A Fatal Grace (Chief Inspector Gamache)

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When Saul’s photos are developed, they somehow do not include any shots from the time of the murder. And as eager as Saul seems to be to start a new, better life in Three Pines, he still has one undeveloped roll of film that he hastily throws in the fireplace when Gamache and his team visit him at the chalet he has rented. 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

When Gamache meets Émilie Longpré—age 82, captain of the curling team, and one of Clara’s Three Graces—and her dog, Henri, on an early morning walk, she tells him about an encounter with CC at Mother’s meditation center, where CC arrogantly proclaimed that since she was calling her own book and company Be Calm, Mother would have to change the name of her center or perhaps close it altogether. After breakfast, the tiny Émilie gives Gamache & co. a curling lesson that convinces even Beauvoir, who has always scoffed at curling as a sport, that it’s a lot harder than it looks. And Gamache, who finally grasps what it meant when the 78-year-old Mother loudly “cleared the house” at the curling match, suddenly knows how the murderer got away with it. Gamache was the best of them, the smartest and bravest and strongest because he was willing to go

The beauty of Louise Penny's auspicious debut novel, Still Life, is that it's composed entirely of grace notes, all related to the central mystery of who shot an arrow into the heart of Miss Jane Neal....The dear old thing had hidden depths, courtesy of an author whose deceptively simple style masks the complex patterns of a well-devised plot.” — The New York Times Book Review ALL THE STARS for this book! Especially since we get lots of Ruth Zardo’s poetry (which is really written by writers such as Margaret Atwood), and is a great bonus hidden within a great tale. Who Should Read a Fatal Grace He wondered how long before that world would explode. He hoped he'd be around to see it. But not too close. Let every man shovel out his own snow, and the whole city will be passable," said Gamache. Seeing Beauvoir's puzzled expression he added, "Emerson."

I’ve given it 5 stars because I loved it. I don’t need to tell you about the 3 old ladies (one of the “laundry hamper” remark), the younger woman who was murdered, the widower and the practically catatonic daughter, the community curling festival on the frozen lake (where the murder took place), and the many village meals and conversations. So I won’t. I’ve been to Montreal once in March, so Louise Penny’s descriptions of winter in Quebec seem spot-on, several scenes made me downright chilly! The town of Three Pines sounds picture perfect, but there are crimes to be solved by Gamache.

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And it's simply a treat to follow Gamache around and listen to his inner voice. He's sensitive and kind, smart and intuitive. He also likes good food and drink. It makes him so relatable. He's one of those characters that I'd like to meet for a drink sometime, if he were real. Or I'd want him in my book club. Unfortunately, my annoyances with the series grew, not lessened. The characterization is all off, it is full of half-researched assertions and pretentious nonsense. The only positives I can find is the writing and a reasonably good ending. 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.

A cozy mystery, one might say, except that seems a little too light-weight for the quality of Penny’s writing and the distinctiveness of her characters. She sets a scene better than most. I particularly liked the description of the church and its families. 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? But at his core he believed the world a lovely place. And his photographs reflected that, catching the light, the brilliance, the hope. And the shadows that naturally challenged the light.It’s a lot like one of those Florida senior villages, where the staff always tries to shut out all the nasty shadows of life. Clara’s joy at the Christmas windows is disrupted by a filthy pile of blankets that turns out to be a beggar throwing up. Disgusted, Clara hastens inside to the book launch for her neighbor, Ruth Zardo, the bitter but brilliant old poet whose friends from Three Pines turn up to support her. Oh, there indeed is rest here, though - a bit, and some stupor too. But there is no clear-eyed judgement on the part of the residents.