The Cruelest Month: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel (Chief Inspector Gamache Novel, 3)

Product Description The Cruelest Month is the third book in Louise Penny's award winning Three Pines mystery series featuring the wise and beleaguered Inspector Armand Gamache. "Many mystery buffs have credited Louise Penny with the revival of the type of traditional murder mystery made famous by Agatha Christie ... " -Sarah WeinmanWelcome to Three Pines, where the cruelest month is about to deliver on its threat.It's spring in the tiny, forgotten village; buds are on the trees and the first flowers are struggling through the newly thawed earth. But not everything is meant to return to life. . . When some villagers decide to celebrate Easter with a séance at the Old Hadley House, they are hoping to rid the town of its evil---until one of their party dies of fright. Was this a natural death, or was the victim somehow helped along?Brilliant, compassionate Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec is called to investigate, in a case that will force him to face his own ghosts as well as those of a seemingly idyllic town where relationships are far more dangerous than they seem. Review "With its small-town hominess, the Canadian village of Three Pines draws the reader into its quaint traditions. Who wouldn't be charmed by the dramas of a community where Easter egg hunts and socials at the bed and breakfast are the most exciting events?" --People "Mystery readers who want more than puzzles and thrills look for serious purpose and literary value, and Canadian writer Louise Penny provides both in spades - and hearts."--Richmond Times-Dispatch "Louise Penny is almost single handedly taking us back to the good old days of the traditional village mystery. Influenced by Simenon, Christie, and Sayers before her, Penny is doing them all one better....THE CRUELEST MONTH soars above them all." --Mystery News (5 quills out of 5) "Penny's plotting has been compared to Agatha Christie's, and indeed she follows the same method of tossing out so many clues that the few salient ones are impossible to single out. But it's more about the journey than the destination in these wonderful books full of poetry, and weather, and a brooding manor house, and people who read and think and laugh and eat a lot of really excellent food. Move over, Mitford." --Charlotte Observer "Arthur Ellis Award-winner Penny paints a vivid picture of the French-Canadian village, its inhabitants and a determined detective who will strike many Agatha Christie fans as a 21st-century version of Hercule Poirot." --Publishers Weekly (starred) "Penny is an award-winning writer whose cozies go beyond traditional boundaries, providing entertaining characters, a picturesque locale, and thought-provoking plots. Highly recommended." --Library Journal (starred) "Perhaps the deftest talent to arrive since Minette Walters, Penny produces what many have tried but few have mastered: a psychologically acute cozy. If you don't give your heart to Gamache, you may have no heart to give." --Kirkus Reviews (starred) With its small-town hominess, the Canadian village of Three Pines draws the reader into its quaint traditions. Who wouldn't be charmed by the dramas of a community where Easter egg hunts and socials at the bed and breakfast are the most exciting events? People Mystery readers who want more than puzzles and thrills look for serious purpose and literary value, and Canadian writer Louise Penny provides both in spades - and hearts. Richmond Times-Dispatch Louise Penny is almost single handedly taking us back to the good old days of the traditional village mystery. Influenced by Simenon, Christie, and Sayers before her, Penny is doing them all one better....THE CRUELEST MONTH soars above them all. Mystery News (5 quills out of 5) Penny's plotting has been compared to Agatha Christie's, and indeed she follows the same method of tossing out so many clues that the few salient ones are impossible to single out. But it's more about the journey than