The Cruelest Month

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.”

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.

Short Review: The Cruelest Month: A Chief Inspector Gamache #3 by Louise Penny - the series really takes off with this third book. I enjoyed the first two, but didn't really grab me. This third book, although it was a slow start and the murder occurs during a seance (which doesn't excite me), really picks up. The part that picks up is that we finally start getting back story and these fairly cardboard characters get fleshed out and become real, especially Gamache.

In the end everything gets mostly wrapped up, but the solving the murder literally gets interrupted by an old case of Gamache's that is far more interesting than the current murder in the book. I am a bit over half way through book 4 and I enjoy it even more than the third one, which I really like.

Click through for the full review - http://bookwi.se/cruelest-month/