Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Reading these stories is like visiting family you haven’t seen in a while. You wonder how they are, want to hear their stories, and bask in their love. This story was a little slow, but seeing another part of Ruth made it all with while.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Stellar. One of my favorite in the series. Louise Penny is the GOAT.
I love Louise Penny and Three Pines, so I always look forward to the next installment in the series. They're a little hit and miss when it comes to plot, but I love the characters so much I don't care. This time, the book didn't work for me at all:(
It's a combination of several things: the grand plot is too impersonal, too vague; the murder mystery is uninteresting, and the characters seemed reduced to one recognizable trait. The back-and-forth between past and present also made for a disjointed reading experience that kept pulling me out of the story instead of making me want to read on to see what happened next.
The overall plot about fighting the drug cartels is simply too big. While the investigators++ are carefully shown to have some personal reason for wanting to get involved, their reasons are because of things in the past; there isn't really anything on stake for them in the here and now except fighting for the greater good and so on. A battle against an unnamed, unknown villain on behalf of thousands of unnamed, unknown victims is really hard to care about. No matter how many times I am told that x many people will become addicts/die/lose someone they love, I don't really believe it until I have some specific faces/names to worry about. This is why journalists/charities use names/age/pictures of victims, after all, instead of just numbers. We need to feel that we know the people in danger for the story to get under our skin.
The murder mystery seems unconnected to the grand plot, even though we of course know it's there for a reason. In truth, it seems unconnected to everything. Because Three Pines is so small, it is necessary to introduce new characters every book, or else Clara, Ruth & Co. have to murder each other until there's no one left (Three Pines: Judgment Day). I know this, and it's been done before, several times. This time, there are too many new characters, and they're hard to care about. We don't get inside their heads or see much of what they're up to, and even though they've got faces and names, I still feel they're as vague as the cartel overlords.
The residents of Three Pines don't get much play time, and when they're there, they do what they always do and not much else. Ruth swears, Clara paints paintings nobody understands, and - I don't even know what the rest are doing. Same as always, I suppose. I don't really remember, and it's been a day since I finished the book.
I really, really didn't want to complain about this book, because I love the series so much. I just couldn't give it two stars and run; I felt as though I had to explain myself. And when you're very disappointed, it's extra tempting to list everything you're unsatisfied with.
Three Pines is a small setting, and the books have always worked best when they've stayed with a few characters and not gone completely overboard with plots involving super villains/tons of people. Gamache's fight against corruption and persecution in the Sûreté was interesting and nerve-wracking to follow, but this was because we already cared so deeply about him and the people around him. It's hard to follow up a story like that, because when you've already gone this big, how can you return to closed, personal murders like the earlier ones? I don't know, but I think that is what I would prefer.
I loved the Cobrador, though.
It's a combination of several things: the grand plot is too impersonal, too vague; the murder mystery is uninteresting, and the characters seemed reduced to one recognizable trait. The back-and-forth between past and present also made for a disjointed reading experience that kept pulling me out of the story instead of making me want to read on to see what happened next.
The overall plot about fighting the drug cartels is simply too big. While the investigators++ are carefully shown to have some personal reason for wanting to get involved, their reasons are because of things in the past; there isn't really anything on stake for them in the here and now except fighting for the greater good and so on. A battle against an unnamed, unknown villain on behalf of thousands of unnamed, unknown victims is really hard to care about. No matter how many times I am told that x many people will become addicts/die/lose someone they love, I don't really believe it until I have some specific faces/names to worry about. This is why journalists/charities use names/age/pictures of victims, after all, instead of just numbers. We need to feel that we know the people in danger for the story to get under our skin.
The murder mystery seems unconnected to the grand plot, even though we of course know it's there for a reason. In truth, it seems unconnected to everything. Because Three Pines is so small, it is necessary to introduce new characters every book, or else Clara, Ruth & Co. have to murder each other until there's no one left (Three Pines: Judgment Day). I know this, and it's been done before, several times. This time, there are too many new characters, and they're hard to care about. We don't get inside their heads or see much of what they're up to, and even though they've got faces and names, I still feel they're as vague as the cartel overlords.
The residents of Three Pines don't get much play time, and when they're there, they do what they always do and not much else. Ruth swears, Clara paints paintings nobody understands, and - I don't even know what the rest are doing. Same as always, I suppose. I don't really remember, and it's been a day since I finished the book.
I really, really didn't want to complain about this book, because I love the series so much. I just couldn't give it two stars and run; I felt as though I had to explain myself. And when you're very disappointed, it's extra tempting to list everything you're unsatisfied with.
Three Pines is a small setting, and the books have always worked best when they've stayed with a few characters and not gone completely overboard with plots involving super villains/tons of people. Gamache's fight against corruption and persecution in the Sûreté was interesting and nerve-wracking to follow, but this was because we already cared so deeply about him and the people around him. It's hard to follow up a story like that, because when you've already gone this big, how can you return to closed, personal murders like the earlier ones? I don't know, but I think that is what I would prefer.
I loved the Cobrador, though.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Louise Penny did it again.
“We see it when bullies are in charge. It becomes part of the culture of an institution, a family, an ethnic group, a country. It becomes not just acceptable, but expected. Applauded even.”
― Louise Penny, Glass Houses
“We see it when bullies are in charge. It becomes part of the culture of an institution, a family, an ethnic group, a country. It becomes not just acceptable, but expected. Applauded even.”
― Louise Penny, Glass Houses