Customer Reviews

The Brutal Telling

5 star:		(78)
4 star:		(40)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"The Brutal Telling" by Louise Penny is as much literary saga as mystery. As with any good saga the residents of the Canadian village of Three Pines are both fascinating and alive as they go about their daily lives that flow among the shops and houses surrounding the village green. As with any good mystery, the reader quickly becomes a participant in solving the crime at hand. Featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his homicide team for the Sūreté du Québec, this fifth and latest entry in the Three Pines series meets and exceeds expectations set by previous books.

The first chapter of this tale opens deep in the forest where we overhear a conversation between a man identified only as "The Hermit" and a man called Olivier. The tone carries hints of fantasy and the forest primeval as The Hermit warns, "Chaos is here, old son." There is an immediate sense of isolation and fear. The story then quickly shifts to the village and the discovery of the body in the village Bistro, a body recognized only by the Bistro's owner Olivier, who chooses to keep his knowledge of The Hermit to himself. Enter Chief Inspector Gamache and the hunt is on. Who is the dead man? Where was he killed and why? Who is telling the truth and who is lying? Who amongst them is a murderer?

"The Brutal Telling" stands out from the standard issue police procedural because, intertwined with the familiar workings of the murder investigation, are bits of poetry, art, and culinary magic. There is also history, philosophy, psychology, and wisdom woven into a tapestry that feels both ancient and new. Readers new to the series will be as delighted as those returning. This is a place where you want to linger and wander about. With "The Brutal Telling" Penny has produced that rare find: a literary mystery. Like good coffee on a cold day, it should be sipped slowly and savored to the last drop.

This review is based on an Early Reviewer's copy supplied by Minotaur Books through [...]

"The Brutal Telling" is Louise Penny's fifth book set in the village of Three Pines, near Montreal. To get things rolling, an unknown hermit is found dead in the local bistro owned by two gay partners, Olivier and Gabri. Chief Inspector Armande Gamache and his colleagues Isabelle Lacoste and Jean Guy Beauvoir of the Surete du Quebec return to Three Pines to track down the murderer.

The Gamache books do a very good job of mixing a cozy-style mystery plot with the sort of subjects you'd find on PBS during the weekend (e.g., cooking, antiques, lifestyle portraits, travel, the arts). The puzzle at the heart of the mystery is not exceptional; many mystery lovers will figure out the culprit's identity before the end. Luckily, Penny's books have more to offer than the crime plot alone; the beautiful backdrop, the perceptive characters and the various other smaller subplot mysteries grab the reader's interest. None of it is very new, mind you, but it all adds up to make a good if not great read.

If you like P.D. James' Inspector Dalgliesh, you'll probably like Gamache. They're similar in their sensitivities and sensibilities. Also, the overall tone of this crime series reminds me of the British TV program "Midsomer Murders" featuring Inspector Barnaby. In that series, the village environment is used well, the crimes are shocking but not overly violent, and the characters draw you in with their small-town likability and, at times, eccentricities. I'd say the same is true of Penny's works including this one, "The Brutal Telling."

I give this book three stars because I found it entertaining and enjoyable but not especially innovative or enlightening; filling a novel with references to poetry and art, for example, isn't a substitute for actual ideas. That being said, if you really, really like contemporary cozies and you're growing tired of the unimaginative settings used in most modern mysteries, you'll probably find this novel rates four stars, maybe even five. And I don't think you'd be wrong.

I read and loved Louise Penny's previous novels and eagerly awaited this one. However, I was terribly disappointed. I found the premise preposterous, the development illogical and at times silly and the overall tale an ugly one. If I had read this novel first, I would not have become a Louise Penny fan.

A synopsis of this novel's plot and action has been covered in many of the reviews to date, so I won't bore readers with a repeat of those details. Rather I would like to address the many fans of Louis Penny's Three Pines series. This is the fifth book in the series and I, like so many other readers, devoured the first four with gusto, falling in love with Three Pines and it's wonderful, albeit quirky, residents. Thus it was good news to have a fifth book in the continuing series (the sixth book is to be released this Fall), but, unfortunately, I found bad news in the actual reading. That's not to say that the writing wasn't great, as Penny's writing is always smooth and satisfying, but Penny seems to have turned upon her creations. After spending four books creating a village in which readers wanted to live and wonderful characters who readers wanted to spend time with, Penny, like Saturn devouring his children, ripped open the ugly side of some of her characters. I found myself aghast with horror and emotional distaste at the thoughts and actions of characters that I had come to love through her first four books. I won't spoil it for those of you who have not yet read this book by giving specific details, but, if you are like me, you'll find your emotions in a state of flux as you come to hate characters that you had previously really liked. Penny may have been trying to achieve a more realistic picture of what small villages and people are truly like, but, if I had wanted that kind of realism, I would have picked up a non-fiction book. Instead of eagerly awaiting the next book in the series (as I did with each of the first four), I now find myself wondering if I even want to bother reading about these nasty, jealous, greedy, criminal characters again. Additionally, the denouement of The Brutal Telling is less than satisfactory, leaving numerous loose ends untied or simply unaddressed at all. This is not Penny's best work, instead it goes a long way towards tearing down all that she had spent four books building up.

2.5 stars, really. Over the Labor Day holiday, the body of a man is found in Gabri and Olivier's Bistro. No one knows (or will admit to knowing) who he is, so Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his team of homicide investigators once again descend on Three Pines to seek out a murderer.

As always, Penny's prose is lovely (and Ralph Cosham's narration is such a pleasure). But I've finally decided the plots have to be seen as symbolic, much like Ruth's poems or Clara's paintings, because they bear less and less resemblance to things people would actually do. This book was all over the place to very little end. I also found it interesting that Penny managed to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall with complaints about the confusion of the transition.

This is not the place to start with Penny's Armand Gamache series, she relies a little too much on the reader having previous knowledge of the characters and the village. I don't think there's much tension in the narrative for anyone who isn't already familiar with Gabri and Olivier. Series fans should probably read it because there are some elements set for future books.

The worst thing about reading a Louise Penny novel is that once it is in your hands, you can't bear to stop reading... but if you go on, you know that it will end. I hate it when that happens!

This is the fifth novel about Twin Pines, about Chief Inspector Gamache and Clara and Peter Morrow and their... unique friends and neighbors, and about the incredibly picturesque village that only seems to be able to be found by those who need it... and by murder. Yes, I definitely recommend reading these books in order. I can guarantee that if you read one, you will want to read them all, so you might as well start at the beginning.

Penny's prose is marvelous. The love of language, English and French, is more evident than ever in this beautifully crafted book. Love of art and of artists is evident in the treatment of Clara's and Peter's painting, of Ruth Zardo's poetry, of good cooking, of the treasures that Gamache discovers throughout the book. Particular mention must be given to the food. I thought that Lawrence Sanders would always be the unrivaled king when writing about food... could anyone read a "Deadly Sin" book and not crave a sandwich -- wet or dry -- and the matching ale? And the meals Archie ate... But Penny has clearly taken up the sceptre, and after a few of her descriptions of redolent soups, fresh, crusty bread and delicate salads, I was forced to adjourn to the local French cafe for lunch -- taking the book with me, of course!

Penny does so much in a single mystery novel: celebrating art, celebrating the wisdom and nurturing spirit that is Gamache, exploring the things that allow people like you or me to do terrible harm. She is a master.

If I hadn't read any of the previous works, and become so attached to this the community, reading the Brutal Telling would certainly be a five star experience.

I highly recommend this work for all the reasons noted in the other five star reviews here.

Three Pines will never be the same, not after the events of The Brutal Telling, so for me, something has been lost and I am hesitant to believe that the author can restore the magic in future releases to this series. It's not that I am attached to any one character, for this is another great example of the whole (community) being greater than the sum of its parts (any one individual).

Perhaps it was time for change, after so many novels with the same feel. It might have been right, to ensure the atmosphere didn't become stale. However, for me, it came too soon.

I will certainly read the next installment, when it becomes available, if for no other reason than to see if Penny can reclaim the magic after all that has happened here.

Let me start by saying that I am a Louise Penny fan. Her mysteries are not tight and tidy, but that's ok -- they are like oversized, sloppy slabs of cake with messy icing dripping down the side -- sweet and delicious, if not neat. But The Brutal Teling is TOO messy -- too much going on, too many un-linked, irrelevant stories. And I don't mean that there are many red herrings, which is fine. I mean there are green herrings, blue herrings, mauve herrings. I don't want to include any spoilers, so will not beef about the unsatisfying ending. But let's just say that I didn't buy it. Hope she pulls back a bit in the future, so that I can once again enjoy her wonderful tales of Three Pines, and the lovely Gamache.

What a Book! Glorious reading! From the very first page the story unfolds and grabs you arm ..I will give you a warning! Start reading when you have a day to read and read and then finish!
This is another author that has captured my head and heart.
The characters will remind you of a simplier life, to one that grew up in a small village and who's parents home backed up to the deepest of woods, you can relate and go inside of the bistro and meet the lives so very realistic.
Around mid-way of the book, your sure where this is leading, sure of the road ahead,
but not so, it takes your thoughts and throws them away.
Only to be replaced with delightful in an impossible crime mystery.

This was my first book from this author but, it will certainly not be the last.
Chief Inspector Gamache Novel, reminds me of the Chief of the Surette in France, of the valleys and towns in the villages which I ran and played as a child.
The story is real, the characters are unique and if, you find this novel not to your liking, then check to see if the tin man has your heart.

I keep a book journal and keep track of the books I read, a page in the back mark
the failures, which are rare, and a page to mark as a re-read.

Five more stars for this book, making it a 10 star book!

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is called to Three Pines, a village near Montreal, Canada. They have found the body of a man in the Three Pines bistro.

From the moment that the body of the Hermit is found, the author perfectly captures the soul of this quaint area in Quebec. I was captured at the start of the novel. The first words, "All of them? Even the children? The fireplace sputtered and crackled and swallowed his gasp. "Slaughtered?"

I was hooked.

Louise Penny is a very descriptive writer. I believe that her books would be easy to transition to the world of film. In fact, as I learned more of her characters, Oliver Broule, the Hermit and the Hermit's home in the woods, filled with treasures, I was picturing the story unfolding as a made for TV drama, perhaps on the Mystery Theater.

The plot is well crafted. The author's writing reminds me of the great Agatha Christie and I can't help comparing Armand Gamache with Hercule Poirot, with his quiet unassuming manner, and his extreme politeness to the other characters and suspects in the story and to his use of logic he uses to solve the puzzle of who killed the Hermit and how did the body get to the bistro.

This is the fifth novel with Chief Inspector Gamache and the critics knew from the start that Louise Penny was a star in the making. Her first Armand Gamache novel, "Still Life" won the New Blood Dagger, Arthur Ellis, Barry, Anthony and Dilys Awards.
Amazing!