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The Cruelest Month (Three Pines Mysteries, No. 3)
 
 
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The Cruelest Month (Three Pines Mysteries, No. 3) [Hardcover]

Louise Penny (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)


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Book Description

March 4, 2008

“Many mystery buffs have credited Louise Penny with the revival of the type of traditional murder mystery made famous by Agatha Christie. . . . The book’s title is a metaphor not only for the month of April but also for Gamache’s personal and professional challenges---making this the series standout so far.”
--Sarah Weinman

Welcome to Three Pines, where the cruelest month is about to deliver on its threat.
     It’s spring in the tiny, forgotten village; buds are on the trees and the first flowers are struggling through the newly thawed earth.  But not everything is meant to return to life. . .
     When some villagers decide to celebrate Easter with a séance at the Old Hadley House, they are hoping to rid the town of its evil---until one of their party dies of fright.  Was this a natural death, or was the victim somehow helped along?
     Brilliant, compassionate Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec is called to investigate, in a case that will force him to face his own ghosts as well as those of a seemingly idyllic town where relationships are far more dangerous than they seem.



Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Chief Insp. Armand Gamache and his team investigate another bizarre crime in the tiny Québec village of Three Pines in Penny's expertly plotted third cozy (after 2007's A Fatal Grace). As the townspeople gather in the abandoned and perhaps haunted Hadley house for a séance with a visiting psychic, Madeleine Favreau collapses, apparently dead of fright. No one has a harsh word to say about Madeleine, but Gamache knows there's more to the case than meets the eye. Complicating his inquiry are the repercussions of Gamache having accused his popular superior at the Sûreté du Québec of heinous crimes in a previous case. Fearing there might be a mole on his team, Gamache works not only to solve the murder but to clear his name. Arthur Ellis Award–winner Penny paints a vivid picture of the French-Canadian village, its inhabitants and a determined detective who will strike many Agatha Christie fans as a 21st-century version of Hercule Poirot. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

“Gamache is a prodigiously complicated and engaging hero, destined to become one of the classic detectives.”
---Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“The cozy mystery has a graceful practitioner in Louise Penny.”
---The New York Times Book Review

“Don’t look for the hamlet of Three Pines anywhere on a map . . . although Louise Penny has made the town and its residents so real . . . that you might just try to find it.”
---The Chicago Tribune

“[A Fatal Grace] is not the usual ‘cosy’ or even a traditional puzzle mystery. It’s a finely written, intelligent, and observant book.”
---The Houston Chronicle

“A remarkable new writer . . . Louise Penny arrives with flair, humanity, and intrigue in her debut novel, Still Life. . . . Elegant writing alone would not carry this remarkable book; Penny also creates a puzzle worthy of the masters. But more important, she studies issues of good and evil, of human nature, of human kindness, and human cruelty.”
---The Richmond Times-Dispatch

“This cerebral mystery . . . is a rare treat.”
---People on Still Life


Product Details

  • Hardcover: 320 pages
  • Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur; First Edition edition (March 4, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0312352573
  • ISBN-13: 978-0312352578
  • Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.6 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #573,575 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

LOUISE PENNY is an award-winning journalist who worked for many years for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. She lives in a small village south of Montréal where she writes, skis, and volunteers. Her bestselling first mystery, Still Life, was the winner of the New Blood Dagger, Arthur Ellis, Barry, Anthony, and Dilys awards; and her second, A Fatal Grace, won the Agatha Award for Best Novel in 2008. Visit her website at www.louisepenny.com.

 

Customer Reviews

61 Reviews
5 star:
 (28)
4 star:
 (20)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
 (8)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (61 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 54 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Four and a half stars, March 10, 2008
This review is from: The Cruelest Month (Three Pines Mysteries, No. 3) (Hardcover)
This book is #3 in the Three Pines mysteries and I am guessing that the negative reviews of this book come from people who have not read the previous two books. This book relied on a continuation of storylines from the previous books much more than book #2. I really enjoyed Cruelest Month and a big part of the reason I liked it is because it resolved some of the issues left in suspense from book #2. This author is such an incredible writer and the mysteries are intricate and surprising, so that I think this book is still strong on its own, but I definitely think you should read the first two books to truly appreciate #3. I couldn't disagree more about another reviewer's assessment that the characters are boring. The diverse, complicated, and realistic characters are why I love these books so much. Every book gives the reader more insight on each of the main characters. I really have a soft spot for Clara and Peter. The only reason I gave this book four and a half stars instead of five is because the end felt slightly unabalanced, with more focus on the culmination of the political intrigue/conspiracy to bring Gamache down than the resolution of the murder. I thought the "outing" of the murderer suffered slightly at having so much going on for Gamache personally. But still a fantastic book and I am eagerly awaiting hte next installment.
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45 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Louise Penny makes the reader part of the story., March 15, 2008
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This review is from: The Cruelest Month (Three Pines Mysteries, No. 3) (Hardcover)
I just finished The Cruelest Month which I had pre-ordered after thoroughly enjoying the first two books in the Three Pines series. This author's character development is amazing. I want to know Clara, Peter, Myrna, Ruth, Gabri and Olivier in real life. They are such caring neighbors and genuinely love each other in spite of their flaws like true friends do. I grew up in such a town and miss it every day. If I could find Three Pines I would visit it soon. I just want to thank Louise Penny for taking me away from everyday life for a few hours again and making me smile, cry, shudder, cringe and laugh outloud. Can't wait for the next installment!
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Fun cozy seriies, but tired of the author's tricks, March 16, 2009
By 
Snaildarter "Snaildarter" (Bay Area, northern California) - See all my reviews
I've enjoyed this series, and I recommend it to those who like the genre. I do want to say, though, that I'm weary of the author not letting the readers in on the secrets. Over, over, and over, Penny has a detective discover something, or another character see something, and toys with the reader by not saying what it was. OK, once in while that's a device that will keep people reading. But not EVERY disovery, or EVERY insight, or EVERY time a character sees ANYTHING. Enough! Do it once per book, maybe twice at most, and then just write, and forget the devices. Louise Penny is a good enough writer that she doesn't need devices to keep people writing.

And one other thing -- sometimes the repartee among the characters drags. I sometimes skip through the chatter, because it's just a little *too* cozy. So here's my advice to the author: tighten up the dialogue, quit teasing the reader, and TRUST the reader to just enjoy a good yarn with well drawn characters. It'll work, trust me.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
Kneeling in the fragrant moist grass of the village green Clara Morrow carefully hid the Easter egg and thought about raising the dead, which she planned to do right after supper. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
three pines, incident room, Sûreté du Québec, second séance, field coat, wooden eggs
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Monsieur Béliveau, Armand Gamache, Chief Inspector, Madeleine Favreau, Agent Lemieux, Jeanne Chauvet, Agent Nichol, Agent Lacoste, Inspector Beauvoir, Isabelle Lacoste, Robert Lemieux, Michel Brébeuf, Jean Guy Beauvoir, Gilles Sandon, Ruth Zardo, Hazel Smyth, Sarah Binks, Madame Favreau, Denis Fortin, Yvette Nichol, Good Friday, Sophie Smyth, Odile Montmagny, Pierre Arnot, Madame Blavatsky
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