- this edition from my local library
- originally published 2022 by St. Martin's Publishing
- large print edition
- 645 pages
- #18 in Chief Inspector Gamache series
Synopsis (Fantastic Fiction)
It's spring and Three Pines is re-emerging after the harsh winter. But not everything buried should come alive again. Not everything lying dormant should return.
But something has.
As the villagers prepare for a special celebration, Armand Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir find themselves increasingly worried. A young man and woman have reappeared in the Sûreté du Québec investigators' lives after many years. The two were young children when their troubled mother was murdered, leaving them damaged, shattered. Now they've arrived in the village of Three Pines.
But to what end?
Gamache and Beauvoir's memories of that tragic case, the one that first brought them together, come rushing back. Did their mother's murder hurt them beyond repair? Have those terrible wounds, buried for decades, festered and are now about to erupt?
As Chief Inspector Gamache works to uncover answers, his alarm grows when a letter written by a long dead stone mason is discovered. In it the man describes his terror when bricking up an attic room somewhere in the village. Every word of the 150-year-old letter is filled with dread. When the room is found, the villagers decide to open it up.
As the bricks are removed, Gamache, Beauvoir and the villagers discover a world of curiosities. But the head of homicide soon realizes there's more in that room than meets the eye. There are puzzles within puzzles, and hidden messages warning of mayhem and revenge.
In unsealing that room, an old enemy is released into their world. Into their lives. And into the very heart of Armand Gamache's home.
My Take
As usual an engrossing read. Built solidly on the Armande Gamache saga, but also including some events in the past that we haven't heard about before. There are also references to true facts like the Montreal Massacre and The Paston Treasure. I liked the way the author blended these into her fiction.
Although there are some things that strain the bounds of credibility, the threat to Gamache and his family feels very real.
So now I'm up to date and ready for the next in the series THE GREY WOLF, to be published later this year.
My rating: 4.9
I've also read
- 4.8, THE CRUELLEST MONTH
- 4.9, A RULE AGAINST MURDER
- 4.9, THE BRUTAL TELLING
- 5.0, BURY YOUR DEAD
- 5.0, A TRICK OF THE LIGHT
- 4.5, THE HANGMAN - a novella
- 4.9, THE BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY
- 5.0, HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN
- 4.9, THE LONG WAY HOME
- 4.9, THE NATURE OF THE BEAST
- 5.0, A GREAT RECKONING
- 4.9, GLASS HOUSES
- 5.0, KINGDOM OF THE BLIND - #14
- 4.9, A BETTER MAN - #15
- 5.0, ALL THE DEVILS ARE HERE - #16
- 5.0, THE MADNESS OF CROWDS - #17
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