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A review by anngdaniels
The Long Way Home by Louise Penny
3.0
A number of reviewers have said they think this is the weakest of the Armand Gamache mystery series. I disagree: that honor goes to The Beautiful Mystery, but I did find this latest book a disappointment, especially after its immediate predecessor.
I feel as though the series is alternating now between good and not so good books, and that the weakest links are those books that take place outside of Three Pines, that focus on Peter Morrow, his family, his background, etc., or that deal with some specialized field. This book has all three weak points. As in The Beautiful Mystery, Penny seems to have become enraptured by an artistic theme to the detriment of the story, wandering down esoteric paths more or less irrelevant to the plot. As for the plot itself: I foresaw the major twist no more than halfway through the book. (The ending was still a surprise to me, though I can't decide whether it was daring or cowardly.)
Perhaps the biggest problem, though, is that retirement and marriage have made Gamache Beauvoir, respectively, somewhat dull. Without their personalities and their struggles, the book has no depth.
I feel as though the series is alternating now between good and not so good books, and that the weakest links are those books that take place outside of Three Pines, that focus on Peter Morrow, his family, his background, etc., or that deal with some specialized field. This book has all three weak points. As in The Beautiful Mystery, Penny seems to have become enraptured by an artistic theme to the detriment of the story, wandering down esoteric paths more or less irrelevant to the plot. As for the plot itself: I foresaw the major twist no more than halfway through the book. (The ending was still a surprise to me, though I can't decide whether it was daring or cowardly.)
Perhaps the biggest problem, though, is that retirement and marriage have made Gamache Beauvoir, respectively, somewhat dull. Without their personalities and their struggles, the book has no depth.