The Cruelest Month

Re-reading this series feels so comforting. It's my favorite mystery series, mainly because the characters are so rich and full of life. This volume, to me, is where the series really takes off, and I'm so excited to continue to revisit Three Pines

I wanted to wait until Spring to read this, and it was perfect.
I enjoyed this. Overall, I thought the murder was a little bit out there. The real heart of the story is Gamache finishing out the Arnot case. Ruth becomes the mother to a goose.

Things I love about this series, which became clear to me while reading this book:

1. Cozy mystery: none of that torture-porn bullshit that passes for mystery books these days
2. Solvable mystery: the clues are there, but so are the red herrings, so watch out!
3. Food porn: the food and drinks are described in such lush detail that it makes me swoon
4. Fantasy village: this place is like catnip to people like me

There are really three plot lines in this novel, continuing on from the previous two novels, and I think that the two minor ones are almost as compelling as the main plot. As they say in the Strange Planet comic, “The being is fictional, my anger is real.”

These books are so weird and I'm almost hate reading them, but I have #4 on my bedside table ...

4.5/5 stars

Three Pines is just so fun to visit. And this time there was so much else to settle. I was tempted to give up on the whole series because I thought it was going to continue. But it was settled and I can continue reading. I am so glad that the drama isn't continuing. We can just get back to solving mysteries.

Love these books.

Love this series and this book did not disappoint - can't wait to start the next one

Short Review: The Cruelest Month: A Chief Inspector Gamache #3 by Louise Penny - the series really takes off with this third book. I enjoyed the first two, but didn't really grab me. This third book, although it was a slow start and the murder occurs during a seance (which doesn't excite me), really picks up. The part that picks up is that we finally start getting back story and these fairly cardboard characters get fleshed out and become real, especially Gamache.

In the end everything gets mostly wrapped up, but the solving the murder literally gets interrupted by an old case of Gamache's that is far more interesting than the current murder in the book. I am a bit over half way through book 4 and I enjoy it even more than the third one, which I really like.

Click through for the full review - http://bookwi.se/cruelest-month/

Finally! The Arnot case, which has been hinted at throughout the last two books has been revealed in its entirety and Armand's betrayers are exposed at last. That's not to say the repercussions of the case are not over, but at least everything seems to be out in the open and as a reader I'm no longer wondering what it was all about.

I really want to go to Three Pines. Even though in these three books a murder has occurred in this tiny town, it still sounds beautiful and charming. The characters are rich and so full of life you can picture them clearly in your head. There is so much more going on in the story than the murder Gamache and his team are investigating.

In the first books I wasn't the biggest fan of Peter Morrow, but with Clara I find myself rooting for her the most. I think it's because Clara is truly good and honest and loves Peter absolutely. Despite her own insecurities with her art she wants Peter to succeed. Peter, on the other hand, while I don't doubt that he loves Clara seems to go out of his way to sabotage his wife's success. And even when he feels guilty about it he does nothing to fix what he has broken. I wonder if this will come back to haunt them in books to follow.

Penny has a way of weaving a murder mystery that keeps you from knowing the killer until she is ready to reveal that person. It doesn't come out of left field like some authors write or become so obvious that you don't even care to read the rest of the book. She just keeps you guessing until the end.