Customer Reviews

The Cruellest Month

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

It is Easter and Inspector Armand Gamache has been called back to the small town of Three Pines where a woman has been literally frightened to death during a séance in the old Handley mansion. Gamache has his own ghosts to uncover as someone is out to destroy his career, his life and that of his family. To save himself, he must uncover a murderer and a spy in his midst.

There are not a lot of authors whose words beg me to read them aloud, but I spent the weekend annoying a friend with my constant "Listen to this...". There is such humor and incite in Penny's writing. For me, she hits all the right notes; wonderful sense of place, fascinating well-rounded human characters, excellent dialogue, a bit of suspense, meticulous plotting and just a faint touch of spiritualism. I came away from this, and all her books, feeling I've been giving a bit of insight on human nature but never that I've been preached to.

For me, this book was so much more than a basic traditional mystery and quite possibly, the best of her books yet. The only problem I had with this book was that life kept getting in the way of my reading time. Highly recommended.

Good book, plot keeps you thinking, fun humor that is low-key, insightful as to human nature.

Louise Penny, I'm a fan. Your characters are well and interestingly crafted with real emotions and witty dialogue. Your plots are well constructed and never transparent, a real plus in a mystery.
Inspector Gamache is such a favorite of mine I long to read more...a prequel with more about him personally would probably be well-received since he is such a wonderfully three-dimensional personality.
A lot of great pull and tug: relationships, bi-lingual Quebec, politics within the police force.
Oh how I look forward to book number four!

The Cruellest Month is set in the spring, on preparation for Easter at the small town of Three Pines. Everybody is lovely and you get to know the characters of this little town a little more than the last time. You almost forget that it's a mystery novel until the gruesome crime happens. Like the other books of the series, the author focuses very much in the psychology of the characters, more than the crime itself. Gamache, the chief inspector of the Sureté (the crime police of Quebec) is what we would never expect of someone investigating a crime. He's so respectful to the suspects and even caring. That's actually, his secret: by sympathizing with the possible suspects, he gets to know them better (they naturally trust him) and, from then, he can guess the motives, and therefore catch the real murderer. He is having other, very big problems with his superior which makes his work even harder.
I love the way that Louise Penny paints her characters. Each book I read gives me a little more of this fictional world, to the point that, when I finish the book, I know I'll miss them as if they were my own friends. Her characters are so real!

Inspector Gamache again tackles another Three Pines murder. Ms. Penny again, shows the depth of characters as well as a ripping plot. The inspector is a likeable character and she has the ability to endear him to the reader. Other characters are not so likeable but engaging just the same. Her description of this rather insulated village in such an ideal setting, makes one want to visit three pines, eat at the bed and breakfast, walk the green, see Ruth and her "pet" goose and live to be insulted by her as well. The underlying story of "his shame" with the Canadian police haunts the reader but the admiration on how Gamache handles this stituation.
The loyalty of his subordinates is interesting.