Arrived today from a BookMoocher.

Chief Inspector Gamache enters an ancient monastery deeply hidden in Quebec to investigate the death of the choirmaster. The monastery was essentially unknown until a few years before, when the choirmaster, Brother Mathieu, recorded the voices as they sang their chants. He sent the recording out in the world and the world responded. The chants were a hit! Not because of the chants themselves necessarily, but because of the perfection of the blend of voices.

Now he was dead and the monastery was uneasy.

Gamache brought with him Inspector Jean-Guy Beauvoir, along with a bigwig, Captain Charbonneau, intent on catching Gamache making mistakes. For Gamache was not universally loved, having brought to justice many of his blue brothers in a scandal that shook the police force.

The small team brought scene-of-crime equipment with them, determined to finish their investigation by the end of the afternoon and bring the body back with them.

The monks were released from their vow of silence to cooperate with the police. Some were happy to cooperate, while others resented the intrusion into their private space. As Gamache and Beauvoir continued their questioning many monks rose to the top, as possible murderers. A tricky business it was, though, to sift through the words and spot the lies.

Sent to paperbackswap member.