A Rule Against Murder: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel

Gekauft für meine Freundin. Andere Bänder hat sie schon

When I read the first book in the Inspector Gamache series, I was baffled by it. It was slow and meandering, with the crime and the detection aspect almost feeling secondary to the narrative. This was despite the fact that it is a famous series in the crime fiction genre. I finished the book and even tried reading the second, but gave it up. Recently I came across an adaptation of a few books into a series and decided to watch it. And I quite enjoyed it. The location of the Three Pines village, its inhabitants, and most of all Gamache himself (played beautifully in the series by Alfred Molina) all captured my imagination. It was as if the series prepared the bedrock for my admittance into the series and after watching two books' adaptations, I decided I had to read the third. A Rule Against Murder carries everything that is the hallmark of these books (from what I have understood so far of the series) and even though it's not set in Three Pines, the village where people who want to find themselves come and stay, it carries the same warmth and the same beautiful descriptions of places and characters. There's a central mystery, of course, but the murder doesn't happen till the first hundred or so pages and even the investigation goes on for the next three-hundred odd pages. It would have been enough to put me off a book, but fortunately I enjoyed every page of the book and tbh, after a while, I didn't really care that much about who did it although of course I wanted to know it! Definitely recommended if you are a fan of long, slow-burn, meandering books with a mystery in the centre.

I am on a roll! This is number 4 in the series and this author cannot put a foot wrong for me. Armande and his lovely wife Rene-Marie are relaxing at the Mennoire Lodge hotel deep in the heart of the mountains where all is tranquil and calm. It's their anniversary so they are enjoying a little pampering and time together without the Surette breathing down their necks. The very strange and very rich family, The Morrows are also there having a family reunion but it's not the usual happy get together most families have. This family are hostile and distant to each other and mostly only meet up once a year in sufferance. They have arranged for a statue of their Father to be errected in the grounds of the hotel and it is under this statue, the very next day where Gamashe is called to view the dead body of one of their siblings. As the statue is enormous and far too heavy to shove off it's plinth, how did the murderer do this? Its a classic who-dun-it with a string of mad relatives and a quietly competant policeman but where most authors would end up with a cliched tale, this one doesn't. Louise Penny is a master at creating atmosphere and she does it here among the rich and pampered in a beautiful setting whilst all the while creating menace in and around the horrified guests. The Surette team arrive and so begins the investigation, made more difficult as the friends of Armand and his wife are also suspects; their pals from Three Pines, Peter and Clara Finney. Once again another fabulous read and I highly recommend it, can't wait for the next...The Brutal Telling.

On a juste envie de faire partie de l'équipe d'Armand Gamache et de prendre l'avion tout de suite pour Three Pines

très bon livre!