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Book Review of The Cruelest Month (Chief Inspector Gamache, Bk 3)

The Cruelest Month (Chief Inspector Gamache, Bk 3)
perryfran avatar reviewed on + 1221 more book reviews


I read the first book in this series Still Life a few months ago and quite enjoyed it. This is the third in the series and it too was a satisfying mystery in the Agatha Christie vein. In this one, Inspector Gamache is called to Three Pines to investigate the death of a woman who may have been scared to death during a seance at the old Hadley house. This house also had a prominent role in Still Life and seems to be a specter on this Canadian community which is way off the beaten path. The woman who died turns out to be a murder victim. She had moved in with an old school friend after battling cancer and seemed to be loved by everyone in the village. So why would someone want to kill her and what could the motive be? There are a lot of red herrings that Gamache must wade through to get to the truth. Gamache is also at battle with enemies at the police force who feel that he overstepped his bounds in pursuing and getting rid of a corrupt policeman several years before. But is that the real reason someone at the force is trying to discredit him?

This novel included many of the characters from the first novel and we get to know them better as the story progresses. Many of them have their own secrets, insecurities, and jealousies and I'm sure future novels in the series will delve more into them and I'll be looking forward to reading them!