Author: Louise Penny
Genre: Mystery, Series #5
Published: 2009
Personal Rating: 3.5/5 (good)
Yearly Count: 114
Please Note: While being thankful for the opportunity to receive and read this ARC, I feel the need to post the blurb from its cover. However, in my opinion there is usually too much disclosed. Read at your own discretion.
From Louise Penny's Website:
Chaos is coming, old son.
With those words the peace of Three Pines is shattered. As families prepare to head back to the city and children say goodbye to summer, a stranger is found murdered in the village bistro and antiques store. Once again, Chief Inspector Gamache and his team are called in to strip back layers of lies, exposing both treasures and rancid secrets buried in the wilderness.
No one admits to knowing the murdered man, but as secrets are revealed, chaos begins to close in on the beloved bistro owner, Olivier. How did he make such a spectacular success of his business? What past did he leave behind and why has he buried himself in this tiny village? And why does every lead in the investigation find its way back to him?
As Olivier grows more frantic, a trail of clues and treasures from first editions of Charlotte’s Web and Jane Eyre to a spider web with the word “WOE” woven in it lead the Chief Inspector deep into the woods and across the continent in search of the truth, and finally back to Three Pines as the little village braces for the truth and the final, brutal telling.
This series has such a distinct atmosphere. On the surface it has a low-key feeling, but underneath it has high emotions that run deep. In this 5th book of the series, the story line stays close to home, so we find out a little bit more about the people that reside in the village.
Even though I'm a huge fan of Louise Penny's, I found this plot to have less draw than the others. For me, there just wasn't enough mystery there that compelled me to want to read until dawn. However, the characters still kept me interested. I feel like I know them and was so excited to visit with them again. Gamache had a few subtle comments that made me grin as usual, and I enjoyed hunting for clues along with the team. It was good, but not great.
Thank you Minotaur Books for sending me this ARC.
I was hoping this was going to be better than that.
ReplyDeleteI've never read Penny but I do have this one to read and review. I am looking forward to it.
ReplyDeleteI keep reading such great things about this book that it makes me want to read the series. And I love the cozy cover.
ReplyDeleteI've just recieved a copy of this book and didn't realise it was the 5th in the series before I saw it.
ReplyDeleteDo you think it is OK to read it without having read the first 4?
Bermudaonion ~ I've read reviews of high regard, so don't mind me. :) I just prefer a deeper mystery.
ReplyDeleteStaci ~ I love this series. This is the lowest rating I have given. I have to be prepared for it though - it's a quiet series.
Stacybuckeye ~ If you are a cozy mystery type of gal - read them! :) I'm really not a huge fan of cozy, but I really enjoy this series.
Farmlanebooks ~ I think that the characters and plot can stand on their own, but there's nothing like knowing the back story. I'm a "read-in-order" sort of person, so I say start at the beginning. :) There are some parts that it would really would be helpful to know more, but it's not like you wouldn't understand what's going on.
Good, but not great, eh? I've only read the first, so this will have to sit for a bit. I'm a read-in-order person, too.
ReplyDeleteLes ~ I have read glowing reviews of this one, Les - all for the reasons why I didn't like it as much. So, once again, it's in the eyes of the reader.
ReplyDeleteI'm reading this now. My favorite so far is A Rule Against Murder.
ReplyDeleteI rated A Rule Against Murder and The Cruelest Month the same (4.25/5), but if I had to choose between the two it would be A Rule Against Murder, like you. I hope you are enjoying The Brutal Telling. I look forward to your thoughts.
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