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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This was my third Louise Penny book (and, no, I’m not going in chronological order, but I guess I should!). I have now read Still Life, the first of the Chief Inspector Gamache series, and I’ve read Glass Houses, which is second-to-most-recent (at the moment). The fractured sentence style of Glass Houses was a little off-putting. If the characters hadn’t grabbed me, I would probably have given up. But Still Life persuaded me to read the earlier books. I thought the writing was much more fluid in Penny’s first book. And that is the case with The Brutal Telling as well. The writing is so engaging and descriptive that I was instantly drawn in. I knew enough about the town of Three Pines to understand who most of the characters were, though new ones were introduced. I was fully intrigued by the story of the strange man who turns up dead in the bistro and the connection of Olivier, one of the recurring characters, to him. Who this dead man was is a story unto itself, and I was fascinated by all the information that emerged when Gamache, Lacoste, and Beauvior investigated his past. The Brutal Telling had me up late at night, unable to put the book down until I finished. And when I had finished, it prompted me to go out and buy five more Gamache mysteries. Now I get why the series is so popular. I had wondered a bit after reading Glass Houses first. Maybe that’s why aficionados kept telling me, “Start at the beginning!”
Murder comes to Three Pines, and everyone is a suspect!
Three Pines was asleep, as it always seemed to be. At peace with itself and the world. Oblivious of what happened around it. Or perhaps aware of everything, but choosing peace anyway.
THE BRUTAL TELLING- LOUISE PENNY
A derelict hermit is found with his head bashed in on the floor of the bistro forcing Chief Inspector Gamache and his team to interrogate friends from the tiny village of Three Pines. Bistro owner Olivier is hiding something, but Gamache can’t decide if it’s nefarious or simply stress from the murdered man being found in his place of business.
A new family, the Gilberts, have moved into the Hadley house (the scene of a previous grisly murder) and while they’ve preformed miracles on the old place, the sudden appearance of the owner’s famous father leads to more questions, than answers.
What kills can’t be seen, the Chief had warned Beauvoir. That’s what makes it so dangerous. It’s not a gun or a knife or a fist. It’s not anything you can see coming. It’s an emotion. Rancid, spoiled. And waiting for a chance to strike.
THE BRUTAL TELLING- LOUISE PENNY
Muddying the already dirty waters, are the eccentric characters who populate the town. Clara is torn by a moral dilemma on the eve of her first solo art showing, and husband Peter must decide whether to help, or hinder, her decision- if he can overcome his own jealousy over her sudden success. Ruth is her cantankerous self and hosts a strange dinner party while sending Inspector Beauvoir taunting stanzas from her poetry.
Greed, lies, loneliness and mistrust are explored at length in this novel. Gamache learns the tale of the Mountain King and travels west to Haida Gwaii in the Queen Charlotte Islands to trace the origins of a series of priceless carvings possibly created by the hermit.
To find a murderer you followed clues, yes. But you also followed emotions. The ones that stank, the foul and putrid ones. You followed the slime. And there, cornered, you’d find your quarry.
THE BRUTAL TELLING- LOUISE PENNY
The lyrical quality of Louise Penny’s writing brings the Quebecois lifestyle alive; the history, attitudes, and scenery are portrayed with vibrant descriptions that bring Three Pines and its citizens to life for the reader.
it was vital to be aware of actions in the present. Because the present became the past, and the past grew. And got up, and followed you.
THE BRUTAL TELLING- LOUISE PENNY
And I just heard Three Pines is going to be a television series- yay!
Have you read any Inspector Gamache books? Which is your favorite character? (Mine is a toss-up between Ruth and Jean-Guy) Would you like to live in Three Pines? I would- minus the murders! lol
I love Louise Penny mysteries. It’s always a treat to visit friends in Three Pines. Love the history, twists, art, and Rosa, the duck.
I love all her books & their setting. I wish I could actually. find the village she’s created. Her characters are quirky & fully realized.
A man is found dead inside of The Bistro but no one recognizes the man, at least that is what they tell each other and the police. There were also some new additions to the village of Three Pines and that adds to the questions surrounding the mystery. Throughout the book there are many twists to the story and I was left wondering which was truth and which were lies. At least one person recognized the man, but kept the information until forced to reveal it. At the end of the story I wasn’t sure if the real murderer had been found or not. I felt that there were more questions and hope that they will be address in another book in this series.
Read 9.26.2019
GREAT. GOOGLY. MOOGLY.
It is always so difficult when an author takes a beloved [and absolute favorite] character and makes them fallible. Like REALLY fallible. Like “you will now be in jail for a LONG LONG time” fallible.
MAN.
This book just wrecked me [of course, several of hers already have so I shouldn’t be surprised by another one]. So many emotions and for Gamache, each case becomes more and more personal. I dread where we may be going with all this. And yet, I cannot stop reading. I had 10 minutes left in the audiobook and I was already putting a hold on the next book, mindless of the fact that I have ELEVEN NetGalley books to review next month. Because I HAVE TO KNOW. And I can tell you one thing, you could not P A Y me to live in Three Pines. E V E R. WOW. But I am still drawn to a place like that [minus the murder. And possibly Ruth Zardo**. 😉 ] and sometimes wish it was real so I could escape there for a vacation. I loved Quebec when I was there and would love to someday go back. But I am still passing on murder.
**I never thought I would feel sorry for Ruth – she is the most abrasive and obnoxious character I have ever read, but this book? MAN. My heart just breaks. Completely.
4 stars for book 5 in the Armand Gamache mystery series. This book would work as a stand alone, but it does help to read them in order, as I am doing. In this book, a body is found in the bistro/antique store run by Olivier and Gabri, a gay couple. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the the Surete homicide squad, based in Montreal, is called in along with his team. He and his team start investigating, uncovering secrets and lies. They soon have several suspects. Gamache does solve the crime, but not until the end. I was not sure of the identity of the murderer until the end.
Louise Penny’s books have to be read slowly, because she provides so much descriptive information about the places, scenery and the people in her books. My wife says that she likes to savor every word. There is only the one murder with no graphic violence. There is also very little profanity. This series would be suitable for cozy mystery fans.
This was a library book.
Two quotes:
Gamache’s dog: “In the kitchen Gamache’s German shepherd, Henri, sat up in his bed and cocked his head. He had huge oversized ears which made Gamache think he wasn’t a purebred but a cross between a shepherd and a satellite dish.”
Lies: “People lied all the time in murder investigations. If the first victim of war was the truth, some of the first victims of a murder investigation were people’s lies. The lies they told themselves, the lies they told each other.”
The whole series is wonderful!
This whole series of Chief Inspector Gamache and Three Pines is so wonderful. I hope Louise Penny never runs out of ideas for these characters.
Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache series is absolutely the BEST series ever. I hope she never stops writing them.
The ending was hard to take as it showed no character, no matter how beloved, is safe. Do yourself a favor and DO continue with the series though. Trust me.
The Brutal Telling IS brutal in a very real and emotional sense. We all have darker emotions, whether or not we act on them. This is where Louise Penny excels— deep human emotion expressed or repressed. I am so invested in this cozy little village and in all the characters who reside there.
This has an unusual ending. It is slow at times; but, that is exactly what I think Louise Penny wants. These work driven, social people are supposed to be on a relaxing vacation in a rustic, wood-hewn Lodge in a gorgeous park like setting!
This is part of a series of books about CHief Inspector Gamache and his Village of Three Pines in French Canada, adjacent to VT. The characters are truly charming, and yet evil lurks as well. Original, well plotted, developed characters and a strong underlying philosophy of life and life made this and all the others in the series an engaging read.
Brilliant. Louise Penny never lets you down.
Loved this one, too. So many great characters and an unusual, original story.
Must read from Still Life, the first in the series. The books follow a Montreal officer and staff and a small village in the Eastern townships in Canada. They are classified as mysteries but are really about love, redemption, morality, and human diginity. Wonderful stories, the only series I’ve re-read, and enjoyed more the second time.
I love this series!
I have loved every one of Louise Penny’s books….the main characters stay the same and you fall in love with them, quirks and all!
It’s been a long time since I read this one, but EVERYTHING Louise Penny writes is fantastic in my opinion! If you don’t know her, it’s time to pick up any one of her books. EnJOY!