I got this fair-condition softcover at a local Savers thrift shop, and was glad of another release copy. [I enjoyed (and was harrowed by) the previous two books in this series, The Brutal Telling and Bury Your Dead, and have enjoyed the rest of the series so far. There's a good unabridged-audio version of the series available, btw.]

This story focuses on artist Clara Morrow, who's finally - FINALLY! - going to get her own show. Her jealous husband Peter tries to be supportive, but can't quite get past his harsh reaction to the way her talent has outstripped his own - and he's hiding a secret, one that could devastate her if it comes out.

When a woman is found dead in the Morrow's garden in Three Pines, after the celebratory post-art-show party, things get tense all over again - though I had to laugh when Gamache and company move back in to the firehouse, where they usually set up their command center; at this point they should just leave it in place as a permanent base! There's a lot of discussion of art and art-criticism and the art business, much of which is key to the solution of the mystery (if in a rather obscure way)...

Another major plot point here has to do with Alcoholics Anonymous, which is treated well, both in the details and in the reactions of outsiders the first time they see how it works. (One of the key points in the program has to do with making amends for past deeds, but with the caveat that if the amends would make life worse for the people to whom they are made, this step should be skipped. One person's choice to ignore this advice causes a LOT of trouble.)

Forgiveness and atonement are a running theme for other characters; this marks another step in a possible reconciliation between Olivier and Gamache. As for Peter and Clara - well, I won't reveal just what happens there, but it's clear that all is not well with them.

And then there's Jean-Guy, who has not recovered from the physical and emotional injuries from the factory gunfight, and who is hiding his drug use from Gamache. That's not all he's hiding, either, and that leads into the events of the next book...

I do fret at Penny now and then, for the cruel things she does to her characters. True, they fit the ongoing stresses, but sometimes it just seems too much; can't she go make some strangers miserable instead? {wry grin}

I left this on the book-swap shelf in the Tyngsboro post office lobby on this rainy day; hope someone enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in MA here.]