June 12, 2019

Bury Your Dead



Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #6
Mystery
2010 Minotaur Books
Finished on June 9, 2019
Rating: 5/5 (Excellent!)

Publisher's Blurb:

It is Winter Carnival in Quebec City, bitterly cold and surpassingly beautiful. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache has come not to join the revels but to recover from an investigation gone hauntingly wrong. But violent death is inescapable, even in the apparent sanctuary of the Literary and Historical Society--where an obsessive historian's quest for the remains of the founder of Quebec, Samuel de Champlain, ends in murder. Could a secret buried with Champlain for nearly four hundred years be so dreadful that someone would kill to protect it?

Meanwhile, Gamache is receiving disquieting letters from the village of Three Pines, where beloved Bistro owner Olivier was recently convicted of murder. "It doesn't make sense," Olivier's partner writes every day. "He didn't do it, you know."


As past and present collide in this astonishing novel, Gamache must relive a terrible event from his own past before he can begin to bury his dead.



Chateau Frontenac Hotel

Morrin Centre
Literary and Historical Society of Quebec


Yes, this is her best yet! I loved learning about the history of Quebec as well as diving into another mystery with Gamache. I so enjoy the way Penny teases out the details of the mystery (and the terrible event from Gamache's recent past), ratcheting up the tension so that I had no choice but to read well into the early morning hours. The main cast of characters are so fully realized that I felt as though I was experiencing their pain and emotional suffering just as I would with any good friend or relative. I rarely give a mystery or thriller a perfect 5-star rating, but this one is deserving of at least that. Bravo! I'm so glad there are so many more in this series yet for me to read and to think I was ready to give up after A Fatal Grace (#2)!

Few writers in any genre can match Penny's ability to combine heartbreak and hope in the same scene. (Publishers Weekly)

10 comments:

  1. This book is one of my favorites in the series. My absolute favorite is probably How The Light Gets In, but you are a few books away from that one. Glad you decided to continue reading in the series. I agree that her books get better and she is a master of the 'big, big arc of storyline'.

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    1. Kay, my husband is hooked on the series, as well. We both agree that she is a marvelous storyteller and writer and I dread the day when she says goodbye to Gamache. Of course, this is a series that I will enjoy rereading someday. Probably on audio.

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  2. Why, oh why, haven't I tried Penny's work?! Everyone loves it.

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    1. Kathy, I didn't get hooked until the third book in the series. Now I can't read them fast enough. My husband loves them, too!

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  3. WOW, guess you really did like this one. I've read about 5 but not in order - don't ask me why? LOL

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    1. Diane, I can't stop thinking about this book! It was so good. I'm very particular about reading books in order when I read a series. Too many spoilers!

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  4. I think I read this one, but I can't place the plot as you summarized it. I read them for a while, but didn't enjoy one of the recent ones, so I've stopped.

    best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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    1. Mae, I didn't want to give too much away, but if you click on the title link, it should take you to Amazon where you can read more about this particular book. Sorry you haven't enjoyed her more recent books.

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  5. I’m just getting ready to start his one. Following closely in your footsteps on this series. I’m so glad I started back in on it!

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    1. Robin, you are in for such a treat with this book! I've read two more since I finished it and I still think it's the best.

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