I really like these Gamache novels – I think there is 21 altogether, so I am catching up.
Here’s the blurb …
Catastrophic spring flooding, blistering attacks in the media, and a mysterious disappearance greet Chief Inspector Armand Gamache as he returns to the S ret du Qu bec in the latest novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author Louise Penny.
It’s Gamache’s first day back as head of the homicide department, a job he temporarily shares with his previous second-in-command, Jean-Guy Beauvoir. Flood waters are rising across the province. In the middle of the turmoil a father approaches Gamache, pleading for help in finding his daughter.
As crisis piles upon crisis, Gamache tries to hold off the encroaching chaos, and realizes the search for Vivienne Godin should be abandoned. But with a daughter of his own, he finds himself developing a profound, and perhaps unwise, empathy for her distraught father.
Increasingly hounded by the question, how would you feel…, he resumes the search.
As the rivers rise, and the social media onslaught against Gamache becomes crueler, a body is discovered. And in the tumult, mistakes are made.
In the next novel in this “constantly surprising series that deepens and darkens as it evolves” (New York Times Book Review), Gamache must face a horrific possibility, and a burning question.
What would you do if your child’s killer walked free?
As usual, this was beautifully written, with literary references and a few surprises. I cried when Jean-Guy and Annie headed off to Paris – I am intrigued as to how that will all be handled in the next book.
The solution to the crime(s) was intriguing, particularly after the ‘poisoned fruit’ made them start investigating again. This was also a love letter to the Armand Jean-Guy relationship.