A Better Man
1 journaler for this copy...
This is a hardcover book. I purchased it from my favourite book store, McNally Robinson.
As with the previous 14 books in this series I was drawn in by the mystery but also by the descriptions of the land and of the people. Louise Penny writes a good story but her thoughts about how people work are superb.
It is early spring (April) in Quebec and as T.S. Eliot put it "April is the cruellest month..." After a cold winter the inhabitants of Three Pines are ready for some warm weather except when it comes the river starts to flood and they think there is a danger the small village will be inundated. It's a situation that is repeated across the province; extraordinary measures have to be taken. Armand Gamache, after being suspended because of the incident in Glass Houses, is back at work as a Detective Inspector. He will be taking over as head of Homicide when Jean-Guy Beauvoir takes a new job in Paris. However, for two weeks they will be working side by side with Jean-Guy being nominally superior in rank to Gamache. When the flood emergency is declared most of the officers are dispatched to help in whatever capacity they can. Agent Cloutier has asked to be allowed to help a friend whose daughter, Vivienne, has gone missing. Beauvoir agrees and assigns Gamache to help her. Vivienne was living with her abusive husband not very far from Three Pines. She had called her father 2 days ago and said she was ready to leave him since she was pregnant. She never turned up at her father's house. While trying to discover her fate Gamache and Cloutier also have to negotiate the bad weather, terrible roads and incipient flooding; it's such a typical Canadian situation. As well Gamache is the target of an online smear campaign as is Clara Morrow, the Three Pines artist. This is the first time I really remember Penny using Instagram and Twitter as a plot element. It does reinforce how quickly false information can be spread now; maybe Trump will become a fan.
Gamache is not infallible but he is a better person than many flesh and blood individuals are. We could all do better if we considered "What would Gamache Do".
It is early spring (April) in Quebec and as T.S. Eliot put it "April is the cruellest month..." After a cold winter the inhabitants of Three Pines are ready for some warm weather except when it comes the river starts to flood and they think there is a danger the small village will be inundated. It's a situation that is repeated across the province; extraordinary measures have to be taken. Armand Gamache, after being suspended because of the incident in Glass Houses, is back at work as a Detective Inspector. He will be taking over as head of Homicide when Jean-Guy Beauvoir takes a new job in Paris. However, for two weeks they will be working side by side with Jean-Guy being nominally superior in rank to Gamache. When the flood emergency is declared most of the officers are dispatched to help in whatever capacity they can. Agent Cloutier has asked to be allowed to help a friend whose daughter, Vivienne, has gone missing. Beauvoir agrees and assigns Gamache to help her. Vivienne was living with her abusive husband not very far from Three Pines. She had called her father 2 days ago and said she was ready to leave him since she was pregnant. She never turned up at her father's house. While trying to discover her fate Gamache and Cloutier also have to negotiate the bad weather, terrible roads and incipient flooding; it's such a typical Canadian situation. As well Gamache is the target of an online smear campaign as is Clara Morrow, the Three Pines artist. This is the first time I really remember Penny using Instagram and Twitter as a plot element. It does reinforce how quickly false information can be spread now; maybe Trump will become a fan.
Gamache is not infallible but he is a better person than many flesh and blood individuals are. We could all do better if we considered "What would Gamache Do".
