meghb 's review for:

The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny

5.0

adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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This is my favourite one so far, and it ends on somewhat of a cliffhanger. Each one of these books makes me want to go to Three Pines. The writing is so engaging, and so effortlessly Canadian. I love the attention to detail (the characters really seem to love cashews) and the depth each of the characters, even the animals, are given. Two non-spoilery quotes I love that just add so much depth but aren’t relevant to the main plot are “His mother was staring at him as though he’d peed in the Chateau Frontenac dining room. He knew that look from when he was a boy and peed in the Chateau Frontenac dining room.”
And “Not once had Beauvoir kicked him, whipped him, or punched him. In Chester’s lifetime, Beauvoir was by far the gentlest and kindest of riders.”  These little bits of humour and affection which pepper Louise Penny’s books bring me even deeper into the story and make me see the characters more richly. 
I absolutely cannot wait to read the next in the series.