Rule Against Murder, A (Chief Inspector Gamache Novel, 4)

I love the way Louise Penny writes, just clean murder mystery. I love to read , am old enough to buy books to read and this is my first digital reading of a digital reading! Now, I must repeat several times a day, NOT to buy the actual book.

Her character development is "incroyable". Even the murderers have depth. Her descriptions of Quebec, Three Pines, and surround areas make me want to fly back to Canada. I do live Canada, rich history, beautiful surrounds, city and wilderness.The one thing I shouldn't do is keep reading her stories while I try to lose weight! Mon Dieu! I want those flaky croissants, the rich coffee, cognac or chocolate mousse! I'm always hungry reading her stories because her descriptions open my senses to tasting and smelling these delicacies.The stories are a tapestry and doesn't come together until the last strand is in place. And like a Navajo blanket, there's one thread out of place to remind us we're human, flawed. And not every mystery in life can be explained.

Louise Penny is gifted in describing family dynamics, and always, hope. I appreciated the depth of characters and ,if course, the mystery.

I got the book, sorry I said it didn't arrive it was in a box I hadn't opened

Penny's writing style is poetry at times. Beautiful, skillful use of language. Characters are well developed. Who done it? --keeps you guessing to the end.

I throughly enjoy Louise Penny’s works. Very readable and always enjoyable. I highly recommend if you want a book you can’t wait to get back to after a busy day. Snuggle up with a beverage and submerge yourself in Three Pines.

I enjoy book series where I can become a neighbor or a background participant. L. Penny shares her characters so I get to discover them as we move through the books. Some stay acquaintance s, others become friends, and others are family with all that a family can impose! If you enjoy 'who dun tis' you'll love the Inspector and his finely curated cast of characters.

Really enjoyable read…for a lengthy stint or just moments before bed. Wonderful setting and character development. Look forward to the next one.

I’m so glad I finally discovered this series. It’s fantastic to have read and loved the first four, knowing there are many books ahead of me! In this mystery, Chief Inspector Gamache is away from his usual territory, staying at the Manoir Bellechasse with his wife, Reine-Marie, when a murder takes place. How it was achieved is just as mysterious as who did it, and why. The chief suspects are the victim’s family, an intense bunch, tangled in strained relationships with a lot of baggage. The setting’s atmospheric and threatening, the weather oppressive. Despite the shift in backdrop, some old favourite series characters soon make an appearance! Louise Penny’s writing has me hooked – her characters are wonderfully observed and compelling, and I love the way she mixes cosy elements with themes and sub-plots that introduce a darker feel. First class.

Having read the first three CI Gamache books a few years ago (bookpeople collection) I decided to look for others in the series. I was delighted to find that there are several more to read. Prime delivery meant this paperback arrived the next day and I loved it. So good to revisit old friends, albeit in a slightly different setting. And to learn more about Armand Gamache, and what made him the man he became. A good story in a beautiful setting. The first 100 odd pages are scene setting but this is essential to the plot, so don't give up. Louise Penny writes delightful prose which makes reading about dastardly deeds and dysfunctional families a joy.

Slightly different from the first three books of the series. It took a while to get "into" this story because it's more subtle than the others, but it rewards patience as it develops into a more complex fusion of modern life with an old-fashioned country house hotel retreat.I think the story could have stood perfectly well without the Three Pines dimension and would have been better for it. The central detective team are strong enough to carry the story, whereas writing the Three Pines characters as fringe bit parts diminished them. I'm looking forward to meeting them again but not until a different part of Quebec has been made safer by the intervention of Chief Inspector Gamache and his team.

This is the fourth book in the Inspector Gamache series set in and around the village of Three Pines. This story takes place in a remote hotel on the other side of the mountain from Three Pines called the Manoir Bellchasse where Armand Gamache and his wife are celebrating their wedding anniversary with a few days away.The Finney family arrive to stay for a family reunion at this hotel. One of the family members is unfortunately murdered and Inspector Gamache has to admit he is a police officer and brings in his team to help solve the murder.Louise Penny’s descriptions of the hotel, the background of the building, the owner, the staff and the paying guests are eloquently described so that you feel as though you are there. The height of summer, the heat, the thunder storm that happens, the feelings of the main characters and the secondary characters all have equal thought put in to them.As usual with a murder mystery there are twists and turns, red herrings to lead you down various paths all written in a believable manner. The means of the murder is unusual, the how is not revealed until the last few pages when all the threads are pulled together neatly.We learn more of the family background of Inspector Gamache and his small team, with prejudices showing up from bigoted people.A highly recommended read.

I am on a roll! This is number 4 in the series and this author cannot put a foot wrong for me. Armande and his lovely wife Rene-Marie are relaxing at the Mennoire Lodge hotel deep in the heart of the mountains where all is tranquil and calm. It's their anniversary so they are enjoying a little pampering and time together without the Surette breathing down their necks. The very strange and very rich family, The Morrows are also there having a family reunion but it's not the usual happy get together most families have. This family are hostile and distant to each other and mostly only meet up once a year in sufferance. They have arranged for a statue of their Father to be errected in the grounds of the hotel and it is under this statue, the very next day where Gamashe is called to view the dead body of one of their siblings. As the statue is enormous and far too heavy to shove off it's plinth, how did the murderer do this? Its a classic who-dun-it with a string of mad relatives and a quietly competant policeman but where most authors would end up with a cliched tale, this one doesn't. Louise Penny is a master at creating atmosphere and she does it here among the rich and pampered in a beautiful setting whilst all the while creating menace in and around the horrified guests. The Surette team arrive and so begins the investigation, made more difficult as the friends of Armand and his wife are also suspects; their pals from Three Pines, Peter and Clara Finney. Once again another fabulous read and I highly recommend it, can't wait for the next...The Brutal Telling.