Frank H. (perryfran) reviewed on 6/28/2022 + 1178 more book reviews

Finally got back to another very compelling read in the Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny. I've slowly been reading these over the past few years. This one was probably one of the most compelling and satisfying in the series so far. It brings to a conclusion some of the troubles that had been following Gamache in several of the previous books involving the corruption of the head of the Sûreté du Québec, Chief Superintendent Francoeur, other police officials, and an even higher player in the Quebec government. Francoeur has decimated Gamache's department by spreading his loyal force out from under him and into other departments. Gamache's right-hand-man, Inspector Jean-Guy Beauvoir, has been placed under Francoeur, is still struggling with addiction, and feels he has been betrayed by Gamache. So can Gamache prevent Francoeur's plot to seize more power or will Francoeur get to him first? Meanwhile, Gamache has been called to the quaint village of Three Pines when a friend of Myrna's, the village bookshop owner, goes missing. The friend turns up murdered back in Montreal, but who could have killed a pleasant elderly woman and why? Turns out she was part of a very famous family who had national and even world-wide notoriety back in the 1930's (this family was modeled after a very real family from that time). As Gamache is struggling to solve her murder, Francoeur and his cronies have him in their sights...

I always enjoy returning to Three Pines with Gamache. This one had a lot of interplay with the village's quaint and sometimes eccentric citizens. This includes the poet Ruth and her pet duck; the gay inn owners, Olivier and Gabri; Myrna, the bookstore owner; and the artist Clara Morrow who is now estranged from her husband Peter. The atmosphere of Three Pines is always homey and something good is always cooking such as Coq au vin or some other mouth-watering dish. But there must be something in the air there, murders happen quite frequently. I'll be looking forward to continuing with this very enjoyable series.

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