In A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is once again called to the small village of Three Pines to investigate a murder. The deceased is Lillian Dyson, killed in Clara Morrow’s garden during a party. The celebration is in honor of Clara’s solo show at the famed Museé in Montreal and the art world has descended on the town, a world full of jealousies and hidden agendas. As secrets are exposed, Gamache and his team have to sift through the evidence, lies and suspects to find the truth.
Reason I chose this book:
This is the 7th of Penny’s Inspector Gamache mysteries, a series I love, so I had no choice but to read it. Listen to it actually, read by Ralph Cosham.
Reasons I liked and/or disliked this book:
While this is not my favorite in the series, I had a hard time putting it down. I kept looking for more chores to do around the house, just as an excuse to listen to the story. The characters are all so well-drawn, both the returning ones and those that will just show up in this book, I feel like I know them. I get drawn into their lives, into their feelings and thoughts, problems and loves.
While there is a whole group of folks new in this installation, the artists and dealers in town for the event, the old familiar folks are not overshadowed. A lot of the story revolves around Clara, and by extension her husband, Peter, but I have to say I don’t like where Penny took their marriage. It fit with the plot and with their personalities, but I would have liked a different resolution.
Beauvoir, Gamache’s second in charge, also has many issues he’s dealing with in this book, things he’s trying to handle on his own. He’s a good man, but he’s in over his head dealing with the lingering pain, physical and mental, from a previous case and with the break-up of his marriage. I’m interested in seeing where Penny takes him. I’m hoping he gets some happiness soon, the last two books have been rough on him.
Penny’s books are always about more than just the mystery. This one deals with hope and disappointment, hurt and forgiveness, relationships. There’s a depth to them that a lot of mysteries, cozy or traditional just don’t have. She understands people, that we’re each a mix of black and white and grey. No one is perfectly good or perfectly bad.
Reasons I’m recommending this book:
While A Trick of the Light does work better as a stand-alone than the previous, I still would rather recommend the series as a whole. It’s one of those where, yes, you can read one book without having picked up the others and be okay, but they are so much richer and fuller if you start at the beginning, see the characters change and grow, understand the couple of arcs that carry through more than one of the books. Really, if you like mysteries, traditional or cozy, give this series a try. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Extra:
The kind folks at Macmillan Audio sent along a clip of A Trick of the Light. I love listening to this series, so I’m happy to share the clip with you. Just click to listen.
[wpaudio url=”https://carolsnotebook.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/TrickOfTheLight_webclip12.mp3″ text= “Trick of the Light” ]
Purchase the audio book on Amazon or IndieBound.
4½ out of 5 stars
Category: Mystery & Detective- Police Procedural
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Inspector Armand Gamache #7
First published 2010
11 hours 43 minutes read by Ralph Cosham
Book source: Library
Chief Inspector Gamache Series
I think I have read one of these and I need to read lots more…
If you are looking for more chores then yes it must be a great book 😀 I usually just want to find less chores to do, lol
I’m curious as to where her next book will take us. It involves a monastery and I’m wondering if someone finds his way there (Peter). In any case, these last books have made me a real fan of Beauvoir. He is in over his head and I want him to get some help and some happiness. Every time I finish one I’m immediately wishing for the next in the series. But, I don’t want Louise to write so fast that her stories get stale. She has such a way of expressing the inner lives of her characters.
Exactly how I feel. I do love this series.
I’ve never read Penny’s work, but I really want to. Everyone seems to love it.
I’m laughing at Kathy’s comment (just above) because I was going to say the exact same thing. 🙂
A favourite with my mother-in-law, she suggests I read The Cruelest Month as she thinks it is the strongest book in the series …… what do you suggest?
It’s so hard to pick. My favorite is probably The Brutal Telling, but then I think of reasons why I should suggest one of the others. I don’t think you can go wrong with any of them, although I would probably avoid Bury Your Dead as an introduction to the series.
I have heard lots of good things about Penny but I have never read anything by her before.