I finally got sucked into the Louise Penny/Inspector Gamachecraze, and this first book for exceeded my expectations. Despite the pretty large cast of characters, the story was easy to follow, and the plot grabbed me from the first minute all the way through. The only thing thing I disliked the strained/weird relationship between inspector Gamache and Agent Nichol. I'm hoping this was just the setup for their relationship further developing. Definitely planning on reading further books in the series. Also highly recommend the audiobook. I thought it was a great read with an excellent narrator, who managed to distinguish the chstacters from each other without overdoing it.

A murder mystery set in a small town, where a woman who seemed to be universally loved is killed in what a first appears to be a tragic hunting accident. 

Enter Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, and the idyllic small town of Three Pines begins to unravel. Dark secrets are uncovered, and a strange piece of artwork may hold the clue to solving the murder.

This was a well-paced and clever murder mystery with great characters and setting. Gamache himself is a really fun detective with a knack of seeing beneath the surface in people's interactions and getting a sense of the tensions and emotions in play.

The story involves the usual array of red herrings and plot twists, but it's the development of intricate character relationships and past history that really make this book stand out.

At times a bit predictable but overall very enjoyable! Love the Three Pines introduction and getting to learn more about the characters.

I think I can't give a great review of this book until I read the second one on my own because I simply did not like this narrator at all. And I think I've heard him before, but I have a sneaking suspicion that this book is a lot funnier and more whimsical than I was getting from this narrator. I'm very interested to read the second in this series and see if my experience is very different than with this initial one. Also, I found Agent Nicol to be super annoying.