Reviews

As the series has changed, the over the top vibes here are less jarring than the first time I read it. plus I like the historical nature of the mystery.

slucchesi06's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

cooperca's review

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4.0

I love the Inspector Gamache series. Unlike other mystery series I've read, this series really relies on you having read the series in order, otherwise there are parts that will feel out of place and you won't have a strong understanding of what's going on.

I'm glad to see Gamache and Beauvior outside of Three Pines. Give that poor village a much needed break! This time we find the Chief and Inspector investigating a murdered monk in a secluded monastery hidden in the wilderness of Quebec. These are no ordinary monks or monastery. The Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups is a community taken by a vow of silence, except for their heavenly singing of Gregorian chants. At only 24 (now 23) monks, the murderer is among them. What would make someone dedicated to God kill another.

Things get worse when Gamache's arch nemesis, Superintendent Francoeur, arrives to stir the shit pot, placing doubt in Beauvior's mind, and pitting Beauvior against Gamache.

I was disappointed in the ending, not the murder part, but how easily Francoeur was able to get between Gamache and Beauvior. After 15 years working for Gamache, and not to speak of the fact that Beauvior is in love with Gamache's daughter, how Ms. Penny had Beauvior betray Gamache felt unbalanced. At the beginning of the novel, Beauvior and found control over his addiction to painkillers and was back in a good frame of mind and continued to hold a great deal of respect for Gamache. By the end, when Francoeur exploited Beauvior's weakness, Beauvior just went along with it.

I'm looking forward to see how this plays out. But if Beauvior did indeed voluntarily leave the homicide division (and it's not some sort of plot to take down Francoeur), the betrayal should not be forgiven by Gamache.