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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
An unexpected connection between Three Pines and the Inspector make this an interesting read.
My least favorite of the Gamache books so far. Loved the backstory of Armand's father, though!
I always enjoy the Inspector Gamache books but really, how many murders can happen around Three Pines involving the same people? I hope the next book mixes it up a bit.
Wow. This one was really good and I was happy to see the setting of the book takes place in a former Robber Baron home that is turned into an inn. Our favorite Chief Inspector is celebrating his anniversary with his wife Reine-Marie at an inn they have stayed at every year of their lives together. While there, they meet old friends from Three Pines (Clara and Peter Marrow) and unfortunately murder finds them again. I loved the ins and outs of this case even though it did not take place in Three Pines. I am glad I read this book and the next few others back to back since I got a very good rhythm with all of the characters introduced so far. Can I also say that it was great to not have Armand Gamache dealing with a police conspiracy? We do get into his family's backstory which was nice though.
"A Rule Against Murder" has Armand and his lovely wife Reine-Marie staying at Manoir Bellechasse. It is an inn near Three Pines (don't even ask, I still don't get how far apart they are based on the book description) which for once is not dealing with a dead body. While the Gamache's are staying there, we have Armand reflecting on his father's past as well as his own. The Gamache's arrival at the manoir coincides with a family reunion that has ties to Peter and Clara Marrow. When a murder takes place (by the way, the way this murder happens was a bit much for me, still gave the book five stars though) Armand and his team are quickly on the scene and have to get up close and personal in not only Peter and Clara Marrow's lives, but everyone they come across.
We get more information on Armand and Reine-Marie's lives together and we hear about Armand's father. I loved that each book reveals itself to us about his background. I don't know if I would have liked all of this information dumped on us in just book #1. It definitely keeps the reader invested though since you want to keep reading about what is going to happen next.
I also loved that we get more information about Peter's background in this one. We had hints here and there in books #1-3, but we really get to see who he is in this one. The crazy part is, Armand has known who Peter is for a long time, and I think he keeps hoping that Peter can change from a man being eaten alive by jealously that his wife is a better artist than he is. Based on the next few books, it's not looking likely though.
We get some other characters in this one that I don't want to reveal since it will spoil who the murder victim was and I like to leave that open for other readers in the series. Let's just say that the family reunion we are witness too makes the Wynant family in "The Thin Man" series look like the Waltons. And that's saying something. I don't know if I agree with the underlying premise though that the children in the family were loved. They were some warped human beings.
The writing was very good in this. Louise Penny always does a great job of describing people and places. And I love reading her food descriptions. The flow in this one was much better than the other books too. Everything felt properly laid out. That said, still the way the murder is later explained and how the murderer did I am giving side eye to. I don't buy it. And I spent way too much time Googling stuff on the internet after finishing. Once again, don't want to get into it since I would be spoiling events from the book.
It was nice to get away from Three Pines in this one. I do miss the village and the people there and was glad to see we return to them in the next book which I found to be a heartbreaker.
"A Rule Against Murder" has Armand and his lovely wife Reine-Marie staying at Manoir Bellechasse. It is an inn near Three Pines (don't even ask, I still don't get how far apart they are based on the book description) which for once is not dealing with a dead body. While the Gamache's are staying there, we have Armand reflecting on his father's past as well as his own. The Gamache's arrival at the manoir coincides with a family reunion that has ties to Peter and Clara Marrow. When a murder takes place (by the way, the way this murder happens was a bit much for me, still gave the book five stars though) Armand and his team are quickly on the scene and have to get up close and personal in not only Peter and Clara Marrow's lives, but everyone they come across.
We get more information on Armand and Reine-Marie's lives together and we hear about Armand's father. I loved that each book reveals itself to us about his background. I don't know if I would have liked all of this information dumped on us in just book #1. It definitely keeps the reader invested though since you want to keep reading about what is going to happen next.
I also loved that we get more information about Peter's background in this one. We had hints here and there in books #1-3, but we really get to see who he is in this one. The crazy part is, Armand has known who Peter is for a long time, and I think he keeps hoping that Peter can change from a man being eaten alive by jealously that his wife is a better artist than he is. Based on the next few books, it's not looking likely though.
We get some other characters in this one that I don't want to reveal since it will spoil who the murder victim was and I like to leave that open for other readers in the series. Let's just say that the family reunion we are witness too makes the Wynant family in "The Thin Man" series look like the Waltons. And that's saying something. I don't know if I agree with the underlying premise though that the children in the family were loved. They were some warped human beings.
The writing was very good in this. Louise Penny always does a great job of describing people and places. And I love reading her food descriptions. The flow in this one was much better than the other books too. Everything felt properly laid out. That said, still the way the murder is later explained and how the murderer did I am giving side eye to. I don't buy it. And I spent way too much time Googling stuff on the internet after finishing. Once again, don't want to get into it since I would be spoiling events from the book.
It was nice to get away from Three Pines in this one. I do miss the village and the people there and was glad to see we return to them in the next book which I found to be a heartbreaker.
Intricate plotting and painfully well-written characters, but tormented.
Читаю цю серію вже тільки із-за персонажів)
Мені було цікаво, хто вбивця.
Від кількості поезії в цій серії… ем, ну я не в захваті, тому пропускаю ці моменти.
Спосіб вбивства якийсь ну взагалі нереалістичний.
Але тема дитячих травм і який вони несуть слід на все життя, розкрита була непогано. Правда я не впевнена, чи знову ж таки, це не перебільшення. Але повірити в те, що можуть бути цілі сім’ї, котрі не вміють розмовляти про свої почуття - вірю.
Мені було цікаво, хто вбивця.
Від кількості поезії в цій серії… ем, ну я не в захваті, тому пропускаю ці моменти.
Спосіб вбивства якийсь ну взагалі нереалістичний.
Але тема дитячих травм і який вони несуть слід на все життя, розкрита була непогано. Правда я не впевнена, чи знову ж таки, це не перебільшення. Але повірити в те, що можуть бути цілі сім’ї, котрі не вміють розмовляти про свої почуття - вірю.
I liked this better than the earlier Gamache books I’ve read. Faster-paced though again, the murder doesn’t happen until something like 80 pages in.
What happened: the statue fell on Julia (one of the adult Marrow) because there was sugar placed on its base before the statue was put atop it. That made the statue easy to move. She was killed because her husband (in jail for a Ponzi scheme) defrauded the maitre d’s father some 20 years earlier. The father went broke then worked himself to death. When the maitre d’ sees Julia, he can’t stand her and her family’s wealth and murders her.
What happened: the statue fell on Julia (one of the adult Marrow) because there was sugar placed on its base before the statue was put atop it. That made the statue easy to move. She was killed because her husband (in jail for a Ponzi scheme) defrauded the maitre d’s father some 20 years earlier. The father went broke then worked himself to death. When the maitre d’ sees Julia, he can’t stand her and her family’s wealth and murders her.
Maybe the best one yet! The "how" of this murder perplexes the team and challenges even Gamache. Gamache is forced to deal with his vertigo--and his father's history, who was a conscientious objector in WWII. He was later with the Red Cross when Bergen Belsen was freed, and the horrors he witnessed there made him change his mind. He spent the rest of his life aiding those who'd been victims.
The author has taken to presenting the afterwards as prologues. Here, she provides a brief list for further reading, of poetry. She quotes some famous poems and some not so famous, here, but all are memorable. There's one called "High Flight" that Ronald Reagan read to the nation after the Challenger disaster. And one my mother used to recite from memory to all the neighborhood kids at Halloween (I was so delighted to see it): Robert Service's "The Cremation of Sam McGee."
Again, central themes include family--and forgiveness. But there's also wonderful humor here, especially provided by Gamache's sidekick, Jean Guy Beauvoir, who considers himself to be worldly but responds like a 6th grader to a book about bees! He simply cannot stop quoting it and saying things like, "Did you know this about bees? How amazing!" Gamache calls them Beauvoir's "bee bulletins."
You know you've read a great novel when your notes comprise fully half the book or more, and Amazon tells you it's too much to save.
The author has taken to presenting the afterwards as prologues. Here, she provides a brief list for further reading, of poetry. She quotes some famous poems and some not so famous, here, but all are memorable. There's one called "High Flight" that Ronald Reagan read to the nation after the Challenger disaster. And one my mother used to recite from memory to all the neighborhood kids at Halloween (I was so delighted to see it): Robert Service's "The Cremation of Sam McGee."
Again, central themes include family--and forgiveness. But there's also wonderful humor here, especially provided by Gamache's sidekick, Jean Guy Beauvoir, who considers himself to be worldly but responds like a 6th grader to a book about bees! He simply cannot stop quoting it and saying things like, "Did you know this about bees? How amazing!" Gamache calls them Beauvoir's "bee bulletins."
You know you've read a great novel when your notes comprise fully half the book or more, and Amazon tells you it's too much to save.
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Abandonment