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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Definitely the best one in the series yet. Loved the setting, loved the dynamics of the family.
I enjoyed this mystery. It has a fast pace, includes lots of information to keep the reader engaged and the characters have depth and many interesting traits. It takes place in the backwoods of Quebec and benefits from the culture of the area. I was particularly taken by the character of the kindly, but intelligent Inspector Gamanche. An enjoyable, light read.
A warning before the review: this novel is extremely omniscience point of view and you flow into the head of one character to another in a matter of a sentence or two. I know this bothers some people. If you dislike that pov, you can stop reading the review and the book right about now.
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his wife, Reine-Marie, are on vacation at the Manoir Bellechasse celebrating their anniversary and awaiting the birth of a grandchild in Paris. The most anxiety they should have had is that their son wants to name the baby Honore if it’s a boy and for some reason Gamache is against this. However, there is a family reunion going on at the Manoir for a wealthy, old blood family and it turns out that unbeknownst to the Gamaches one of their close friends is part of this family.
The Morrows are not particularly likeable. Thomas, the middle son is a jerk and his wife expects everyone to treat her like royalty. His mother is cold and distant, definitely of the belief that non-rich people are beneath her. She’s remarried to Mr. Finney who is at least halfway decent. Marianna Morrow is seriously messed up as the youngest child and she has a child of her own, Bean who she saddled with that name as revenge against her refined mother. She also has told no one what sex Bean is and the child is nearing puberty. Bean, naturally is weird. Julia Morrow just came off a married where her wealthy husband has been jailed for fraud and Peter, the eldest son and his wife, Clara are artists and friends of the Gamaches. One the servant side is the owner, a 6 foot female chef, Pierre, the butler and overseer and college aged staff including Colleen the gardener and Elliot the obnoxious waiter. There are more characters and you’ll be in all their heads.
Naturally one of the Morrows dies and Gamache calls in the rest of his team from the Surete, Isabelle Lacoste & Jean Guy Beauvoir. Slowly they pick through all the motives for the murder and how it was done. This is a family that obviously hates itself and so no one is lacking for a motive. For that matter the staff is both a little squirrelly and potentially too close to the Morrows as well, adding to the suspect pool.
Overall, it’s a good mystery. I believe this is book three or four in the series but the first I’ve read. I picked it up knowing very little about the French-Canadian police force so it sounded interesting. It’s a slow starter but I believe Ms Penny wanted the reader to really get a feel for the Morrows. Unfortunately, that meant I didn’t really care. They are so unpleasant that I’m not that sad one of them died but still it was interesting. However, I thought the final reveal of the killer at the end was…too out of nowhere is the nicest way to put it. It hinged literally on one remark and it felt flimsy when it all shook out. However, the real problem I had with this, wasn’t that or the meandering pov; it was Beauvoir.
I hated this character. He’s an absolute bigot. It doesn’t matter if a minority is spouting something racially insensitive, it’s still bigotry. He doesn’t like Anglos and thinks they’re all weird and rather contemptible. That’s prejudice, plain and simple and I don’t want to see that in one of the heroes of the story. He almost made me not want to read another book. I did, on the other hand, really like Gamache. He reminds me a little of some of Agatha Christie’s older detectives (and this series wins an Agatha award with nearly every book). I will probably give it another try. Hopefully Beauvoir will be less dislikable in the future. The good news is he’s a minor character.
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his wife, Reine-Marie, are on vacation at the Manoir Bellechasse celebrating their anniversary and awaiting the birth of a grandchild in Paris. The most anxiety they should have had is that their son wants to name the baby Honore if it’s a boy and for some reason Gamache is against this. However, there is a family reunion going on at the Manoir for a wealthy, old blood family and it turns out that unbeknownst to the Gamaches one of their close friends is part of this family.
The Morrows are not particularly likeable. Thomas, the middle son is a jerk and his wife expects everyone to treat her like royalty. His mother is cold and distant, definitely of the belief that non-rich people are beneath her. She’s remarried to Mr. Finney who is at least halfway decent. Marianna Morrow is seriously messed up as the youngest child and she has a child of her own, Bean who she saddled with that name as revenge against her refined mother. She also has told no one what sex Bean is and the child is nearing puberty. Bean, naturally is weird. Julia Morrow just came off a married where her wealthy husband has been jailed for fraud and Peter, the eldest son and his wife, Clara are artists and friends of the Gamaches. One the servant side is the owner, a 6 foot female chef, Pierre, the butler and overseer and college aged staff including Colleen the gardener and Elliot the obnoxious waiter. There are more characters and you’ll be in all their heads.
Naturally one of the Morrows dies and Gamache calls in the rest of his team from the Surete, Isabelle Lacoste & Jean Guy Beauvoir. Slowly they pick through all the motives for the murder and how it was done. This is a family that obviously hates itself and so no one is lacking for a motive. For that matter the staff is both a little squirrelly and potentially too close to the Morrows as well, adding to the suspect pool.
Overall, it’s a good mystery. I believe this is book three or four in the series but the first I’ve read. I picked it up knowing very little about the French-Canadian police force so it sounded interesting. It’s a slow starter but I believe Ms Penny wanted the reader to really get a feel for the Morrows. Unfortunately, that meant I didn’t really care. They are so unpleasant that I’m not that sad one of them died but still it was interesting. However, I thought the final reveal of the killer at the end was…too out of nowhere is the nicest way to put it. It hinged literally on one remark and it felt flimsy when it all shook out. However, the real problem I had with this, wasn’t that or the meandering pov; it was Beauvoir.
I hated this character. He’s an absolute bigot. It doesn’t matter if a minority is spouting something racially insensitive, it’s still bigotry. He doesn’t like Anglos and thinks they’re all weird and rather contemptible. That’s prejudice, plain and simple and I don’t want to see that in one of the heroes of the story. He almost made me not want to read another book. I did, on the other hand, really like Gamache. He reminds me a little of some of Agatha Christie’s older detectives (and this series wins an Agatha award with nearly every book). I will probably give it another try. Hopefully Beauvoir will be less dislikable in the future. The good news is he’s a minor character.
This is the 4th book in the Chief Inspector Gamache series. It is unusual for me to fall for a main character, but I really like Gamache and would love to meet someone like him in real life. He is depicted as wise, calm, well-educated, and humane. The series really helps you see Quebec and its French-speaking people. This story draws in briefly characters from previous books, but also stands alone well. The thing that Louise Penny does so well is present the many characters as multi-faceted people, with pasts/futures and hopes/failures, etc. The crime is clear yet never gruesome. No sex or violence. Excellent mystery series.
This one was def an improvement. This one had more intrigue, more complexity, and a confusing mystery that left me guessing.
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This one... made me hungry. I haven’t been certain of this series but as I’m getting to know the characters I’m enjoying them more and more. And yes, the food in the book was especially enticing. As was the setting. I guess it’s not a bad thing to balance a murder mystery with a great view.