I love Inspector Gamache books and after the last one – The Beautiful Mystery – I had to read this one.
I wondered if this was the planned ending for these novels – it ends in a very satisfying manner (all mysteries solved and relationships sorted). As there is no gap in the publishing schedule, maybe this one was never intended to be the end (all good because I love them and I have about ten more to go).
Here’s the blurb …
Christmas is approaching, and in Québec it’s a time of dazzling snowfalls, bright lights, and gatherings with friends in front of blazing hearths. But shadows are falling on the usually festive season for Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté de Québec. Most of his best agents have left or been transferred out of the Homicide Department; his old friend and lieutenant Jean-Guy Beauvoir hasn’t spoken to him in months; and hostile forces are lining up against him.
When Gamache receives a message from Myrna Landers, in the village of Three Pines, he welcomes the chance to get away from the city for a few hours. Myrna’s longtime friend, who was due to spend Christmas in the village, has failed to arrive. When Chief Inspector Gamache presses for information, Myrna is reluctant to reveal her friend’s name. Mystified, Gamache soon discovers the missing woman was once one of the most famous people not just in North America but in the world, and now goes unrecognized by virtually everyone except the mad, brilliant poet Ruth Zardo.
As events come to a head at the Sûreté, Gamache is drawn ever deeper into the world of Three Pines. Increasingly, he is not only investigating the disappearance of Myrna’s friend but also seeking a safe place for himself and his still-loyal colleagues—if such a refuge exists amid mounting danger. Is there peace to be found even in Three Pines, and at what cost to Gamache and the people he holds dear?
Gamache is quite sneaky in this one and it is only at the end, you appreciate how sneaky he has been over several years – definitely playing the long game.
There is beautiful settings, the usual cast of characters (although Reine-Marie is in Paris) and an interesting case to solve as well as the shenanigans in the Sûreté.
A review.