‘The funny thing about murder is that the act is often committed decades before the actual action. Something happens, and it leads, inexorably, to death many years later. A bad seed is planted. [p. 169]
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surêté du Québec, accompanied by his team of investigators, has been called to idyllic Three Pines to investigate the death of an elderly local artist. Jane Neal was about to reveal her art -- within her house as well as in an exhibition -- when she was found dead in the woods, killed by an arrow. The consensus in Three Pines is that it was a tragic hunting accident, but Gamache is not convinced: he initiates a murder investigation.
I liked this a great deal, though find I recall very few plot details ten days after finishing it! (I do remember narrowing down the identity of the murderer to two people, very early on: and yes, it was one of those two.) What I found so enjoyable was Penny's cast of characters: Gamache, compassionate and principled; his over-confident trainee Yvette Nichol; married artists Clara and Peter; former therapist Myrna Landers; redoubtable Ruth Zardo, head of the volunteer fire brigade and former Poet Laureate... Three Pines is not as idyllic as it first seems: there is prejudice, homophobia, decades-held grudges, meanspiritedness, greed, blackmail. But there is also a warm sense of community, of people getting along and supporting one another.
I've every intention of reading more of this long-running and well-received series, and immersing myself in Quebecois culture: I like knowing that the books are there for when I need a not-quite-cozy, vividly peopled crime novel.
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