- 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
Yes, the Agatha Christie Blog Carnival rolls on into 2015.
