Review: A WORLD OF CURIOSITIES, Louise Penny

• 
   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

Review: THE MADNESS OF CROWDS, Louise Penny

• 
  this book made available by my local library
  
• this edition published 2021 by Hodder Stoughton
• ISBN 978-1-529-37939-6
• 436 pages
• #17 book in Gamache series
• author website  
  

Synopsis (author)

You’re a coward.

Time and again, as the New Year approaches, that charge is leveled against Armand Gamache.

It starts innocently enough.

While the residents of the Québec village of Three Pines take advantage of the deep snow to ski and toboggan, to drink hot chocolate in the bistro and share meals together, the Chief Inspector finds his holiday with his family interrupted by a simple request.

He’s asked to provide security for what promises to be a non-event. A visiting Professor of Statistics will be giving a lecture at the nearby university.

While he is perplexed as to why the head of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec would be assigned this task, it sounds easy enough. That is until Gamache starts looking into Professor Abigail Robinson and discovers an agenda so repulsive he begs the university to cancel the lecture.

They refuse, citing academic freedom, and accuse Gamache of censorship and intellectual cowardice. Before long, Professor Robinson’s views start seeping into conversations. Spreading and infecting. So that truth and fact, reality and delusion are so confused it’s near impossible to tell them apart.

Discussions become debates, debates become arguments, which turn into fights. As sides are declared, a madness takes hold.

Abigail Robinson promises that, if they follow her, ça va bien aller. All will be well. But not, Gamache and his team know, for everyone.

When a murder is committed it falls to Armand Gamache, his second-in-command Jean-Guy Beauvoir, and their team to investigate the crime as well as this extraordinary popular delusion.

My Take

Louise Penny began  writing this book at the end of March 2020 as she sat at home in quarantine. I remember that time as we too just made it home (to Australia) before our airports shut their doors. Was it only just over 4 years ago?

Penny decided to make the book post-pandemic, as the world returned to "normal". In the long run it was published well before the pandemic was over.

Gamache is asked to provide security for what he expects to be a poorly attended event, that is, until he works out what Abigail Robinson has on her agenda.

And then that agenda becomes personal for Gamache as it has implications for his newly born grand-daughter. 

A murder occurs on New Year's Eve in Three Pines, and then the possibility of a much older murder rears its head.

Another fascinating plot with issues relevant for all of us.

My rating: 5.0

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

Review: ALL THE DEVILS ARE HERE, Louise Penny

• 
  this edition made available by my local library
  
• large print edition from Thorndike Press, published 2020
• ISBN- 13: 978-1-4328-8115-3
• 665 pages
• 16th novel in the Gamache series
• author website  
  

Synopsis (publisher)

On their first night in Paris, the Gamaches gather as a family for a bistro dinner with Armand's godfather, the billionaire Stephen Horowitz. Walking home together after the meal, they watch in horror as Stephen is knocked down and critically injured in what Gamache knows is no accident, but a deliberate attempt on the elderly man's life.

When a strange key is found in Stephen's possession it sends Armand, his wife Reine-Marie, and his former second-in-command at the Sûreté, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, from the top of the Tour Eiffel, to the bowels of the Paris Archives, from luxury hotels to odd, coded, works of art.

It sends them deep into the secrets Armand's godfather has kept for decades.

A gruesome discovery in Stephen's Paris apartment makes it clear the secrets are more rancid, the danger far greater and more imminent, than they realized.

Soon the whole family is caught up in a web of lies and deceit. In order to find the truth, Gamache will have to decide whether he can trust his friends, his colleagues, his instincts, his own past. His own family.

For even the City of Light casts long shadows. And in that darkness devils hide.

My Take

It is four years since I've caught up with reading Louise Penny and I'm chiding myself with being so tardy. You know how good it is to catch up with old friends, and I feel like that about the Gamache novels. Louise Penny's writing slips down like silk. 

There is a lot going on in this novel. Armande's daughter Annie is about to have a baby, and we also catch up with his son Daniel.

The central plot point is the hit and run incident when Armande's godfather Stephen is run down by a passing van as they are crossing the road after a night out. This sparks an investigation into Stephen's life, looking for what someone may have against him.

The story just flows. There are challenges to the idea that Stephen is an honourable man, about how Armande's son in law Jean_Guy, Annie's husband, actually got his job, and why Daniel is so hostile to his father. Once the story gets you hooked you read as quickly as you can to solve the mysteries you are being set.

Delicious!

My rating: 5.0

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

Review: A BETTER MAN, Louise Penny

• Format: Kindle (Amazon)
• File Size: 1021 KB
• Print Length: 447 pages
• ISBN: 1250066212
• Publisher: Sphere (August 27, 2019)
• Publication Date: August 27, 2019
• Sold by: Hachette Book Group
• Language: English
• ASIN: B07PCRM191
• Inspector Gamache #15

Synopsis  (Amazon)

The air is unbearably tense as Armand Gamache returns to the Sûreté du Québec for his first day of work since being demoted from its command to head of homicide.

Amid blistering personal social media attacks, Gamache sets out on his first assignment. He has been tasked with finding a missing woman, but while he leads the search for Vivienne Godin, Three Pines itself is threatened when the river breaks its banks, and a province-wide emergency is declared.

As the waters rise, a body is discovered - and the victim's distraught father contemplates a murder of his own. Gamache is a father himself, and is haunted by a question . . . what would he do, if his child's killer might walk free?

My take

I am a long time reader of the Armand Gamache series and once again Louise Penny has come up with an engrossing read.

It is a multi-stranded plot as you can see from the synopsis above. Gamache should be retired, in fact many believe he should be dismissed, perhaps even be in gaol, but he is returning to the Quebec Surete, not as the commander but to the head of homicide.

The story brings old comrades together and they work together on what will be Jean Guy Beauvoir's last case.

I loved it.

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

Review: KINGDOM OF THE BLIND, Louise Penny

• format: Kindle (Amazon)
• File Size: 3777 KB
• Print Length: 416 pages
• Publisher: Sphere (November 27, 2018)
• Publication Date: November 27, 2018
• Sold by: Hachette Book Group
• Language: English
• ASIN: B07DCXRRRS
• #14 in the Armand Gamache series

Synopsis  (Amazon)

When Armand Gamache receives a letter inviting him to an abandoned farmhouse outside of Three Pines, the former head of the Sûreté du Québec discovers that a complete stranger has named him as an executor of her will.

Armand never knew the elderly woman, and the bequests are so wildly unlikely that he suspects the woman must have been delusional - until a body is found, and the terms of the bizarre document suddenly seem far more menacing.

But it isn't the only menace Gamache is facing. The investigation into the events that led to his suspension has dragged on, and Armand is taking increasingly desperate measures to rectify previous actions. As he does, Armand Gamache begins to see his own blind spots - and the terrible things hiding there . . .

My Take

What better way to end my year's reading than with an excellent novel in a much loved series by a much loved author? I was worried that I wouldn't remember enough of what happened in the previous title in the series, which had brought Armand Gamache to his current situation, suspended from his position of head of the Sûreté du Québec. But the author takes such good care of the reader, with gentle reminders and subtle re-capping.

As with so many books in the series, we have a dual headed plot. At the end of the previous novel Gamache had taken the decision not to prevent the release of a new drug into North America and Canada. The cartel which has possession of the drug has not yet released it and Gamache has been suspended and is undergoing investigation. Most of the drug shipment has been recaptured but there is still some in Montreal still to be found. Its release will have disastrous consequences.

Almost a light relief, the second main plot sees Gamache and two others named as "liquidators" (executors) in the will of a woman whom he is convinced he has never met. "Baroness", Bertha Baumgartner, has left a bizarre will, based on a family legend that involves millions, some property, and a title, none of which seem to exist.  In the process of investigating the background to the will, Gamache uncovers embezzlement and corruption at breathtaking levels.


An excellent read. I'm not sure whether there will be another in this series. If not, what a fitting conclusion!

As you'll see from the list below, I have read all the novels in this series.
My recommendation - read them in order! You won't regret it.
My average rating is just under 5.0.

Part of what has kept me reading the series is the excellent characterisation. Each of the characters has been built up carefully with wonderful descriptions, not hte least Gamache himslef.

My rating: 5.0

I've also read
1. Still Life (2005)
2. Dead Cold (2006)
The above were read before this blog was begun. 
 
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 

Review: GLASS HOUSES, Louise Penny

• format: kindle (Amazon)
• File Size: 1381 KB
• Print Length: 400 pages
• Publisher: Sphere (August 29, 2017)
• Publication Date: August 29, 2017
• Sold by: Hachette Book Group
• Language: English
• ASIN: B06XRHTFZN
• #13 in  the Chief Inspector Gamache series

 Synopsis (Amazon)

One cold November day, a mysterious figure appears on the village green in Three Pines, causing unease, alarm and confusion among everyone who sees it. Chief Superintendent, Armand Gamache knows something is seriously wrong, but all he can do is watch and wait, hoping his worst fears are not realised.

But when the figure disappears and a dead body is discovered, it falls to Gamache to investigate.
In the early days of the murder inquiry, and months later, as the trial for the accused begins, Gamache must face the consequences of his decisions, and his actions, from which there is no going back . . .

My Take

Armand Gamache has returned to the Quebec Surete as Chief Superintendent. By rights he ought to be retired and there are whispers going around that he is "past it",  just not up to the job: he is refusing to take swift and decisive actions, serious crime rates are rising, particularly drug trafficking. Those who were glad when he took on the job are losing faith.

This is a novel with a slippery time frame. In the opening chapter Gamache is in the witness box at a murder trial. Unusually he was the arresting officer and the arrest took place at the village of Three Pines where he lives. Other people from the village, including his wife, will also be called as witnesses. The judge is overseeing her first murder trial. Already she has detected something rather odd in the proceedings. There seems to be some sort of collusion between Chief Inspector Gamache and the Chief Crown Prosecutor, although at the same time they don't seem to like each other.

The novel slips back and forwards in time giving the reader the background to the case. That in itself is not unusual but there is something else going on here, just a hint that it could mean the end of their careers for the two men in the court. There is a defendant in the box, but for the moment we are not told who, nor who the victim was.

Most of the residents of the small village of Three Pines feature in the novel, and this is really where having read the series comes in. I suppose you could read the book as a stand-alone, but that is hard for me to say as I have read the series. Believe me, it is worth doing that. Many hours of reading pleasure await you.

Another spell binding read from Louise Penny.

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

Review: A GREAT RECKONING, Louise Penny

• this edition large print published by Thorndike Press 2016
• #12 in the Armand Gamache series
• ISBN 978-1-4104-8939-5
• 641 pages
• source: my local library
• author website

Synopsis (author website)

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.

My Take

Confessions:
#1 I've read most, but not all of this series, in order. While each novel can be read as a stand alone, there is character development from novel to novel. There are incidents referred to from the past and from previous novels, so my conclusion is that in reality you are best to read them in order. They are not light reads. The plots are complex and there is a great deal of underlying philosophy, so they do take some time.
#2 Last night I went to bed as usual and then an hour later got up so that I could finish the last 150 pages of this book. I knew I wasn't going to get to sleep otherwise. This book had me hooked.

Armand Gamache has retired. He did his best to clean up the Surete in Quebec and it nearly cost him his life. But he has realised that the greatest source of the corruption and lack of humanity seen in the officers of the Surete is the Academy where they were trained, so he takes on the job of its Commander.  He knows it will be hard because although he has replaced many of the professors he has retained some whom he knows are part of the source of the corruption. He has also brought in others who have betrayed him in the past.

Things seem to be going fairly well when one of the professors is found dead, shot in the head, with a revolver bearing a partial print from Gamache's hand. So everything breaks open and the Academy comes under the scrutiny of both the head of the Surete and an outsider. Gamache himself is in real danger.

Running in the background is another mystery: the meaning of a map that was found many years ago in the walls of the Bistro at Three Pines. Why was it made? What was its purpose? A central part of the mystery is that the village of Three Pines is not named on the map, although the iconic pine trees are there.

An engrossing read.

My rating: 5.0

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

Review: THE NATURE OF THE BEAST, Louise Penny

M
• format: Kindle (Amazon)
• File Size: 1881 KB
• Print Length: 385 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1250022088
• Publisher: Sphere (August 25, 2015)
• Publication Date: August 25, 2015
• Sold by: Hachette Book Group
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00UFYZWQ8

Synopsis (Amazon)

Hardly a day goes by when nine-year-old Laurent Lepage doesn't cry wolf. His boundless sense of adventure and vivid imagination mean he has a tendency to concoct stories so extraordinary and so far-fetched that no one can possibly believe him.

But when Laurent disappears, former Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is faced with the possibility that one of his tall tales might have been true.

So begins a frantic search for the boy and the truth. And what Gamache uncovers deep in the forest leads back to crimes of the past, betrayal and murder, with more sinister consequences than anyone could have possibly imagined . . .

My Take

Armand Gamache has recently retired from the Surete but he is yet to decide whether he is satisfied with the tranquility of Three Pines Village. When the offer comes for his return as Superintendent he is tempted. And then he meets two new agents, recruited when corruption was the name of the game, who have no respect for him.

Laurent Lepage discovers something very nasty in the woods quite close to the village but as usual goes over the top in the way he describes it. Nobody, even Armand Gamache, believes him, and no one goes to look at his discovery. Nobody that is except the person who has been looking for this object for thirty years.

For Gamache it brings back the time when a serial killer who was pure evil was tried and sentenced to life imprisonment. But he recognizes that hand here. How can that be?

And how could this object have been built in the woods without others knowing? Who amongst his neighbours knew about it? Who can he trust?

Some interesting features to this story. The investigation into Laurent's disappearance is led by Isabel Lacoste, Gamache's protege and successor, and he really has no official role, but continues to call in favors and controls the play. He also uses his wife's considerable research skills. There is also the fact that there is historical truth to the story about the object in the woods.

I had heard a lot about this novel, all favorable, and I am happy to report those reviewers were right. This is another one that just sweeps the reader along.

My rating:  4.9

I've also reviewed
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

Review: HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN, Louise Penny

• published 2013
• source: my local library.
• #9 in the Inspector Gamache series
• ISBN 978-1-84744-429-5
• 404 pages

Synopsis (author website)

“There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” - Leonard Cohen

Christmas is approaching, and in Québec it’s a time of dazzling snowfalls, bright lights, and gatherings with friends in front of blazing hearths. But shadows are falling on the usually festive season for Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. Most of his best agents have left the Homicide Department, his old friend and lieutenant Jean-Guy Beauvoir hasn’t spoken to him in months, and hostile forces are lining up against him. When Gamache receives a message from Myrna Landers that a longtime friend has failed to arrive for Christmas in the village of Three Pines, he welcomes the chance to get away from the city. Mystified by Myrna's reluctance to reveal her friend's name, Gamache soon discovers the missing woman was once one of the most famous people not just in North America, but in the world, and now goes unrecognized by virtually everyone except the mad, brilliant poet Ruth Zardo.

As events come to a head, Gamache is drawn ever deeper into the world of Three Pines. Increasingly, he is not only investigating the disappearance of Myrna’s friend but also seeking a safe place for himself and his still-loyal colleagues. Is there peace to be found even in Three Pines, and at what cost to Gamache and the people he holds dear?

My Take

Even though I had already read the novel that preceded this one, and the one that followed it), nothing prepared me for the fight Inspector Gamache would have in this novel, nor for the strength he displays.

One aspect of the novel is related to a murder and probes how some people, through an accident of birth, become public property. The other story line is about the attempt to oust Gamache from Homicide by his immediate superior, who has gutted the Homicide Unit, and is now attempting to demoralise Gamacahe by attacking those dear to him.

My rating is mainly a reflection of how often I held my breath, not knowing how things were going to turn out.

While you can read this as a stand-alone, if you are new to this author I really encourage you to start the series at the beginning.
The order of the Gamache books, from first to most recent, is:
Still Life, A Fatal Grace/Dead Cold (same book, different title), The Cruelest Month, A Rule Against Murder/The Murder Stone (same book, different title), The Brutal Telling, Bury Your Dead, A Trick of the Light, The Beautiful Mystery, How the Light Gets In, The Long Way Home.
#11 in the series, THE NATURE OF THE BEAST, will be published sometime in 2015 (see newsletter) 

My Rating: 5.0

I've already reviewed
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
4.9, THE LONG WAY HOME 

Review: THE LONG WAY HOME, Louise Penny

• first published by Minotaur 2014
  
• ISBN 978-0-7515-5364-5
• 373 pages
• #10 in the Armand Gamache series
• source: my local library

Synopsis (author website)

Happily retired in the village of Three Pines, Armand Gamache, former Chief Inspector of the Homicide with the Sûreté du Québec, has found a peace he'd only imagined possible. But his peace is interrupted when his friend and neighbour, Clara Morrow tells him her artist husband Peter has failed to come home. She asks for Gamache's help in finding him. Having finally found sanctuary, Gamche feels a near revulsion at the thought of leaving Three Pines. But he must.

Together with his former second-in-command, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, and Myrna Landers, they journey deeper and deeper into Quebec. And deeper and deeper into the soul of Peter Morrow. A man so desperate to recapture his fame as an artist, he would sell that soul. And may have. The journey takes to an area so desolate, so damned, the first mariners called it The land God gave to Cain. And there they discover the terrible damage done by a sin-sick soul.

My take

To my chagrin, I discovered on reading this, the latest in the series, that I forgot that I haven't read the one just before (HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN) - I'm sure I have a copy somewhere ... now where is it? Apart from that, I have actually read all the titles in the series.

I found this title a rather odd mixture of philosophical discussion (what inspires an artist?) and an almost mystical quest ( the closest I can get is something like Tolkien's Lord of the Rings) as Armand Gamache tracks Peter Morrow's journey to find truth. Gamache's instincts tell him that there will be a murder at the end, although for most of the story that is not obvious.

The story that this novel weaves is at the same time fantastic and yet plausible. And as always, the characters are very real.

Highly recommendable.

My rating: 4.9


I've also reviewed
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

The order of the Gamache books, from first to most recent, is:
Still Life, A Fatal Grace/Dead Cold (same book, different title), The Cruelest Month, A Rule Against Murder/The Murder Stone (same book, different title), The Brutal Telling, Bury Your Dead, A Trick of the Light, The Beautiful Mystery, How the Light Gets In, The Long Way Home.

My earlier mini-reviews

STILL LIFE: my rating 4.6
Louise Penny's first novel was runner up in the Crime Writers' Association's Debut Dagger Award in 2004, in manuscript form.
In the early morning of Thanksgiving Sunday, 76 year old Jane Neal is found dead in the woods of the small Canadian village of Three Pines. She has been shot through the heart by a hunter's arrow - was it an accident or is it murder? There are many secrets in this village and this case gets a distinguished detective from Surete du Quebec, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. Jane had recently entered a revealing village 'portrait' into the village art competition. Her great friend Timmer Hadley had also recently died. Were the events connected? Most enjoyable, but not for the impatient, one-more-title-to-add-to my-list, reader. Be prepared to spend some time sifting the clues.

DEAD COLD: my rating 5.0
#2 in the Armand Gamache series. In the little Canadian village of Three Pines another death has occurred. A female spectator, the hated CC de Poitiers, has been electrocuted while out on the ice watching the annual Boxing Day curling match. This has to be murder but no-one saw anything. Coincidentally the victim has been living in the house that was the centre of the last murder in Three Pines, Gamache's case a year ago, the focus of Penny's debut novel STILL LIFE. Gamache renews old acquaintances in the village and we learn more about him. Do read these books in order if you can.

31 August 2013, On the doorstep, waiting to be read

What I end up reading is a mixture of review books kindly sent to me by publishers and authors, books to meet the various reading challenges I have undertaken for this year, and library books related to reading groups and personal whims. See the history of this occasional post. Please note that this listing is in no way a recommendation for you to read a title, simply a chance for you to assess for yourself whether you would like to read it. I will also try to discover whether the book is available on Kindle, particularly for Australian authors which are not necessarily available overseas.

I've recently been reading e-books on a combination of my Kindle and my iPad and I'm convinced they actually help me read faster. In the last month I have managed to read about 3 books a week but that is still not making much of a dent in my TBR.

Here are a couple of the review paperback copies that arrived this week. Both were published in Australia in August 2013.

HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN, Louise Penny
Louise Penny is one of my favourite authors and I am actually up to date with this series.
This review copy was sent to me by Hachette Australia

Synopsis

A DETECTIVE.
As a fierce, unrelenting winter grips Quebec, shadows are closing in on Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. Most of his best agents have left the Homicide Department and hostile forces are lining up against him.

A DISAPPEARANCE.
When Gamache receives a message about a mysterious case in Three Pines, he is compelled to investigate - a woman who was once one of the most famous people in the world has vanished.

A DEADLY CONCLUSION.
As he begins to shed light on the investigation, he is drawn into a web of murder, lies and unimaginable corruption at the heart of the city. Facing his most challenging, and personal, case to date, can Gamache save the reputation of the Seret , those he holds dear and himself.

Evocative, gripping and atmospheric, this magnificent work of crime fiction from international bestselling author Louise Penny will stay with you long after you turn the final page.

THE STOLEN ONES, Richard Montanari

This review copy was sent to me by Hachette Australia
I read and enjoyed PLAY DEAD by this author back in 2009 (gave it 5.0)

Synopsis (from the publisher)

The chilling new Byrne and Balzano case from the author of THE KILLING ROOM.
Destroyed by fire years ago, the infamous Philadelphia State Hospital was known as a warehouse for the criminally insane.
But one man never left.

By night Luther walks Philadelphia's backstreets, drawing to him the mad, the corrupt, the fallen. By day he roams the catacombs beneath the city, killing his prey.

Detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano are called to a bizarre murder scene: a man has been killed by a railroad spike driven into his head and left sitting on a bench in a local park. But it is just the beginning of a trail of evil that leads back to the hospital and the nightmares it still contains. . .

Review: THE BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY, Louise Penny

• Format: Kindle (Amazon)
• File Size: 684 KB
• Print Length: 384 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0312655460
• Publisher: Minotaur Books (August 28, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0071VURHW
• Source: I bought it

Synopsis (Amazon)

No outsiders are ever admitted to the monastery of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups, hidden deep in the wilderness of Quebec, where two dozen cloistered monks live in peace and prayer. They grow vegetables, they tend chickens, they make chocolate. And they sing. Ironically, for a community that has taken a vow of silence, the monks have become world-famous for their glorious voices, raised in ancient chants whose effect on both singer and listener is so profound it is known as “the beautiful mystery.”

But when the renowned choir director is murdered, the lock on the monastery’s massive wooden door is drawn back to admit Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir of the Sûreté du Québec. There they discover disquiet beneath the silence, discord in the apparent harmony. One of the brothers, in this life of prayer and contemplation, has been contemplating murder. As the peace of the monastery crumbles, Gamache is forced to confront some of his own demons, as well as those roaming the remote corridors. Before finding the killer, before restoring peace, the Chief must first consider the divine, the human, and the cracks in between.

My Take

This is a hard book to review without revealing too much more of the story than is disclosed in the synopsis. This book is not set in the village of Three Pines (as most of the earlier ones in the Gamache series are) although there are references to earlier plots.

In some senses it is a locked room mystery because the murder takes place in a gated community of 24 members so when Gamache arrives the murderer must still be present. It soon becomes apparent that identifying the murderer will be difficult - there are several who seem to have a motive. The monastery isn't the harmonious enclave that one might expect, divisions have been building for some time.

Gamache is struck by the fact that the Gilbertine order was founded by a supporter of Thomas a Becket and he keeps thinking of the line from Murder in the Cathedral: Will no one rid  me of this meddlesome priest?

There is danger for Gamache too which becomes obvious when his boss, the head of Quebec Surete arrives with some documents Gamache needs including the results of the post mortem on the body. But Francouer obviously has a hidden agenda.

Once again a most enjoyable offering from Louise Penny. Although I eventually guessed who the murderer was, I don't think it was obvious.

My rating: 4.9

I've also reviewed
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 

Review: THE HANGMAN, Louise Penny

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 208 KB
• Publisher: Grass Roots Press (October 24, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005ZI33HE
• Source: I bought it ($2.99)

Synopsis (Amazon)

On a cold November morning, a jogger runs through the woods in the peaceful Quebec village of Three Pines. On his run, he finds a dead man hanging from a tree.
The dead man was a guest at the local Inn and Spa. He might have been looking for peace and quiet, but something else found him. Something horrible.
Did the man take his own life? Or was he murdered? Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is called to the crime scene. As Gamache follows the trail of clues, he opens a door into the past. And he learns the true reason why the man came to Three Pines.
This book is a quick and easy read for people on the go.

My take

The (Good Reads) label was the clue that this novella was written as part of the Canadian Government's Literacy Project.

Louise Penny says

It's written as part of a programme called GoodReads Canada, which was created by national literacy organizations to publish books aimed at emerging adult readers. THE HANGMAN is written at a grade 3 level, for adults. Very clear, very simple. Not really the most complex plot or style, for obvious reasons. 

Nevertheless, despite the lack of detail and the limited vocabulary level of the book, it was a quick and  enjoyable read. There was nothing wrong with the plot construction. It is still a mystery with red herrings and a trail of clues.
It really only featured 3 of the usual residents of Three Pines, one of whom is a suspect for the murder.
It really didn't add to my knowledge of the village, and it did feel different to Penny's usual well thought out writing style.

But there's some humour for those of us who are regular crime fiction readers. Watch out for Arthur Ellis!

I like to see authors involved in literacy projects. It shows me that they are in touch with the real world.

My rating: 4.5

My other Louise Penny reviews:
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 

Review: A TRICK OF THE LIGHT, Louise Penny

• Published by Sphere 2011
• 404 pages
• ISBN 978-1-84744-426-4
• source: my local library
• #7 in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series

Synopsis (author's site)

“Hearts are broken,” 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.

My take

The tranquillity of the little Canadian village of Three Pines is again shattered by murder. The artist Clara Morrow is celebrating her successful art exhibition with a party but others in the village and the investigative team are recovering from cataclysmic events, detailed in earlier books, that have changed their relationships forever. The threads of continuity that come from earlier titles in the series do mean that, if you are new to the series, you should read them in order. But if someone gave you A TRICK OF THE LIGHT for Christmas do read it now. But I guarantee you'll want to go looking for the first in the series and then read them in order.

What I love about the Penny books is the way that while the murder mystery central to the story is being explored and investigated, background material and evidence researched and assembled, other questions are posed for us to think about. There is the meaning of the title for example, but I won't discuss that here because it is introduced quite early in the book. Another question is whether someone can change in character or is a nasty vindictive person always nasty and vindictive?

The brilliantly drawn characters are part of what attracts me to this series too, and the nature of the relationships between them. As you read the series different characters are explored and embellished novel by novel. Six months have elapsed since BURY YOUR DEAD in which both Armand Gamache and his assistant Jean Guy Beauvoir were critically wounded and lost four young colleagues. Gamache appears to have made a complete recovery but Jean Guy is not doing so well.  The relationships between Gamache and his team and the residents of Three Pines provide great tension points in the novels too. Gamache has visited the village of Three Pines so often that he regards most of them as friends, and they him, and so when another murder occurs the issue of whether friendship will obscure good judgement in a police investigation comes to the surface again.

You can probably gather that I really enjoyed A TRICK OF THE LIGHT.
My rating 5.0

Other reviews to follow up:

• The Washington Post
• Kirkus Reviews
• Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan

A TRICK OF THE LIGHT was recently shortlisted in the Mystery category of the Indie Literary Awards.

Other reviews on MiP of Louise Penny books
4.8, THE CRUELLEST MONTH
4.9, A RULE AGAINST MURDER
4.9, THE BRUTAL TELLING
5.0, BURY YOUR DEAD 

Chief Inspector Gamache (list per Fantastic Fiction)
1. Still Life (2005)
2. Dead Cold (2006)
     aka A Fatal Grace
3. The Cruellest Month (2007)
4. The Murder Stone (2008)
     aka A Rule Against Murder
5. The Brutal Telling (2009)
6. Bury Your Dead (2010)
7. A Trick of the Light (2011)
The Hangman (2011) 

Louise Penny's blog 

Death Arrives at Easter: THE CRUELLEST MONTH, Louise Penny

I haven't read many crime fiction books set at Easter so I hope you'll forgive me if I re-run this review I wrote in 2009, in an attempt to persuade you to seek out one of my favourite authors, Canadian Louise Penny.
(but do read them in order)
1. Still Life (2005)
2. Dead Cold (2006)  aka A Fatal Grace
3. The Cruellest Month (2007)
4. The Murder Stone (2008) aka A Rule Against Murder
5. The Brutal Telling (2009)
6. Bury Your Dead (2010)

Headline, 2007, ISBN 978-0-7553-2895-6, 311 pages

Easter, the time of rebirth, is being celebrated in the small Canadian village of Three Pines in ways that have become part of village tradition. There are dinner parties among friends, and the hiding of Easter eggs for the young to find.
On this Good Friday at the end of April Three Pines smells of fresh earth and the promise of spring. Clara Morrow is finishing an important painting and Hazel Smyth is getting ready for the weekend visit of her daughter Sophie. A witch has come to stay at the B&B and Gabri has invited everyone to a seance. And overlooking the village the Hadley house broods.

When Friday night's seance yields no satisfactory results the witch suggests a seance in the Hadley house on Easter Sunday. As the participants sit in a sacred circle and the witch calls on the house to yield up its wickedness and hatred, death arrives with a scream.

THE CRUELLEST MONTH is the third in Louise Penny's series featuring Chief Inspector Armande Gamache of the Quebec Surete. In his own words he is a prideful, stubborn and arrogant man, with enemies among the highest in the police service. He is known as a whistle blower in a matter that has not yet run its course, and even in his own team there are spies and traitors. Gamache's need to help people often borders on the self-destructive and his inability to abandon a soul in need carries the seeds of his own downfall.

When the death at the seance turns out to be murder Gamache and his team descend once again on Three Pines, renewing acquaintance and friendship with the villagers. But even among friends motives for murder exist, and the investigation is played out against real threats to Gamache's own career, his family and his very existence.

For her first novel STILL LIFE Louise Penny was the recipient of the CWA New Blood Dagger, and the CWC Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel. Her second novel was DEAD COLD aka A FATAL GRACE. Readers new to her novels would probably do best to read them in order, to allow the characters of Gamache and his team, and those of the residents in the village of Three Pines to develop.

The Three Pines series are sometimes labelled cozies, but really there is little that is cozy about this village except perhaps its name originally signifying safety to United Empire Loyalists over 200 years before. Under its calm exterior lie tensions between strong, even quirky, characters.

My rating: 4.8

Louise Penny's website: http://www.louisepenny.com
From the website you can access her blog and its almost daily posts.

My earlier mini-reviews

STILL LIFE: my rating 4.6
Louise Penny's first novel was runner up in the Crime Writers' Association's Debut Dagger Award in 2004, in manuscript form.
In the early morning of Thanksgiving Sunday, 76 year old Jane Neal is found dead in the woods of the small Canadian village of Three Pines. She has been shot through the heart by a hunter's arrow - was it an accident or is it murder? There are many secrets in this village and this case gets a distinguished detective from Surete du Quebec, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. Jane had recently entered a revealing village 'portrait' into the village art competition. Her great friend Timmer Hadley had also recently died. Were the events connected? Most enjoyable, but not for the impatient, one-more-title-to-add-to my-list, reader. Be prepared to spend some time sifting the clues.

DEAD COLD: my rating 5.0
#2 in the Armand Gamache series. In the little Canadian village of Three Pines another death has occurred. A female spectator, the hated CC de Poitiers, has been electrocuted while out on the ice watching the annual Boxing Day curling match. This has to be murder but no-one saw anything. Coincidentally the victim has been living in the house that was the centre of the last murder in Three Pines, Gamache's case a year ago, the focus of Penny's debut novel STILL LIFE. Gamache renews old acquaintances in the village and we learn more about him. Do read these books in order if you can.

My other reviews:
4.9, A RULE AGAINST MURDER
4.9, THE BRUTAL TELLING
5.0, BURY YOUR DEAD 

Review: BURY YOUR DEAD, Louise Penny

Published: Minotaur Books, New York, 2010
ISBN 978-0-312-37704-552499
371 pages
Source: Local Library

Publisher's Blurb:
As Quebec City shivers in the grip of winter, its ancient stone walls cracking in the cold, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache plunges into the most unusual case of his celebrated career. A man has been brutally murdered in one of the city's oldest buildings - a library where the English citizens of Quebec safeguard their history. And the death opens a door into the past, exposing a mystery that has lain dormant for centuries...a mystery Gamache must solve if he's to apprehend a present-day killer.

My take:
Those who say this is a "must read" are not wrong. And neither are those who say this is Louise Penny's best novel so far aren't either.
But you do need to read this series in order! And in particular you must read THE BRUTAL TELLING  before you read BURY YOUR DEAD.

Inspector Armand Gamache is recovering from an event that happened since THE BRUTAL TELLING but I'll let you find out from what for yourself. But let me tell you that in BURY YOUR DEAD he solves no less than three mysteries.  And I learnt so much about Quebec's history! We learn too that Armand Gamache is not always right, and that he knows how to say sorry.
The whole book is such good reading. There is more than the police procedural and the writing is wonderful.

My rating: 5.0 and with that it slides to the top of my best reads so far this year.

1. Still Life (2005)
2. Dead Cold (2006)  aka A Fatal Grace
3. The Cruellest Month (2007)
4. The Murder Stone (2008) aka A Rule Against Murder
5. The Brutal Telling (2009)
6. Bury Your Dead (2010)


THE BRUTAL TELLING was the winner of the Agatha Award for best novel of 2009. and I'll be very surprised if BURY YOUR DEAD does not capture a whole swag of nominations.
BookPage, in the US, named BURY YOUR DEAD their Mystery of the Month for October 2010
Check Louise Penny's Reviews page.

Other titles I've reviewed
4.8, THE CRUELLEST MONTH
4.9, A RULE AGAINST MURDER

Louise Penny's website.

I'm "counting" this novel in the Canadian Book Challenge 2010-2011

Review: THE BRUTAL TELLING, Louise Penny

Published by Headline 2009, 2010 (paperback)
ISBN 978-0-7553-4105-4
460 pages
Source: Local Library

Publisher's blurb

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 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.

My take:

The discovery of the body of an apparent outsider dead on the floor of the bistro in Three Pines, murdered, appears to signal the end of life in the little Canadian hamlet as its residents know it.

But even before the murder, change has been on the way. The old Hadlee house, featured in an earlier novel, has been sold and is being re-born as an exclusive guest house. It's new owners are ambitious and unlikely to let anything stand in their way. 

And why won't Olivier tell Inspector Gamache that he knew the murdered man?

Many of the residents living in Three Pines have come to escape from their old world and achieve a lifestyle change. But in a murder investigation secrets are the first thing to be uncovered. It just amazed me that some of it hadn't come out in earlier investigations. THE BRUTAL TELLING is after all #5 in the series.

This is a great read. There was a lot more that I was going to include in this review: how Gamache adds another member to his team, how we learn so much more about Gamache and his methods, the humorous images of Rosa the duck dressed in baby clothes to keep her warm, the development of the characters of the other members of Gamache's team, and how cleverly the threads of the mystery that surround the murder are woven. But really, I can't do better than to urge you to get hold of a copy of THE BRUTAL TELLING and see for yourself.
The writing is superb.
But I would really urge you to read the books in the series in order. That way you'll appreciate how Louise Penny has developed the setting and the characters who interact within it.
For myself, I have the next waiting on my shelves!

My rating: 4.9

THE BRUTAL TELLING was the winner of the Agatha Award for best novel of 2009.

1. Still Life (2005)
2. Dead Cold (2006)  aka A Fatal Grace
3. The Cruellest Month (2007)
4. The Murder Stone (2008) aka A Rule Against Murder
5. The Brutal Telling (2009)
6. Bury Your Dead (2010)

Other titles I've reviewed
4.8, THE CRUELLEST MONTH
4.9, A RULE AGAINST MURDER

Louise Penny's website.

I'm "counting" this novel in the Canadian Book Challenge 2010-2011

On a humorous note: Just recently I added Gotland to my list of places, fictional and otherwise, to avoid. 
 I think that list (Midsomer, St. Mary Mead, Gotland) should be expanded to include Three Pines don't you?

Review: A RULE AGAINST MURDER, Louise Penny

Alternative title: THE MURDER STONE
Published 2008, Minotaur Books
#4 in the Inspector Armand Gamache series
322 pages
ISBN 978-0-312-37702-1

Publisher's blurb (from Louise Penny's site)
Wealthy, cultured and respectable, the Finney family is the epitome of gentility. When Irene Finney and her four grown-up children arrive at the Manoir Bellechasse in the heat of summer, the hotel's staff spring into action. For the children have come to this idyllic lakeside retreat for a special occasion - a memorial has been organised to pay tribute to their late father. But as the heat wave gathers strength, it is not just the statue of an old man that is unveiled. Old secrets and bitter rivalries begin to surface, and the morning after the ceremony, a body is found. The family has another member to mourn.

A guest at the hotel, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache suddenly finds himself in the middle of a murder enquiry. The hotel is full of possible suspects - even the Manoir's staff have something to hide, and it's clear that the victim had many enemies. With its remote location, the lodge is a place where visitors come to escape their pasts. Until the past catches up with them...


This is another fine offering from Louise Penny. (see my review of THE CRUELLEST MONTH which I rated at 4.8)

I've written before about detectives whom I enjoy renewing acquaintance with - Reg Wexford, Guido Brunetti, Precious Ramotswe, and just recently I added Bennie Griessel and Kubu Bengu to that list - well, Armand Gamache is one of those. I also enjoyed the opportunity to learn more about his personal life, and to strike up a better acquaintance with his wife, Reine-Marie.
One of the things that I like about Armand is his strength of character. There's a touch of humour in A RULE AGAINST MURDER when some of the Finney family write him off as a shopkeeper, well below their social status. Most of them are very surprised to find out his true identity.
He reminds me a lot of Maigret, and I'm not sure whether that is not his "Frenchness" coming out.

The plot of A RULE AGAINST MURDER is beautifully constructed, and apart from Gamache himself there are some very interesting characters such as the chef Veronique, the child Bean, and the owner of Manoir Bellechasse, Madame Dubois. There's something a little cozy about the construction, something Poirot-ish about Gamache too. In many senses it is a locked room mystery - someone in the house party must have committed the murder.

The other aspect of the book that struck me is how it builds on our knowledge of the characters from the village of Three Pines whom we may have met in earlier books. Even if you haven't read any of the earlier books, do get this one.
And here is some information to make you find the earlier ones:

• Agatha Award  Best Novel winner (2007)  : Dead Cold
• Barry Awards First Novel winner (2007) : Still Life
• Anthony Awards First Novel winner (2007) : Still Life
• Agatha Award Best Novel winner (2008) : The Cruellest Month

My rating: 4.9
Read the Prologue and Chapter One online at Amazon
At the moment Amazon is selling the hardback at an amazing $US3.78!

Other reviews to check:

• Lesa's Book Critiques
• Books to the Ceiling
• Ms Bookish

The list courtesy of Fantastic Fiction:
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache
1. Still Life (2005)
2. Dead Cold (2006)  aka A Fatal Grace
3. The Cruellest Month (2007)
4. The Murder Stone (2008) aka A Rule Against Murder
5. The Brutal Telling (2009)
6. Bury Your Dead (2010)

My earlier mini-reviews

STILL LIFE: my rating 4.6
Louise Penny's first novel was runner up in the Crime Writers' Association's Debut Dagger Award in 2004, in manuscript form.
In the early morning of Thanksgiving Sunday, 76 year old Jane Neal is found dead in the woods of the small Canadian village of Three Pines. She has been shot through the heart by a hunter's arrow - was it an accident or is it murder? There are many secrets in this village and this case gets a distinguished detective from Surete du Quebec, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. Jane had recently entered a revealing village 'portrait' into the village art competition. Her great friend Timmer Hadley had also recently died. Were the events connected? Most enjoyable, but not for the impatient, one-more-title-to-add-to my-list, reader. Be prepared to spend some time sifting the clues.

DEAD COLD: my rating 5.0
#2 in the Armand Gamache series. In the little Canadian village of Three Pines another death has occurred. A female spectator, the hated CC de Poitiers, has been electrocuted while out on the ice watching the annual Boxing Day curling match. This has to be murder but no-one saw anything. Coincidentally the victim has been living in the house that was the centre of the last murder in Three Pines, Gamache's case a year ago, the focus of Penny's debut novel STILL LIFE. Gamache renews old acquaintances in the village and we learn more about him. Do read these books in order if you can.

And the winner is...

I've been running a competition over the last few days for a copy of ===>

The winner is Dorte - drawn randomly by reliable hubby!

Here are the questions and the answers:

1. What is the name of the village in which Louise Penny sets her series featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache?
   Three Pines
   
2. What festive season is THE CRUELLEST MONTH set in?
   Easter
   
3. Which of her books did Louise Penny win the John Creasey New Blood Dagger with?
   STILL LIFE
   
4. Name 2 other awards this particular book won (the book in Q3 that is)
   The Arthur Ellis Award and the Dilys Award
   
5. Two of Penny's books have had different titles for US and Canadian publications. Give both titles of one of them.
   A RULE AGAINST MURDER (US)/ THE MURDER STONE (CANADA)
   A FATAL GRACE (US)/ DEAD COLD (CANADA)
   
6. What is the name of the house where the seance was held in THE CRUELLEST MONTH?
   The Hadley House
   
7. What rating did I give THE CRUELLEST MONTH?
   4.8 - see my review
   
8. When Louise Penny has her birthday this year, how old will she be?
   51 - a mere spring chicken!
   
9. UND DIE FURCHT GEBIERT DEN ZORN is the title of the German publication of which Canadian title?
   DEAD COLD
   
10. In DEAD COLD a spectator is killed while watching a sports match. What was the sport, and how was the person killed?
    Curling, the person was electrocuted.
    

Thank you to Kaye, Dorte and Pierre for entering.

I am aiming to make this a regular feature of my blog but probably on a fortnightly basis, so watch out after Easter