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A review by saareman
Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny
5.0
A terrific Canadian Cozy.
This is the first Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novel by Louise Penny that I've read and I enjoyed it immensely. It is a very good example of cozy mystery fiction (as opposed to hard-boiled mystery fiction i.e. not so much violence driven) and since it is also Canadian-based that was also an asset for me.
There are actually five (!) mystery plot lines to this book and one of them is a continuation from the previous book in the series, "The Brutal Telling" (Chief Inspector Gamache #5) so if you are planning to read that one as well then you might want to read it first, as otherwise this 6th book in the series will be a spoiler for you. In fact, you better stop reading even this review now if that is the case.
Probably the most shocking thing in this book is that apparently the solution in "The Brutal Telling" was incomplete and Inspector Gamache sets out to redress that through his second-in-command Jean-Guy Beauvoir during this next book in the series. Maybe my reading is limited, but I don't remember this ever being used as a plotline by any other mystery author (i.e. where a later book is used to rewrite the ending of an earlier book). Fans of "The Brutal Telling" might be taken aback though.
Both Chief Inspector Gamache and Inspector Beauvoir are on a combined administrative and medical leave from official duties as the result of a hostage-taking incident where they are now under review through an enquiry and where they were both injured. This part of the story is told in flashbacks by both of them while they are unofficially pursuing their current cases. Beauvoir is back at Three Pines Village re-looking at the murder of "The Hermit" while Gamache is drawn into a case involving the murder of an amateur archeologist who was fanatical about looking for the lost burial location of Québec-founder Samuel de Champlain (1567-1635). This part of the story is based on a true-life fact, building and document fires and a possible subsequent reburial have caused the Champlain burial location to be lost. During his leave, Gamache was also pursuing a private research enquiry into the events behind French General Montcalm's loss to English General James Wolfe in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759 during the French and Indian War fought between the North American colonies of England and France. This is what places him at the location of the Literary and Historical Society Library in Québec City where the current murder takes place and how he gets drawn into a case even though he is supposedly not on active duty.
All of this may sound complicated when summarized in a few paragraphs, but Penny very carefully lays out all of these combined plotlines and the flow is very comprehensible. There is lots of wintery old Québec City and Three Pines Village atmosphere inside cozy buildings with wood fires and libations to warm our investigators and a few dozen quirky characters to interview and investigate. Gamache has his trusty police dog Henri and his old mentor Émile Comeau to keep him company throughout. I thoroughly enjoyed this and my only regret is that I read this in the spring instead of in the depths of winter when it would have helped keep me warm through the chill. Count me in as a new Louise Penny fan and future regular reader.
This is the first Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novel by Louise Penny that I've read and I enjoyed it immensely. It is a very good example of cozy mystery fiction (as opposed to hard-boiled mystery fiction i.e. not so much violence driven) and since it is also Canadian-based that was also an asset for me.
There are actually five (!) mystery plot lines to this book and one of them is a continuation from the previous book in the series, "The Brutal Telling" (Chief Inspector Gamache #5) so if you are planning to read that one as well then you might want to read it first, as otherwise this 6th book in the series will be a spoiler for you. In fact, you better stop reading even this review now if that is the case.
Probably the most shocking thing in this book is that apparently the solution in "The Brutal Telling" was incomplete and Inspector Gamache sets out to redress that through his second-in-command Jean-Guy Beauvoir during this next book in the series. Maybe my reading is limited, but I don't remember this ever being used as a plotline by any other mystery author (i.e. where a later book is used to rewrite the ending of an earlier book). Fans of "The Brutal Telling" might be taken aback though.
Both Chief Inspector Gamache and Inspector Beauvoir are on a combined administrative and medical leave from official duties as the result of a hostage-taking incident where they are now under review through an enquiry and where they were both injured. This part of the story is told in flashbacks by both of them while they are unofficially pursuing their current cases. Beauvoir is back at Three Pines Village re-looking at the murder of "The Hermit" while Gamache is drawn into a case involving the murder of an amateur archeologist who was fanatical about looking for the lost burial location of Québec-founder Samuel de Champlain (1567-1635). This part of the story is based on a true-life fact, building and document fires and a possible subsequent reburial have caused the Champlain burial location to be lost. During his leave, Gamache was also pursuing a private research enquiry into the events behind French General Montcalm's loss to English General James Wolfe in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759 during the French and Indian War fought between the North American colonies of England and France. This is what places him at the location of the Literary and Historical Society Library in Québec City where the current murder takes place and how he gets drawn into a case even though he is supposedly not on active duty.
All of this may sound complicated when summarized in a few paragraphs, but Penny very carefully lays out all of these combined plotlines and the flow is very comprehensible. There is lots of wintery old Québec City and Three Pines Village atmosphere inside cozy buildings with wood fires and libations to warm our investigators and a few dozen quirky characters to interview and investigate. Gamache has his trusty police dog Henri and his old mentor Émile Comeau to keep him company throughout. I thoroughly enjoyed this and my only regret is that I read this in the spring instead of in the depths of winter when it would have helped keep me warm through the chill. Count me in as a new Louise Penny fan and future regular reader.