The third book in the Inspector Armand Gamache series, The Cruelest Month was a winner. We had originally downloaded this as an audio book for our trip to North Carolina, but with nasty weather, traffic, and all the French names and character iterations, it was hard to follow. After finishing some book club books, I decided to revisit the print version.
It is hard to summarize an twisted and complex mystery novel. Set in Three Pines, Québec, this book mirrors some of the intricate English mysteries. Over Easter weekend, as villagers are in the midst of holiday preparations, a psychic, Jeanne Chauvet comes to the town and is convinced to conduct a seance. One is held Friday night, basically a dud, and another Saturday evening at the old and deserted Hadley House. On Saturday night one of the attendees, Madeleine Favreau, collapse and dies. Was it fright or was it murder?
Gamache and the Sûreté du Québec are called in to investigate. His investigation establishes that the death is actually murder and all the séance participants can be considered suspects, with no fewer than 4 or 5 having motive. He adeptly pieces together the case and arranges for another gathering of the group to uncover the murderer.
In a previous book in the series, Gamache had accused a superior of some very serious crimes and this subplot figures into The Cruelest Month. With stories appearing in the newspapers and circulating in the office, Gamache postulates that there may be a mole within his team. He threatens to resign his position as part of the ploy, but in the end (since we know that there are 15 more Inspector Gamache books) both his name and the murder are solved.
Louise Penny's books are enjoyable with challenging mysteries to solve and characters that become like old friends. Can't wait to read the next one.
