Inspector Gamache again at his best
358453
I love the Louise Penny novels and Inspector Gamache's exploits.  The Canadian setting is wonderful,Another Inspectror Gamache special the suspense terrific and it's a novel you can't put down.
1642388
I love the Inspector Gamache series but this book was simply amazing. From Quebec to Three Pines to domestic terrorism...very deftly crafted stories of history that lingers, of mistakes and righting them and of loss and healing.
4339397
I have read all the Gamache books and love this one as well.  Louise Penny is as good as ever,
1556684
I am a big fan of the Inspector Gamache books.  This is the first one I have listened to.  In fact, I hesitated to get a mystery on CD because I thought it might be difficult to follow.  In fact, it was a great way to experience this story.  At the end there is an interview with the author and she actually points out that in this series the murder is somewhat secondary to the lives of the characters.  This book is character-driven, as are the others in the series.

This has always been a moody series, and Bury Your Dead is the moodiest of them all.  Inspector Gamache is recovering physically and emotionally in Quebec City from a case that went horribly wrong.  In a parallel story Gamache's colleague Jean Guy Beauvoir is in Three Pines (also recovering), continuing to investigate the crime that was the center of The Brutal Telling.  I don't believe I have ever read a mystery that contained this particular device, essentially re-investigating a previous murder.  It works very well, but this would be a difficult jumping-in point for this series.  In fact, more than many other series, each installment builds on the prior volumes, so you pretty much want to start with Still Life.

The province of Quebec is very much a character in this series.  Louise Penny also mentions in her interview that she wanted the series to take the reader through a year in Quebec so she set the first 4 novels in the 4 different seasons.  Bury Your Dead takes place in the harsh Quebec winter.  The Winter Carnival is the backdrop but the major players have somber matters on their minds.

I find it quite easy to get caught up in the world of Three Pines and the lives of these characters.  Armand Gamache is tremendously appealing because of his flaws.  He has been trained to acknowledge his flaws but in this story he really struggles with his self-esteem.  Like a good chief detective he blames himself for everything that went wrong, even though much of it was beyond his control.

This book, like all in the series, deals with universal themes of love, marriage, family, responsibility, greed and other moral shortcomings.  The relationships and personalities are complex and fascinating.

This story is riveting and the reader does an excellent job.  Highly recommended installment in a highly recommended series.
1002759
Louise Penny delivers another gripping mystery helmed by the inimitable Inspector, now Superintendent, Gamache.  Character development less than in previous books, perhaps because the primary characters have already been so well described in this long series.  The specifics of the central mystery are quite timely and very interesting.  Ms. Penny displays her usual empathy, both for her characters and the world as a whole.
3293759
Louise Penny writes so well I lose myself in the plot--and since I have read all her previous Gamache books the characters feel like old friends.  However, she always has a twist--usually hidden very subtly--that always seems to surprise me.  Another great book in a wonderful series!
1463315
In this book Chief Inspector Gamache of the Surete de Quebec makes his first visit to the small town of Three Pines between Montreal where he is headquartered and the U.S. border. We are introduced to some of the many colorful characters living in this town so small it doesn't appear on most maps. A retired school teacher and amateur artist has been murdered just before one of her works is to be exhibied in a local show. In a complicated investigation with twists and turns reminiscent of the very best of classical detective stories Gamache finally uncovers the culprit. In addition to the careful plotting, Penny also creates characters of amazing depth, exposing both their strengths and weaknesses. Both plotting and character development continue to maure in later books in the series. I recommend the entire series but strongly suggest that if you have not yet made the acquaintance of Chief Inspector Gamache and the inhabitants of Three Pines thhis is the place to start.
4545866
Great writer and great "intelligent" thriller. Inspector Gamache sets a new standard for police investigations, surpassing Poirot and Holmes. His personal situation with his protege, however, can very confusing if you have read previous novels. I think writer is very smart in raising Book-Club questions at the end.  Not sure in which order one should read the books. I have read most of them and not sure how this one fits with A Beautiful Mystery and others which trace the relationship of Gamache with his assistant. maybe the books should be numbered sequentially.
2545780
Louise Penny really knows how to develop characters so that at the end I did not want to leave them. The main character, Gamache is multifaceted and I look forward to meeting him again.
2583418
Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache novels are great reads.  Penny has lived enough life to be able to create realistic characters who you can love, despise and identify with.  The series is a long one, which is good for people who like to re-enter a comfortable fictional world over and over again.  I believe some of the stories have been made into movies in Canada.  Keep going on this series.  It only gets better.
4169562
I love all of Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache books. They do tend to go on a bit, but they are always well written, well researched and psychologically believable.
4898558
These Louise Penny mysteries are very engaging.  While at times they seem to be "cozies"  with the charming settings and lovable, eccentric characters, there are some grim events that occur.  The conflict between Chief Inspector Gamache and some of his co-workers is very interesting.
1374982
I want another Gamache novel. Louise Penny keeps me rushing through her novels because I can't wait for the conclusion.
3363780
It turns out that Inspector Gamache is neither infallible nor bulletproof, and he and Inspector Beauvoir spend this novel on the road to recovery from some very rough events. The two are separated and both out of their elements, Beauvoir in Three Pines in Gamache in Quebec City. We get to meet Gamache's mentor, the man who was and still is to him what he is to Beauvoir, and learn some interesting Quebec history along the way. Things do get better for the intrepid investigators, but their troubles are far from over by the end of the novel.
1376633
The Inspector Gamache stories are the greatest!  I've read them all and anxiously await the next one.  Please keeping more Gamache, Louise Penny.  I'm also watching for the movie to come out, based on the first book.
1337015
I loved this small town, the well developed characters and the sense of community, and inspector Gamache!  Subtle, sensitive, many threads, but a good story!
955832
Having read all of the previous Gamache books in the series, I believe this to be the most intensely personal in terms of the Gamache character. It seems to me as if this is the penultimate (if not final? I hope not) book of the entire series in terms of its subject matter. If there were ten stars, I'd give it ten gold ones.

Others have discussed the plot so I won't regurgitate it here. Suffice to say that Armand Gamache leaves the safety of Three Pines where he has "retired" to heal, to rejoin the "fight" to preserve and protect the present and future of his beloved Surete.

I respectfully disagree with those who say this is a stand-alone story. It is, on a very one-dimensional level. But the depth of this book  is really experienced fully only by those who have followed Armand's life and challenges. If you don't know where he's been and experienced  via the prior books in the series (especially those with the most dramatic events in his life in the Surete), there is no way you can appreciate the emotional dimensions of this story. This is a deeply layered plot.

I've read many mystery and psychological thriller series with good storylines, plots and characters, but author Penny is in a class by herself. Never has a central character and his friends and associates captured my heart. Never has any character felt so real (and the depiction of Three Pines? Do we not all want to live there at some point in our lives?) and soulful.

Perhaps even more than in any other book of the series, Gamache reveals his deepest emotions and their source. If you loved and respected Armand before, you'll be even more deeply moved by the revelations of this book.

Penny is a masterful writer who keeps you deeply engaged (and moved) with her insights into the heart and soul of human relationships and motivations. More than others, she exposes the light and shadow that exists within us all.

Gamache has always been a complex, multi-dimensional character but never perhaps more so than in A Great Reckoning.

Once again, there is a brilliant subplot that shows Penny's skill at weaving in all sorts of information into an intriguing and moving mystery that includes all the local characters (Clara, Myrna, the one and only Ruth, Gabri, Olivier, Jean-Guy) and his beloved wife, Reine-Marie, as well as some new ones that may (?) represent the future of the Surete.

I devoured this book in a day. I wanted to pace myself so it would not end but I just could not help myself. As much as one can slow it down to savor the story unfolding, as anyone who adores Gamache, you will find yourself soaring to the resolution of several plotlines.

Even for those of us who are familiar with the way Gamache thinks and acts, there will be surprises.

I'm already missing Three Pines and the locals. I hope that Penny finds ways for us to revisit even if not with Armand. (The idea of Penny doing a series on one or more of the others leave me hopeful.)