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obsidian_blue's review against another edition
3.0
Seriously though. I cannot read anymore about the corruption at the Suerte. It's boring. Unfortunately after a fantastic read "The Nature of the Beast" I felt Penny back-slid a lot and we have "A Great Reckoning." Gamache is now not retired and is the now head of the Sûreté Academy. Gamache realizes that due to the actions of the now dead Francouer, he has to root out the problem cadets who have turned into brutal officers. When a professor is found dead, it appears that maybe Gamache has not wiped out all of the corrupt officials like he thought.
How do I say this? Gamache was annoying as hell in this one. Focused on being right and not listening to anyone he forces himself into an active homicide investigation and as far as I am concerned, undermines Inspector Lacoste. I really wish they had it out about that, because I would have been pissed myself. I was over him at the half-way point and by the end really over him when you find out that he had no idea how brutal the dead professor was and that Gamache's actions (deciding to keep the professor on to see how he would react) directly led to some cadets being mentally screwed with.
Gamache also calls in from the outside to keep an eye on the investigation (Paul Gelinas) who starts to think that maybe Gamache has something to do with the dead professor. It's a total red herring and not well done of Penny. I at no point believed that Gamache was responsible for the death and or had a random affair 20 years ago. The fact that characters who have known him forever (Reine, Jean-Guy, Lacoste) were dumb enough to even question this made me tired.
The other characters except for I would say Myrna were straight up caricatures at this point. There is no reason why Gamache should have hid four cadets in Three Pines. And I was angry that one of the cadets was showing himself to be a racist and stays at Mryna's home. It seems in the end though all is forgiven (blech).
Besides the death of the professor at the Academy, we have Gamache and the cadets he picks out to solve the mystery of a map that is found hidden in the bistro wall. The only reason why I gave this book 3 stars was really because the mystery of the map was the best part of this book. Just reading about that was more enjoyable than reading about the murder at the Academy and watching Gamache verbally fencing with Paul Gelinas.
The writing went back to the worst of the worst for me in this one. Things are left unsaid (for plot reasons) Gamache doesn't tell anyone what is really going on (for plot reasons) and then we get to an ending that was a big shrug to me. I don't know why in the world people in Gamache's orbit let him get away with never sharing things. It's just crap. We get a reveal about how Gamache is connected to one of the cadets and I rolled my eyes a thousand times.
How do I say this? Gamache was annoying as hell in this one. Focused on being right and not listening to anyone he forces himself into an active homicide investigation and as far as I am concerned, undermines Inspector Lacoste. I really wish they had it out about that, because I would have been pissed myself. I was over him at the half-way point and by the end really over him when you find out that he had no idea how brutal the dead professor was and that Gamache's actions (deciding to keep the professor on to see how he would react) directly led to some cadets being mentally screwed with.
Gamache also calls in from the outside to keep an eye on the investigation (Paul Gelinas) who starts to think that maybe Gamache has something to do with the dead professor. It's a total red herring and not well done of Penny. I at no point believed that Gamache was responsible for the death and or had a random affair 20 years ago. The fact that characters who have known him forever (Reine, Jean-Guy, Lacoste) were dumb enough to even question this made me tired.
The other characters except for I would say Myrna were straight up caricatures at this point. There is no reason why Gamache should have hid four cadets in Three Pines. And I was angry that one of the cadets was showing himself to be a racist and stays at Mryna's home. It seems in the end though all is forgiven (blech).
Besides the death of the professor at the Academy, we have Gamache and the cadets he picks out to solve the mystery of a map that is found hidden in the bistro wall. The only reason why I gave this book 3 stars was really because the mystery of the map was the best part of this book. Just reading about that was more enjoyable than reading about the murder at the Academy and watching Gamache verbally fencing with Paul Gelinas.
The writing went back to the worst of the worst for me in this one. Things are left unsaid (for plot reasons) Gamache doesn't tell anyone what is really going on (for plot reasons) and then we get to an ending that was a big shrug to me. I don't know why in the world people in Gamache's orbit let him get away with never sharing things. It's just crap. We get a reveal about how Gamache is connected to one of the cadets and I rolled my eyes a thousand times.
brfaucette's review against another edition
5.0
With this novel Penny demonstrates that she is a true master of the crime novel but more importantly of understanding the beauty and the horror that are present in the world and people. There is no author who better writes and understands the inner psychology of people and her characters as with each novel she charts the past, present and future of the indomitable Armand Gamache. Simply put, the novel and Penny's series are literary masterpieces.
murphy_mayhem's review against another edition
5.0
I have been a loyal Louise Penny reader and CI Armand Gamache fan for the entire series to date. There have been some books I loved more than others and others I wasn't quite as sure about. And I was admittedly worried at the end of the previous novel about the future for Gamache.
"A Great Reckoning" cements Louise Penny's brilliance and is just what faithful Gamache followers needed.
I could hardly put down this book as readers follow Gamache's new venture as head of the Surete Academy and his mission to weed out police corruption before it hits the force. And of course we get to return to Three Pines where I would happily escape to if given the chance.
This story was engaging and suspenseful and taut. It had the perfect blend of twists and reveals. And it even brought me to tears - a feat not many books achieve for me.
The only negative thing I can say about "A Great Reckoning" is that it ended . . . and I am already ready for the next novel. It is the kind of tale where that strange feeling you can't pinpoint when finished is sadness because you miss the characters and Penny's flawless storytelling.
"A Great Reckoning" cements Louise Penny's brilliance and is just what faithful Gamache followers needed.
I could hardly put down this book as readers follow Gamache's new venture as head of the Surete Academy and his mission to weed out police corruption before it hits the force. And of course we get to return to Three Pines where I would happily escape to if given the chance.
This story was engaging and suspenseful and taut. It had the perfect blend of twists and reveals. And it even brought me to tears - a feat not many books achieve for me.
The only negative thing I can say about "A Great Reckoning" is that it ended . . . and I am already ready for the next novel. It is the kind of tale where that strange feeling you can't pinpoint when finished is sadness because you miss the characters and Penny's flawless storytelling.
jackielemon's review against another edition
5.0
Perfect. Love the characters and Three Pines. This was just a wonderful read.
cmvorra's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
hadidee's review against another edition
5.0
In one of the best books in this series, Ganache takes on the task to clean up the Surete Academy.
I liked that there weren’t too many plots/subplots. Really liked the Goth Girl character and how that was resolved. And I wish I could eat all croissants, milky drinks, chocolate cake that get eaten at Three Pines without getting fat (I do wonder how they’re not all the size of a house - maybe that’s the real magic of Three Pines?!)
I liked that there weren’t too many plots/subplots. Really liked the Goth Girl character and how that was resolved. And I wish I could eat all croissants, milky drinks, chocolate cake that get eaten at Three Pines without getting fat (I do wonder how they’re not all the size of a house - maybe that’s the real magic of Three Pines?!)
canthaltme's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25