Stephen Hayes reviewed The Cruellest Month by Louise Penny
None
4 stars
This is the second crime-mystery book by [a:Louise Penny|194243|Louise Penny|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1257567070p2/194243.jpg] that I have read, though it is the third in the series featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. The first one I read, [b:Dead Cold|9359546|The Sixth Gun, Vol. 1 Cold Dead Fingers|Cullen Bunn|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1296076106s/9359546.jpg|14243003], is the second in the series, and this one features many of the same characters in the same setting, the small village of Three Pines somewhere south of Montreal.
I'm beginning to feel that there is not much I can say about this book until I've read more of the series, and get a picture of where things are going. I'm beginning to wonder if Three Pines is about to rival Midsomer Worthy as the murder capital of the world, despite its small size, with Chief Inspector Armand Gamache trying to overtake Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby of the Midsomer Murders. Tom Barnaby's exploits are chronicled in books like …
This is the second crime-mystery book by [a:Louise Penny|194243|Louise Penny|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1257567070p2/194243.jpg] that I have read, though it is the third in the series featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. The first one I read, [b:Dead Cold|9359546|The Sixth Gun, Vol. 1 Cold Dead Fingers|Cullen Bunn|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1296076106s/9359546.jpg|14243003], is the second in the series, and this one features many of the same characters in the same setting, the small village of Three Pines somewhere south of Montreal.
I'm beginning to feel that there is not much I can say about this book until I've read more of the series, and get a picture of where things are going. I'm beginning to wonder if Three Pines is about to rival Midsomer Worthy as the murder capital of the world, despite its small size, with Chief Inspector Armand Gamache trying to overtake Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby of the Midsomer Murders. Tom Barnaby's exploits are chronicled in books like [b:Written in Blood|148375|Written In Blood (Chief Inspector Barnaby, #4)|Caroline Graham|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1223643848s/148375.jpg|143190] by [a:Caroline Graham|85848|Caroline Graham|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1271469117p2/85848.jpg].
The other reason for wanting to read more is that in the two books I have read there seems to be a metaplot that carries over from one book to the next. In addition to solving the case at hand, Chief Inspector Armand Gamashe has to watch his back because some of his colleagues are out to get him because of an earlier case.
In this book a group of people in Three Pines decide to hold a seance, and when it proves to be a bit of an anticlimax they decide to repeat the exercise in an abandoned house that is believed to be haunted. One of the members dies during the seance, apparently of fright, though it in the post mortem examination there are indications that it could be murder.
One of the interesting things about the book is that, like the novels of [a:Phil Rickman|182452|Phil Rickman|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1292252234p2/182452.jpg] there are hints of supernatural forces at work. Rickman started off writing horror stories that gradually moved towards becoming whodunits. [a:Louise Penny|194243|Louise Penny|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1257567070p2/194243.jpg]'s novels seem to have the same mix.
That's enough for now -- I'll need to read more to see where the series is going.