Cheryl R. (Spuddie) - , reviewed on 3/31/2010 + 412 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

#4 Armand Gamache "Three Pines" mystery set in Quebec. Gamache and his wife of thirty-five years are staying at a secluded, exclusive resort in the forest, where they've spent each of their wedding anniversaries. Normally it's a time of relaxation and luxury for them, but this time they end up sharing the resort with the wealthy and snooty Finney family, who are holding their yearly family reunion a bit early. Gamache and his wife are surprised to learn that the youngest son, who arrives a day or two late, is their friend Peter Morrow from Three Pines.

Trouble is brewing within the strained confines of the family, and when Julia Martin, Peter's sister, is murdered--found crushed under a newly-erected statue of their father, Charlies Morrow--Gamache must consider his friend (and Peter's wife Clara as well) a suspect along with everyone else in the family. Gamache moves his crack homicide team in, and they begin digging into the lives of all the cruel and eccentric Finney/Morrows family members, as well as the resort staff.

I love this series more with each book I read. The whole package--the author's writing style, the wonderful characterizations, the whole Quebecois culture, and the mystery itself, which I didn't figure out til the reveal. I did recognize important clues when they came up for the most part, but my brain just couldn't put them all together to solve it. Very clever! I much look forward to the next in series, which I have here and was relieved to see another forthcoming after that. This series ranks among my current top ten favorites. VERY near the top!

Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details