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.