A Fatal Grace: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel: 2

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Chief Inspector Armand Gamache solves more murders while surrounded by the sparkling personalities that compose the small town of Three Pines in Canada.

Louise Penny Books in Order: Complete Guide to Inspector

Three Pines’ Amplifies Indigenous Voices in Cinematic First Season Louise Penny Fans Will Love: TV Review No one liked CC de Poitiers. Not her quiet husband, not her spineless lover, not her pathetic daughter—and certainly none of the residents of Three Pines. CC de Poitiers managed to alienate everyone, right up until the moment of her death. The cozy mystery, which aims to charm as much as challenge, has a graceful practitioner of that artful dodge in Louise Penny." - The New York Times Book Review Gamache, a smart and likable investigator--think Columbo with an accent, or perhaps a modern-day Poirot--systematically wades his way through the pool, coming upon a few surprises along the way....This is a fine mystery in the classic Agatha Christie style, and it is sure to leave mainstream fans wanting more.” — Booklist

This book is a small and perfect literary jewel. Penny is the best writer of traditional mysteries to come along in decades. I haven't read a book this beautifully written since A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell.” — Kingston Observer A traditional and highly intelligent mystery....sure to create great reader demand for more stories featuring civilized and articulate Chief Inspector Gamache.... Highly recommended. ” — Library Journal (starred review)

A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny | Goodreads A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny | Goodreads

I have borrowed the one-liner from Dead Cold “she was only famous in the mirror” (paraphrased) and have used it more than once. Re-reading the books allows me to enjoy the writing all over again. The victim in question, CC de Poitiers, was without exaggeration the most reviled member of the Three Pines community. Neither her husband, nor her lover, and not even daughter had any love for her, and what is there to say for the rest of the village residents. There wasn’t a single friendly face for her to see, right up until the moment she died. The dead woman was a member of the community, but not a beloved member of this tight-knit town – and that makes damned near everyone a suspect. When Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is called to investigate a woman’s death, it doesn’t take long for him to realize that no love was lost on Miss de Poitiers. But even if everyone hated her—her husband, lover, and daughter among them—how is it that no one saw her get electrocuted in the middle of a frozen lake in the center of town? A FATAL GRACEGamache digs beneath the surface of Three Pines to find where the real secrets are buried. But other troubles lie ahead for the detective. It seems he has some enemies of his own...and with the coming of the bitter winter winds, something far more chilling is in store. Jean Guy is afraid of Nichol as he is worried that by trying to help her Gamache will be hurt. That could happen. Not everyone responds to kindness with relief. Some respond with resentment and lash out. They can’t tell if the kindness is real or a form of superiority. Jean Guy is also worried about old evils resurfacing from the Arnot case and Nichol being their spy and representative.Louise Penny is a gifted writer who has created in Chief Inspector Armand Gamache a sympathetic protagonist who appeals to large numbers of readers. She has also created a richly-imagined setting in the charming Canadian village of Three Pines, which is located somewhere just south of Montreal. The tiny hamlet is populated by a cast of quirky but mostly lovable characters who spend a lot of time walking through the snow and curling up in front of blazing fires. In doing so, Penny has attracted a legion of enthusiastic readers who, apparently, can hardly wait for each new installment of the series to appear.

A Fatal Grace Summary and Study Guide | SuperSummary

I also love the way Louise focuses on the power of words, from the literal handwriting on more than one wall, to the hidden meanings of names like Mother, Elle, and Crie (what kind of parents would name a child that?), to the ways that words can kill or heal. I also marvel that someone like me, who is at least as much of a skeptic as Jean-Guy Beauvoir, can find myself wondering about such mysteries as lemon meringue pie. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Terrific. Like a virtuoso, Penny plays a complex variation on the theme of the clue hidden in plain sight. A winning traditional mystery.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)CC de Poitier, on the other hand, is among the worst of them, hated by everyone in town, including her husband, her lover and daughter. Early on in the novel a vagrant is killed, and then soon after, CC, who had a "spiritual guidance" business called Be Calm, based on eliminating emotion, is electrocuted in the middle of a frozen lake during a curling competition. Clues and questions and suspects continue to pile up for Gamache and his team. Having learned that CC de Poitiers, who claimed to be the daughter of Eleanor and Henri de Poitiers, invented both her name and her past (Eleanor de Poitiers, better known as Eleanor of Aquitaine, actually died in 1204), Gamache needs to find out who CC really was. Are there any significant clues to be found in the video cassette of The Lion in Winter that turned up in CC's garbage after the murder? He stared down at the one before him now. A majestic tree soared into the sky, as though keening for the sun. The artist had photographed it and had somehow captured a sense of movement without making it disorienting. Instead it was graceful and calming and, above all, powerful. The tips of the branches seemed to melt or become fuzzy as though even in its confidence and yearning there was a tiny doubt. It was brilliant. As usual, Robert Bathurstnails the narration of the novel. This is truly a book series that audiobooks bring to life!

Fatal Grace (Penny) - LitLovers Fatal Grace (Penny) - LitLovers

I started reading this book immediately after finishing Still Life, with high expectations. At first, I was disappointed. The initial chapters seemed to lose the edge established by the prior book, the returning characters from the village of Three Pines seemed far less interesting than before. But life’s shadows are an essential part of relishing the refreshment of clear sunlight - there... and here. Who published it again?' He couldn't seem to help himself. She was silent. 'Oh, I remember now,' he said. 'No one wanted it. That must have been horrible.' He paused for a moment, wondering whether to twist the knife. Oh, what the hell. Might as well. 'How'd that make you feel?' Did he imagine the wince? The setup for this book is very long and the main thing the author established was how cruel some characters were and how others were affected by cruelty. This section was so unnecessarily long that I wanted to give up on the book. The only reason I didn't was because I really enjoyed the first book. The book could well have been a novel about a small-town community without the murder mysteries to turn it into a picturesque magical, although imaginery, place. The author enhanced the story with multilevels of intrigue and suspense. For a small romantic village, there seems to be quite an extraordinary number of murders!

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté and his wife, Reine-Marie, make their first appearance in the book on the day after Christmas, when they have a tradition of reviewing unsolved cases. “If I was murdered,” says Gamache, “I’d like to think the case wouldn’t just sit unsolved. Someone would make an extra effort.” (I love this man.) Reine-Marie notices that one of the cases is new: There was a bag lady who had hung out at the bus station for years—but was strangled outside of Ogilvy’s department store on the day Clara saw her there. Astoundingly, a copy of Ruth’s new book, signed “You stink, love Ruth,” was found with the body. Gamache was the best of them, the smartest and bravest and strongest because he was willing to go into his own head alone, and open all the doors there, and enter all the dark rooms. And make friends with what he found there.And he went into the dark, hidden rooms in the minds of others. The minds of killers. And he faced down whatever monsters came at him. " It is Christmas in Three Pines- and once again Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his team are called to investigate another murder... On Christmas Eve St Thomas’s was also filled with families, children excited and exhausted, elderly men and women who’d come to this place all their lives and sat in the same pew and worshipped the same God and baptized and married and buried those they loved. Some they never got to bury, but instead immortalized in the small stained glass window placed to get the morning, the youngest, light. They marched now in warm yellows and blues and greens, for ever perfect and petrified in the Great War. Etched below the brilliant boys were their names and the words ‘They Were Our Children’.” Thanks so much to all for sharing your insights on A FATAL GRACE. I thought I knew all these books really well, but there’s so much else to find in them.