A Fatal Grace: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel: 2

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For all the perplexing mechanics of the murder, and the snowed-in village setting, this is not the usual "cosy" or even a traditional mystery. It's a finely written, intelligent and observant book. Imbued with a constant awareness of the astonishing cold, this perfect blend of police procedural and closed-room mystery finds its solution, as in the best of those traditions, in the slow unlayering of a sorrowful past.” — Houston Chronicle 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 He does solve the murder, and connects it with another murder in the city of Montreal, with the help of his dedicated team of excellent investigators. Along the way he uncovers some past secrets, which provide clues to the murders. I previously read book 1 in the series Still Life and recommend that you read it first. Book 1 was recommended by a family member and both my wife and I enjoy this series. There are a couple of characters that my wife really hated in this book. I read this library book in 3 days. 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) Ironically it was this very quality that had caught CC's eye and led her to offer him the contract. An article in a Montreal style magazine had described him as a 'hot' photographer, and CC always went for the best. Which was why they always took a room at the Ritz. A cramped, dreary room on a low floor without view or charm, but the Ritz. CC would collect the shampoos and stationery to prove her worth, just as she'd collected him. And she'd use them to make some obscure point to people who didn't care, just as she'd use him. And then, eventually, everything would be discarded. As her husband had been tossed aside, as her daughter was ignored and ridiculed.

I wonder if Louise Penny's editors said, 'Give us another cozy murder, but different.' Well, she delivered.A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny is a top-notch second entry into the Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery series, offering a truly well-crafted and compelling mystery moving onward with little pause, set in a beautifully-described world populated by captivating multi-faceted characters. In this case, a particularly unpleasant woman is murdered in a very complicated and public way while attending a curling match. Sitting at the front of the crowd, the victim stands up, touches the chair in front of her and is promptly electrocuted. In this same conversation, Madame Longpré says this: “I only became really happy after my family was killed.”

Description: Welcome to winter in Three Pines, a picturesque village in Quebec, where the villagers are preparing for a traditional country Christmas, and someone is preparing for murder. 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 Grouchy Ruth Zardo is still writing her poetry, the boys are still running the bistro, and Clara is still making her art. It’s Christmastime and the thermometer is registering low, but spirits are running high in Three Pines – even though another resident of the small town was murdered. 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.Anything CC didn't like didn't exist. That included her husband and daughter. It included any unpleasantness, any criticism, any harsh words not her own, any emotions. CC lived, Saul knew, in her own world, where she was perfect, where she could hide her feelings and hide her failings. He wondered how long before that world would explode." pg 11, ebook In the novel A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny, good and evil are at odds when a cruel and insensitive woman named CC de Poitiers moves into the fairy tale town of Three Pines. Since so many people did not like CC, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache has a long list of suspects through which to comb when investigating her murder. CC de Poitiers was electrocuted during a holiday curling match. Three elderly ladies, who were friends of CC’s mother confessed to the murder, but Gamache had to determine if their confessions were sincere or if they were covering for the real murderer. 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. Each had a tale to relate about how a person – perhaps unknowingly – did something that Gamache or Longpré chose to see as a sign. This got me thinking about signs and whether we stumble on them or whether we choose to see them when we need them. Or whether it’s a little of both.

There is a point near the end of the novel where Gamache sits down to speak with Émilie Longpré, one of the three town matriarchs. It’s not surprising that they talked of life and death, considering Gamach is investigating a murder and considering the way-up-there age of Madame Longpré. And so he'd allowed himself to be seduced by CC. Seduced and devoured so that the lion under the bed had become the lion in the bed. He'd begun to suspect this self-absorbed woman had finally finished absorbing herself, her husband and even that disaster of a daughter and was now busy absorbing him. This is #2 in the Chief Inspector Gamache series and I’m loving these characters! It’s been quite a while since I read #1, but I’m looking forward to reading this series with book friends! He'd already become cruel in her company. And he'd begun despising himself. But not quite as much as he despised her. 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.Regardless of her age, somebody needs to teach Louise Penny those terms are not okay. If she were to use the n-word, her editor would surely correct her. It’s time her editor corrects her on this. I really wanted to read these books, but it goes against my principles to financially support an apparent bigot.

Reading this during a steamy Australian summer is an interesting experience. Here it’s the kind of weather when you find yourself stripped down to barely acceptable clothing and opening the fridge or freezer a little more often than necessary. There, in the Canadian winter, you have to pile on the layers to try to retain what body heat there is, becoming barely acceptable in another ‘fashion’. The works appeared simple but were in reality very complex. Images and colors were layered one on top of the other. Hours and hours, days and days must have been spent on each one to get the desired effect. Something I think is very interesting is that Gamache did something in the past that ended any upward movement of his career. He accepts it and is a very happy guy anyway, either because of or in spite of continuous inner reflection. There is trouble brewing in the future and he knows it. People are scheming to take him down even further than a stalled career. I want to know more and I want to know what Gamache plans to do about it. On one particularly cold day, a snowstorm was forecast to hit Three Pines. Em left a letter for Gamache telling him that she, Kaye, and Bea had killed CC. They planned to go to the curling rink (where the murder had taken place) and commit suicide by staying outside until they froze. Gamache wanted to respect their wishes but realized at the last moment that they could not have killed CC because they did not understand the role of the metal studded shoes she was wearing in her electrocution. Gamache tried to save the women, but it was too late for Em, who had already died of hypothermia. Gamache then went to the home where CC’s daughter and husband lived. Crie was taken into custody for her mother’s murder.

A Fatal Grace

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? It took a long time for Gamache to make his entrance in this book but I'm getting to know the folks of Three Pines so I enjoy spending time with them, too. I didn't enjoy CC de Poitiers but no one likes CC. She lives in a fake world of delusions of grandeur and any time she can bring someone down, for even the most trivial or no reason, she's going to do it. And now, she has her sights on Three Pines. She plans to make that place hers, and in her mind, she plans to raze all that makes the place amazing. He got out of bed, leaving CC to stare at her book, her real lover. He looked at her and she seemed to go in and out of focus. Starred Review. 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