dead.
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Louise Penny writes great mysteries. The characters practically walk off the page.
Louise Penny is original and writes the most beautiful prose. I often read lines in her books that make me stop and think, that move me and stay with me. This is a historical story, a story of nation with a perilous, fragile peace between the French and English. It is wonderful.
If you haven’t read a Louise Penny novel, you are in for a treat! Well written, entertaining and intelligent. Read the Gamache novels in sequence!
And a Bookbub purchase hooked me into another series, so now I must go back and find book one. This was a page-turner for me, but it is not a book for the casual reader. Great characters, intricate plotting with multiple plot lines, history woven throughout, some humor—a winning combination. I love cozy mysteries usually, but this isn’t a good …
As all the books in this series, Bury Your Dead is a kind hearted book. Well written it moves surely and confidently in its own world. Always a pleasure.
For many years I was an avid reader of Agatha Christie mysteries, until I virtually exhausted her body of work. Bury Your Dead is the first mystery I’ve read in many years that was on par with Agatha Christie’s works. Louise Penny is a master storyteller, expertly weaving mystery and backstory into the fabric of Quebec City. She truly captures the …
Excellent literary mystery with a noble poet/detective, set in Quebec City. Following this introduction, I read all of Louise Penny ‘s books. These bring to mind the PBS Midsomer Murders series based on Colin Dexter’s books. Penny evokes place as well as a terrific group of characters, and most of her readers feel as much at home in Three Pines as …
Have read all of this series of Louise Penney’s books taking place in Three Pines. Wonderful series with wonderful characters. Highly recommend.
A wonderful read- very engrossing with believable characters