Chief Inspector Gamache – Cannonball Read 17

Catching Up On Some Reviews

Still Life by Louise Penny

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

November 14, 2023 by Tracy Leave a Comment

Still Life by Louise Penny Back when I was hoping to complete a Cannonball Bingo, Still Life was my choice for the North America square. The first novel in Louise Penny’s Chief Inspector Gamache mystery series, it’s set in the little town of Three Pines in Canada and follows the search for the murderer of 76-year-old Jane Neal. I don’t often read mysteries, so I was surprised at how Penny approached the mystery. We spend a lot of time with other characters in the town […]

A thriller in Paris.

All the Devils Are Here (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #16) by Louise Penny

November 28, 2022 by narfna 1 Comment

This was a major improvement on the last few books. It feels like Penny is getting her groove back. This book featured an implausibly large conspiracy, and I didn’t even think to complain about it once! The whole book takes place in Paris. Gamache and Reine-Marie are in Paris because Annie and Beauvoir’s baby is coming, and they want to be there for the birth (they moved to Paris last book, if you recall). The Gamache’s other son Daniel, who I dislike, also lives in […]

Couldn’t Find a More Deserving Victim

May 14, 2018 by Jen K Leave a Comment

While this novel was still good, I was not quite as enamored with this one as with Still Life. I think it took too long to get to the murder. The novel introduces Cecilia “CC” de Poitiers on the first page, and states within the first paragraph that she would be the murder victim, but Penny spent quite a while with CC and her other characters before actually getting around to killing CC. I was anxiously awaiting her death because she was horrible, and I […]

A Portrait with Surprising Depths

May 7, 2018 by Jen K 4 Comments

With fourteen books so far to the series, it’s not surprising that I feel like I have heard the Chief Inspector Gamache novels come up a bit. As the first novel in the series, I fully expected this to be a mediocre to decent novel, the usual first effort of a series where the author shows glimpses of the brilliance to come while also still finding her feet. As a result, I was pleasantly surprised by just how much I liked this novel! First off, […]

Murder is Deeply Human

August 5, 2017 by Jenny S 2 Comments

After spending two weeks in July on a Louise-Penny-inspired road trip, it was even more fun to return to the world of Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his team from the Montreal Surete. If you like thoughtful character-driven mysteries where the “who” is less important than the “why” and with a strong sense of place, this series is for you. These novels are not fast-paced tales of suspense but rather explorations of human relationships and tensions that lead to murder. Set in the Eastern Townships […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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