A good series sometimes is just what you need. A friend told me about the Armand Gamache series by Louise Penny. Once I started reading, I couldn’t put them down. I debated about posting anything with all that is going on in the world right now, but then I thought, why not? It’s the perfect time to stay in, pick up a good book, and just escape for a little while.
Book titles: Still Life, A Fatal Grace, The Cruelest Month, A Rule Against Murder
Currently Reading: The Brutal Telling
Author: Louise Penny
Date Read: January – Now
Type of Book: Fiction
Publication Dates: 2007, 2008
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, Headline
Awards (as noted on Goodreads):
Still Life:
Barry Award for Best First Novel (2007), Anthony Award for Best First Novel (2007), Dilys Award (2007), Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel (2006), CWA New Blood Dagger (2006) A Fatal Grace: Agatha Award for Best Novel (2007). The Cruelest Month:
Barry Award Nominee for Best Novel (2009), Macavity Award Nominee for Best Mystery Novel (2009), Anthony Award Nominee for Best Novel (2009), Arthur Ellis Award Nominee for Best Novel (2008), Agatha Award for Best Novel (2008) A Rule Against Murder:
Arthur Ellis Award Nominee for Best Novel (2009)
My Interest in the Book:
I had been looking for a good series to read and glad I found this one.
Ideas Expressed/Message/Plot of the Series:
The stories revolve around Chief Inspector Armand Gamache as he investigates murders in Three Pines and surrounding areas.
Favorite Characters/Quotes/Lines:
The Cruelest Month, pg. 116: “Loss was like that, Gamache knew. You didn’t just lose a loved one. You lost your heart, your memories, your laughter, your brain and it even took your bones. Eventually it all came back, but different. Rearranged.”
A Rule Against Murder, pg. 109-110: “There was a stunned silence. He’d seen that transition almost every day of his working life. He often felt like a ferryman, taking men and women from one shore to another. From the rugged, though familiar, terrain of grief and shock into a netherworld visited by a blessed few. To a shore where men killed each other on purpose.”
A Rule Against Murder, pg. 262: “Grief was dagger-shaped and sharp and pointed inward. It was made of fresh loss and old sorrow. Rendered and forged and sometimes polished.”
Having finished the books in the series so far:
I was hooked after the first book. Reading the first one digitally, I checked out the second book in print form from the library. After finishing the second one, I knew I had to buy the series so that I could pass them on to others. I even found two on sale at Barnes and Noble and have bought the third, fourth, and fifth on Amazon.
Notes/Comments:
I am truly engaged with this series. When I’m reading, it is like being with old friends and catching up. In addition, sometimes I get so drawn in to the plot that I feel like a member of the quaint little town of Three Pines. I am watching the scenes as if I am standing in the same room or sitting at the Bistro or walking along the roads throughout the area. What I can’t believe is why did it take me so long to find this series? Have I just not been paying attention? I am hooked, maybe slightly obsessed. I want to live in Three Pines, work with Myrna in her bookstore, and eat at the Bistro in front of the fire.
Other Novels in the Series to Read by This Author:
Check out this site for the complete list of the Armand Gamache series and more.
Your thoughts?
Have you read this series? What are your thoughts about it? Happy reading. Stay safe out there.