I always hate it when people ask you, who is your favorite author? How can you possibly do that? I could possibly tell you my favorite 10-20 authors if I can separate the dead from the living authors. But having said that, I will have to go out on a limb and say that after reading Bury Your Dead, Louise Penny may be my favorite mystery writer.How psychologically astute yet how utterly satisfying a read! She paints her characters with a subtle yet very fine brush so that, for instance, a used bookseller who only lives a page or two, is as vivid and real to me as those I have gotten to know over the course of all her books.And what a joy to have that marvelous Brutal Telling, a true journey into the heart of drakness, a case so well sown up, becoming unravelled in this book. Agatha Christie never tried that one! And Chief Inspector Gamache is what any country should treasure in a policeman and yet one who will probably be de-valued because of his humanity and principlesI also come away from all of her books, and especially this one, with a better understanding of how place molds people, especailly in French Canada, and how very real history is to many people. I think it is amazing that Canada, which shares a huge border with the United States, is virtually a stranger to most Americans. We know nothing of Canadian literature, history or even popular culture. Reading Louise Penny is almost as good as a visit to Quebec.

The Hook - When I read the sad news that Louise Pennys husband Michael had passed away I felt a need to read the next book in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache Series as a tribute to both she and the man she loved. The following links lead to two of Louise Pennys newsletters. Find the first from June 2014, which opens in pdf format and shares the crack which appeared in she and Michaels life. The second is from October 2016 that begins with the sad news of Michaels passing. Pennys newsletters are always beautifully written and sharing but none are as poignant as these. I hope you take the time to read them.Louise Penny Newsletter June 2014Louise Penny Newsletter October 2016 The Line(s) - And when the winter sun set on a Québec forest, monsters crawled out of the shadows. Not the B-grade movie monsters, not zombies or mummies or space aliens. But older, subtler wraiths. Invisible creatures that rode in on plunging temperatures. Death by freezing, death by exposure, death by going even a foot off the path, and getting lost. Death, ancient and patient, waited in Québec forests for the sun to set.The Sinker - Much of the plot of Bury Your Dead is revealed in reviews and summaries but I would feel neglectful if I did not mention that there may be spoilers in my comments. As I started to listen to this sixth entry, Bury Your Dead I wondered if I had already read this book. This is what happens when time has passed since the last read. The part that seemed so familiar is the background story of Bistro Owner, Olivier, who has been charged with the death of a recluse, nicknamed The Hermit. Quickly I realized that Olivers story was not quite done. Yes, Gamache had arrested him for the murder but Oliviers partner believing in his innocence writes Gamache each day with these words. He didn't do it, you know.I wondered if I really needed to know the outcome as the recap of The Hermit tale seemed a bit repetitious. I was wrong as its possible is Gamache. I feel Bury Your Dead is one of the stronger stories in the series. Often, the mystery is secondary in Pennys books. Character development and imagery are the primary appeal factors for me. In Bury Your Dead we see a Gamache we are not often allowed access to; a man with all his vulnerabilities exposed. Gamache is not on holiday in the beautiful Quebec City as it celebrates winter carnival but here to recover the horrific loss of men/women under his command and the burden he must carry from this event. This exploration of what it is meant to bury your dead is haunting for both Gamache and the reader. A murder in The Literary & Historical Society and the search for the burial site of Samuel de Champlain, the founder of Quebec City sparks an opportunity for a history lesson. The plot thickens, secrets are revealed, the mysteries are untangled, Gamache faces his demons allowing him to return to Three Pines, his home, his life, his people.Listening to this series is a special treat given the excellent narration by Ralph Colsham, now deceased. Colsham brings to life the character of Gamache and the villagers of Three Pines, in a performance that interprets the essence of Québec and the accent of its province.

Dear Lousy Louise Penny,You really know how to hurt a boy. You make, ex nihilo, people whose reality I completely buy into, whose very existence (in a well-ordered Universe) is simply necessary, and then you give them real, human flaws, and dreadfully painful pasts, and generally screw with my reality/fictionality compass.And then you make them do yucky, tacky things. And even vile, evil ones. And somehow, throughout that process, you *don't* make me dislike them, or even judge them. You make me wince and cringe for their foolishness and then weep in anticipatory pain for the inevitable consequences of the actions YOU, Puppet Mistress of the Damned, make them perform!!I just want to know one thing: How did you make so many people suffer these same pangs with only a few flicks of your cruel, cruel pen?Your friend,Little Richie D.So if you're on the Three Pines Express, I don't need to sell this book to you. I do need to let you know a few things about it: 1) Not very much of it involves Three Pines, Clara or the bookstore. 2) The manner in which Lousy Louise stitches the three story lines together is disconcerting, and very effective most of the time; when a fourth story line is added, it becomes too much and feels like short shrift is given to some fan favorites. 3) Gamache and Jean-Guy are the primary movers in the stories, and each comes across as a multidimensional character with new and unexpected dimensions; but both are also required to do a little too much on-the-page soul searching for effectiveness, and the end result is each character now feels a little more fictional than before.And we are ALL OVER THE PLACE all the time. I truly, truly wish we weren't given a picture that's quite so fractured. It's not quite as much fun as previous outings, but it's still head and shoulders above the vast majority of non-four-hankies-and-a-pistol books. It's a fine addition to the body of work Penny's accumulating, to be appreciated by the intelligent, thoughful commoner with nothing to prove.