Genre: Book
Grade: A-
Notable People: Louise Penny
Title: “A Fatal Grace”
Review: How good is it when you find a series to sink your teeth into, and you know you have many installments yet to read? Penny’s Armand Gamache is an unforgettable character, presiding over the homicide unit of the Montreal Surrete and espousing wisdom and wonder at every turn. A modern day Maigret. This one seems to me to be built around the lyric for the Leonard Cohen song “Anthem” (When the light gets in) and again dives deep into the Quebecois culture of the small eastern townships along the Quebec- Vermont border. Gamache returns to the quaint village of Three Pines, where murder and mayhem seem to abound- with his troupe of happy and unhappy campers in tow. Book #2 further develops the wonderful town characters introduced in the first volume, is splendidly written and packs a wild story of insecurities, jealousy, lifelong loyalties…all set is a series of mid-winter Quebec snowstorms. The books are written much in the magnificent lineage of the great and prolific Georges Simenon, a hero of Gamache, by the way. Perhaps a bit farfetched as mysteries go, but what a wonderful ride. Gotta get #3 very soon.