Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
At this point I'm hooked on the series. This wasn't as compelling a mystery of some of the others, but I love the escape into this fictional village outside Quebec and the smattering of poetry and French the author peppers throughout her books. On to the next one!
I listened to the audiobook version. I thoroughly enjoyed this book—it was set away from Gamache’s beloved Three Pines which made for a nice twist. We learn more about Gamache in this book than before and it gives him a richer character.
Another great crime story by Louise Penny. It's the second one I read, and I do find they work very well as standalones, but I think I would like to read the full stories of the characters now. The first of the books I read, the Madness of Crowds, is much further on in the series than this one, only at number 4, and it would seem there needs to be a few house moves and divorces to get some of the characters to where they need to be for the later books. How did all that happen? I am curious...
So, it's a tale of French Canada, and Armand Gamache is going on an anniversary holiday with his wife to a pretty log mansion at the head of a lake in the forests. It's hot. There's a storm coming, and murder's on the way. Unfortunately for him a truely awful, privileged, rich, arrogant, unfeeling, vindictive... can I think of any more adjectives!... family is also turning up for a reunion. And they have axes to grind. There are some true characters you can love to hate in this family of Morrows. I think one of the worst has to be the youngest daughter Mariana, who, in order to annoy her mother, calls her child Bean, and refuses to let anyone in the family know what gender Bean is. During the book she muses that Bean isn't an annoying enough name and considers renaming her child syphillis to annoy her mother even more. Just to give an idea of how awful these people are.
The murder itself is a curiosity as the victim is crushed by a massive statue, impossible to move. Who? How? Why? I have to admit I enjoyed losing myself in the plot and had no idea who had done it or why, although (slightly smug) I did get pretty close to figuring out how it was done before all was revealed.
Really loving this series.
So, it's a tale of French Canada, and Armand Gamache is going on an anniversary holiday with his wife to a pretty log mansion at the head of a lake in the forests. It's hot. There's a storm coming, and murder's on the way. Unfortunately for him a truely awful, privileged, rich, arrogant, unfeeling, vindictive... can I think of any more adjectives!... family is also turning up for a reunion. And they have axes to grind. There are some true characters you can love to hate in this family of Morrows. I think one of the worst has to be the youngest daughter Mariana, who, in order to annoy her mother, calls her child Bean, and refuses to let anyone in the family know what gender Bean is. During the book she muses that Bean isn't an annoying enough name and considers renaming her child syphillis to annoy her mother even more. Just to give an idea of how awful these people are.
The murder itself is a curiosity as the victim is crushed by a massive statue, impossible to move. Who? How? Why? I have to admit I enjoyed losing myself in the plot and had no idea who had done it or why, although (slightly smug) I did get pretty close to figuring out how it was done before all was revealed.
Really loving this series.
This is my 5th book in this series (I read #9 out of order), and I am really enjoying it even though I am not typically a fan or reading books in a series. I often read the first one and figure I have the gist of it. Besides, life is too short and I have so many books to read. However, I find myself wanting to go back to Three Pines and hear about the next tragedy to befall this Canadian town. Plus, listening to Ralph Cosham read the audio makes the mystery of these books even more enthralling. Of course, part of the motivation for reading them now is the fact that a new television series is coming out, and I want to have them read (or most of them) before I let myself watch that.
In this book, the chief and his wife are celebrating their honeymoon, so it is not at the usual township. Yet, murder is sure to follow them there. After all, this is a murder mystery series, so death is bound to occur. It was sort of fun to experience a new location, although I missed the usual bookstore, pub, and cast of characters. Fortunately, a couple of them end up making an appearance in this one too, while several are still referred to.
I am eager to read the 5th in the series, which I actually have a copy of at home, but I may need to still get the audio and hear my favorite narrator tell the story to me. If not, I will have it in my head while reading.
In this book, the chief and his wife are celebrating their honeymoon, so it is not at the usual township. Yet, murder is sure to follow them there. After all, this is a murder mystery series, so death is bound to occur. It was sort of fun to experience a new location, although I missed the usual bookstore, pub, and cast of characters. Fortunately, a couple of them end up making an appearance in this one too, while several are still referred to.
I am eager to read the 5th in the series, which I actually have a copy of at home, but I may need to still get the audio and hear my favorite narrator tell the story to me. If not, I will have it in my head while reading.
As always a good detective novel from Louise Penny, though it does contain one of the weirdest M.O.'s.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Oh, I really enjoyed this one. The mystery was complicated and I didn’t figure it out. The stories were great and just added more to the characters we know. An A+.