A Fatal Grace: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel: 2

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But her exterior wasn't the issue. Watching her caress her book with more tenderness than she'd ever shown when caressing him, he wondered whether her ice water insides had somehow seeped into him, perhaps during sex, and were slowly freezing him. Already he couldn't feel his core. Nobody likes the victim of the murder, which makes the job harder for Gamache. As a reader, I was cheering for Gamache to solve the crime, but not because of the unlikeable CC de Poiters. She was as different a character from the victim of the first book, Jane, as you could possibly be. Along with the folks we met in the last installment, we are introduced to a few more. I liked reacquainting myself with the regulars and popping into the bistro and the cozy little homes again. Louise Penny allows a glimpse of the inner workings of several characters a bit more, and I found this refreshing. I suspect we’ll get to know them even more intimately with the next in the series. Something bigger than just the murder at hand seems to be brewing on the horizon - something with a sinister vibe that does not bode well for Gamache. I felt a little on edge about this! I guess it’s a thread that will perhaps run through the next several books, sort of tying them all together. I was going to give two stars for that, but then I remembered the fat-shaming. A 12-year old overweight girl is described on multiple occasion in the most jarring, mean-spirited way - not by other characters, but the author. Just awful. Welcome to winter in Three Pines, a picturesque village in Quebec, where the villagers are preparing for a traditional country Christmas, and someone is preparing for murder.

Summary and reviews of A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny - BookBrowse Summary and reviews of A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny - BookBrowse

But even while the book condemns CC's behaviour, it indulges in it. CC humiliates Crie about her weight and her clothes, but the narrative does the same, lingering over scenes of Crie's suffering and commenting constantly on her obesity. The narrative says that CC's abuse of Crie has erased her humanity, and uses Crie's weight as proof of that -- as if being overweight makes someone less than human. And indeed, even the 'good' characters (with the exception of Gamache) in the book fail to treat Crie as human; they spend a great deal of time talking about how terribly CC has treated her, about how difficult her life must be, but aside from Gamache nobody does anything -- no one is bringing casseroles to her family or telling her how lovely her voice is or inviting her to the bookstore to sit by the fire. She's there to be furniture for the plot, demonstrating CC's narcissism and Gamache's compassion, but never existing a human being in her own right. Even the revelation that she's intelligent, cunning, and desperate enough to have arranged her mother's ingenious murder is shown hand-in-hand with a portrayal of her in a catatonic fantasy not altogether different from CC's own narcissistic delusions. In the end the text reduces Crie to the symbol of her mother's evil, a reflection/victim of her mother's narcissism. Kudos, Madam Penny, for intriguing me greatly. I am eager to see what else you have in store for this series.

So I hope my little wistful Jeremiad doesn’t seem too out of place in a five star review. Cause I really loved the book. The Chief Inspector is on the job and sets about to solve the mysterious crime. Along the way we are reunited with characters from book #1. There’s also a subplot involving some of Gamache’s actions in the first book. In fact, the author leaves us with quite a cliffhanger at the end of this one.

A Fatal Grace: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel (A Chief A Fatal Grace: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel (A Chief

When Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is called to investigate a woman’s death, it doesn’t take long for him to realize that no love was lost on Miss de Poitiers. But even if everyone hated her—her husband, lover, and daughter among them—how is it that no one saw her get electrocuted in the middle of a frozen lake in the center of town? A FATAL GRACEGamache digs beneath the surface of Three Pines to find where the real secrets are buried. But other troubles lie ahead for the detective. It seems he has some enemies of his own...and with the coming of the bitter winter winds, something far more chilling is in store. The book ends at New Year’s, with Reine-Marie’s first visit to Three Pines. Both of them know that the plots against Gamache are growing more sinister, but as they drive home:Follow the Chief Inspector as he methodically inspects the scene, collects and studies the evidence, and interviews everyone involved. The setting is Three Pines, a quaint town in Canada, which boasts a wide variety of citizenry. Remarkably, Penny manages to top her outstanding debut. Gamache is a prodigiously complicated and engaging hero, destined to become one of the classic detectives. Oh, there indeed is rest here, though - a bit, and some stupor too. But there is no clear-eyed judgement on the part of the residents. I realise I am a rare dissenter here, but this book was so awful it made my teeth hurt. It is a book in which the values the story claims to be promoting (compassion, love, generosity, respect for human dignity) are actually entirely undercut by the text itself. I think ten years ago I would have fallen in love with this series, because the lies it tells about doing good and doing evil are told in such pretty prose, with all the symbols of cosiness -- wood fires and snowfall, old friends gathering around candlelit tables, poetry and music and books. But the book itself is false all through. When Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is called to investigate a woman's death, it doesn't take long for him to realize that no love was lost on Miss de Poitiers. But even if everyone hated her - her husband, lover, and daughter among them - how is it that no one saw her get electrocuted in the middle of a frozen lake in the center of town?

A FATAL GRACE | Kirkus Reviews A FATAL GRACE | Kirkus Reviews

Louise Penny is a Supernova in the Canadian literary firmament. And her warmth and human compassion is especially endearing, as is her supercharged inspiration in concocting such an endlessly labyrinthine structure for her book. Another sweltering month in Charlotte, another boatload of mysteries past and present for overworked, overstressed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. And if you read this book you’ll LOVE it as I did - IF you believe the Shadow ALWAYS haunts us all!A traditional and highly intelligent mystery....sure to create great reader demand for more stories featuring civilized and articulate Chief Inspector Gamache.... Highly recommended. ” — Library Journal (starred review) When Gamache meets Émilie Longpré—age 82, captain of the curling team, and one of Clara’s Three Graces—and her dog, Henri, on an early morning walk, she tells him about an encounter with CC at Mother’s meditation center, where CC arrogantly proclaimed that since she was calling her own book and company Be Calm, Mother would have to change the name of her center or perhaps close it altogether. After breakfast, the tiny Émilie gives Gamache & co. a curling lesson that convinces even Beauvoir, who has always scoffed at curling as a sport, that it’s a lot harder than it looks. And Gamache, who finally grasps what it meant when the 78-year-old Mother loudly “cleared the house” at the curling match, suddenly knows how the murderer got away with it. People are cruel and insensitive, she'd said. Cruel and insensitive. It wasn't all that long ago, before he'd taken the contract to freelance as CC's photographer and lover, that he'd actually thought the world a beautiful place. Each morning he'd wake early and go into the young day, when the world was new and anything was possible, and he'd see how lovely Montreal was. He'd see people smiling at each other as they got their cappuccinos at the café, or their fresh flowers or their baguettes. He'd see the children in autumn gathering the fallen chestnuts to play conkers. He'd see the elderly women walking arm in arm down the Main.

A Fatal Grace (A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel) - Penny A Fatal Grace (A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel) - Penny

The first in the series of Chief Inspector Gamache.I fell in LOVE with the Inspector, the town of Three Pines, and its residents. Louise Penny CAN WRITE.He stared down at the one before him now. A majestic tree soared into the sky, as though keening for the sun. The artist had photographed it and had somehow captured a sense of movement without making it disorienting. Instead it was graceful and calming and, above all, powerful. The tips of the branches seemed to melt or become fuzzy as though even in its confidence and yearning there was a tiny doubt. It was brilliant. Past Agatha Award Winners & Nominees". Malice Domestic. 2010. Archived from the original on 12 April 2010 . Retrieved 2010-03-01. I am not even going into how ridiculous Beauvoir is. And how saintly Gamache is, even though I can’t see it, because Penny tells me, but does not show it. And it's simply a treat to follow Gamache around and listen to his inner voice. He's sensitive and kind, smart and intuitive. He also likes good food and drink. It makes him so relatable. He's one of those characters that I'd like to meet for a drink sometime, if he were real. Or I'd want him in my book club.