A Rule Against Murder: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel [Hardcover]

Louise Penny (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Murder interrupts Chief Insp. Armand Gamache and his wife's annual summer holiday at Quebec's isolated, lake-front Manoir Bellechasse in Agatha-winner Penny's intriguing, well-crafted fourth mystery (after 2008's The Cruelest Month). Irene Finney, the matriarch of a large eccentric family having a reunion at the Manoir, marks the event by having installed in the lodge's garden a statue of the long-dead father of her middle-aged children. When the massive statue falls and crushes one of the daughters, Gamache investigates and discovers no love lost among the surviving offspring. Also in the suspect pool are Bellechasse's owner, chef and maître d'. Despite the scorn the snobbish Finneys heap on Gamache's sleuthing efforts as well as his own infamous family tree, the inspector treats them all respectfully as he seeks to bring a killer to justice. Seamless, often lyrical prose artfully reveals the characters' flaws, dreams and blessings. Author tour. (Jan.)
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From Booklist

*Starred Review* Readers who haven’t discovered Louise Penny and her Armand Gamache series yet are in for a treat. In the latest entry, Chief Inspector Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec has traveled to the luxurious and remote Manoir Bellechasse with his wife, Reine-Marie. Each year they return to the manor to celebrate their wedding anniversary on July 1, Canada Day. This year they are fellow guests with the Finney family. Two of the members of that family are old friends Peter and Clara Morrow from the village of Three Pines on the Rivière Bella Bella, where the first three books in this series took place. Not only are we treated to Penny’s usual rich characterizations, but the atmospheric and beautiful language will make you want to take your next vacation at the manoir. Of course, a crime does occur, and Gamache ends up on a busman’s holiday. One of the eccentric Finney family members dies in a very grotesque manner, and Gamache calls in his team to help solve the mystery. First, Armand has to figure out why the victim was killed, and, in fact, it wouldn’t hurt to determine how the deed was done. Suspects abound, naturally, and Gamache sorts through them with aplomb. One of the best traditional mystery series currently being published. --Judy Coon

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 322 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur (January 20, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312377029
• ISBN-13: 978-0312377021
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #194,297 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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  Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery > Canadian Detectives

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 4.5 stars - Gamache on a busman's holiday, December 3, 2008

By	L. J. Roberts (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Murder Stone (Paperback)

First Sentence: More than a century ago the Robber Barons discovered Lac Massawippi.

Inspector Armund Gamache and his wife Reine-Marie have come to Manoir Bellechasse where they've come for more than 30 years to celebrate their wedding anniversary. They find the rest of the rooms in the small hotel reserved by members of the Finney family. A surprise comes when the Gamache's discover two members of the Finney family are their friends Peter and Clara from Three Pines.

It becomes a busman's holiday when one of the daughters is found dead under a newly installed memorial statue of her father.

There is a much deeper layer to Ms. Penny's books than the normal mystery--one that makes you think and then question those thoughts; to look at things in a new way and see them differently. Ms. Penny employs incredible imagery as well as poetry interspersed through the story, and wonderful humor.

Characters are another great strength of Ms. Perry. Gamache is a man of many layers. We learn much more of his personal history. I love his relationship to his wife and his investigative team. The members of his team each have their own strengths and perspectives with the cumulative result of solving their cases. The Finney family members and hotel employees are just as well drawn. Each character is significant to the story.

Ms. Penny also includes a bit of history of Quebec with an interesting perspective on the success of the Quebecois in the 1960 and that many of the young people left Quebec as they didn't speak French and found it difficult to get work. "They lost their children for the sake of a language." None of this overshadows the quality of the mystery itself.

It is tightly plotted, intricate and clever with some excellent suspense. The clues are all there to be found, but I didn't put it together until it was presented. Ms. Penny is highly skilled in bringing together all these elements into one enormously enjoyable and satisfying read.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "We're all blessed and we're all blighted.", February 20, 2009

By	E. Bukowsky "booklover10" (NY United States) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: A Rule Against Murder: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel (Hardcover)

It is summertime in Louise Penny's "A Rule Against Murder." Armand Gamache and his wife, Reine-Marie, are celebrating their wedding anniversary as they do every year, in the luxurious Manoir Bellechasse, "one of the finest auberges in Quebec." Its isolated location, beautiful lakeside view, and well-tended gardens make the Manoir the perfect retreat for weary guests. Visitors to the lodge know that they will be pampered by solicitous employees who anticipate their every need, and that they will enjoy delicious meals expertly prepared by a master chef. What the Gamaches do not know is that they will be thrown together with a horribly dysfunctional family consisting of seven people: an arrogant matriarch, Irene Finney, her second husband, Bert, Irene's four children, Thomas, Julia, Peter, and Marianna, and Marianna's ten-year-old child, Bean. The Gamaches are disconcerted by the contemptuous manner in which the Finneys and Morrows treat one another.

When one of them is found killed, Armand reveals that he is Chief Inspector Gamache, the head of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec. He senses that the palpable tension among the Morrows and Finneys stems from long-held secrets and grudges. However, at first, Gamache and his subordinates, Inspector Jean Guy Beauvior and Agent Isabelle Lacoste, have no idea who committed the murder and why. The chief inspector is a civilized and caring person with a keen understanding of how the criminal mind works. He discerns subtle clues and feelings that less talented investigators often overlook. This time, unfortunately, even Gamache is flabbergasted by a strange crime with very little evidence and a group of suspects, all of whom had motive, means, and opportunity to commit murder. He desperately searches for answers before another life is lost.

"A Rule Against Murder" is at its best when Gamache, a natural leader with a sterling reputation, takes center stage. He and his colleagues interview the staff and guests at the Manoir, trying to find out who might have benefited from the victim's demise. We gradually get a picture of a family divided, each nursing petty resentments and slights that should have been laid to rest long ago. Penny skillfully contrasts this bickering bunch with Armand and Reine-Marie, soul mates who have been blissfully married for over thirty years.

This is a conventional story with a few strange twists. All of the principal characters are under one roof, so at least the police have a focus for their inquiries. Finding the perpetrator, however, will require both imagination and luck. Unfortunately, the reader is forced to spend too much time with a bunch of mean-spirited, selfish, and spiteful individuals who behave like spoiled brats. Peter candidly admits to his friend, Armand, whom he knows well from their hometown, Three Pines, "We're a greedy family, Gamache. Greedy, and even cruel." In addition, the improbable and melodramatic conclusion is not particularly suspenseful or compelling. "A Rule Against Murder" is a talky and languidly paced mystery that explores the ways in which men and women lash out at those who have hurt them.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The 4th Entry of the Three Pines Series, February 3, 2009

By	Deborah Schock (Cape Elizabeth, ME USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: A Rule Against Murder: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel (Hardcover)

I have read with pleasure this latest book featuring Armand Gamache and his team. I think the series improves with each novel because of the added details in the lives of the established characters. It has been good to have a change of venue but I do hope some more will be set in Three Pines because of the characters and the atmosphere of that isolated town. I highly recommend this book but would suggest that readers start with the first title in the series "A Still Life" and work their way to this book.