The Cruelest Month
Ratings41
Average rating4.1
15
Ratings41
Average rating4.1
Starred Review. Chief Insp. Armand Gamache and his team investigate another bizarre crime in the tiny Québec village of Three Pines in Penny's expertly plotted third cozy (after 2007's A Fatal Grace). As the townspeople gather in the abandoned and perhaps haunted Hadley house for a séance with a visiting psychic, Madeleine Favreau collapses, apparently dead of fright. No one has a harsh word to say about Madeleine, but Gamache knows there's more to the case than meets the eye. Complicating his inquiry are the repercussions of Gamache having accused his popular superior at the Sûreté du Québec of heinous crimes in a previous case. Fearing there might be a mole on his team, Gamache works not only to solve the murder but to clear his name. Arthur Ellis Award–winner Penny paints a vivid picture of the French-Canadian village, its inhabitants and a determined detective who will strike many Agatha Christie fans as a 21st-century version of Hercule Poirot.
Featured Series
16 primary books17 released booksChief Inspector Armand Gamache is a 17-book series with 16 primary works first released in 2005 with contributions by Louise Penny and Ralph Cosham.
Reviews with the most likes.
Things I love about this series, which became clear to me while reading this book:
1. Cozy mystery: none of that torture-porn bullshit that passes for mystery books these days
2. Solvable mystery: the clues are there, but so are the red herrings, so watch out!
3. Food porn: the food and drinks are described in such lush detail that it makes me swoon
4. Fantasy village: this place is like catnip to people like me
There are really three plot lines in this novel, continuing on from the previous two novels, and I think that the two minor ones are almost as compelling as the main plot. As they say in the Strange Planet comic, “The being is fictional, my anger is real.”
These books are so weird and I'm almost hate reading them, but I have #4 on my bedside table ...
Three Pines is just so fun to visit. And this time there was so much else to settle. I was tempted to give up on the whole series because I thought it was going to continue. But it was settled and I can continue reading. I am so glad that the drama isn't continuing. We can just get back to solving mysteries.
