Reviews - The Long Way Home

1.3k reviews for:

I listened to the audio version of this book. I was sad to hear about the death of Ralph Cosham, the voice of Armand Gamache. This is the first book of the series that I listened too. I read all the other books. I wanted to hear the French phrases pronounced correctly so I chose the audio version this time.

If I reviewed this book half way through, it would only have been 2 stars. This book didn't grab me and hold me to the page, the headphones like the others. It pestered me quietly and softly with little nudges here and there.

About 3/4ths of the way through, something happened and I fell in love with the book, this series, this author again. There is more to this book than meets the eye. It met my heart. The mystery is nothing. The characters are everything.

This book is a painting. Like the paintings in the book, you have to turn it around to see it in its proper perspective. This book is also a dance with a rhythm to the plot, the characters, the revealing of the answers.

I give this book 4.25 stars out of 5.

taralpittman's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

mutney44's review against another edition

5.0

She did it again... I just love this series! Once again, I have total book hangover because I love 'visiting' this village full of amazing characters.

rapunzelsrevenge's review against another edition

5.0

Louise Penny has no regard for my feelings, but that's okay--I still love her and this book.

maggierish's review against another edition

4.0

challenging emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

clairealex's review against another edition

5.0

This is the second one I have read, and both featured art. I wonder if that is true of all. If so, I will enjoy it.

This one was well paced and had the right amount of twists, false leads, and turns; however, I am not convinced the ending was inevitable or the best possible. One structural thing I found a little disconcerting was the extremely short segments before switching points of view.

One thing I have liked about the two I have read was that character development is as important as solving the mystery.

I will be reading more of the series. Back references are explained enough for those of us reading out of order, but I'd guess it would be more fun if you knew the back story. it will be a different kind of reading fun to read them, knowing what story follows.

January 2017
I am reading the series in order; yes, it is more fun reading this one and knowing the various back stories. I found the short segments less distracting than on first read, maybe because I knew the outcome so was less interested in knowing what happened and what was going to happen. I also found the ending more believable, maybe because I caught more of the details along the way.