Synopses & Reviews
Welcome back to Three Pines where the villagers are preparing for a traditional country Christmas…and murder.
When Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is called to investigate a womans death, it doesnt take long for him to realize that no love was lost on Miss de Poitiers. But even if everyone hated her—her husband, lover, and daughter among them—how is it that no one saw her get electrocuted in the middle of a frozen lake in the center of town? A FATAL GRACE Gamache digs beneath the surface of Three Pines to find where the real secrets are buried. But other troubles lie ahead for the detective. It seems he has some enemies of his own…and with the coming of the bitter winter winds, something far more chilling is in store.
“This is a fine mystery in the classic Agatha Christie style and it is sure to leave fans wanting more.”—Booklist
“The cozy mystery has a graceful practitioner…in Louise Penny.” —The New York Times
Review
Praise for
A Fatal Grace:"The cozy mystery, which aims to charm as much as challenge, has a graceful practicioner of that artful dodge in Louise Penny."
—The New York Times Book Review
“A traditional and highly intelligent mystery….sure to create great reader demand for more stories featuring civilized and articulate Chief Inspector Gamache…. Highly recommended.”
—Library Journal (starred review)
“Remarkably, Penny manages to top her outstanding debut. Gamache is a prodigiously complicated and engaging hero, destined to become one of the classic detectives.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"For all the perplexing mechanics of the murder, and the snowed-in village setting, this is not the usual "cosy" or even a traditional mystery. It's a finely written, intelligent and observant book. Imbued with a constant awareness of the astonishing cold, this perfect blend of police procedural and closed-room mystery finds its solution, as in the best of those traditions, in the slow unlayering of a sorrowful past."
—Houston Chronicle
"Gamache, a smart and likable investigator--think Columbo with an accent, or perhaps a modern-day Poirot--systematically wades his way through the pool, coming upon a few surprises along the way....This is a fine mystery in the classic Agatha Christie style, and it is sure to leave mainstream fans wanting more."
—Booklist
“This book is a small and perfect literary jewel. Penny is the best writer of traditional mysteries to come along in decades. I havent read a book this beautifully written since A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell.”
—Kingston Observer
“Very simply, I loved this book. I expect you will, too.”
—Mystery Scene magazine
“The cast of A Fatal Grace is a marvelous mystery….the plotting is intricate, the pacing perfect, the writing brilliant….Ms. Penny leaves a bit of a cliffhanger for readers to ponder until the next installment. It cant come soon enough for me.”
—Cozy Library blog
“A cerebral, satisfying novel….it transcends genre, giving a thoughtful look at the human soul and the divine presence….A Fatal Grace has a grace all its own.”
—I Love a Mystery blog
"Louise Penny's A Fatal Grace is one of the best mysteries I've read this year." —Lesa's Book Critiques
“There are portions of this book that are so beautifully written they stick with the reader for months….As I read this I thought if Emily Dickinson ever came back to Earth, it might be an a mystery writer.”
—Aunt Agathas Mystery Bookstore
And acclaim for the first Three Pines Mystery, Still Life:
"The beauty of Louise Penny's auspicious debut novel, Still Life, is that it's composed entirely of grace notes, all related to the central mystery of who shot an arrow into the heart of Miss Jane Neal....The dear old thing had hidden depths, courtesy of an author whose deceptively simple style masks the complex patterns of a well-devised plot."
—The New York Times Book Review
"Terrific. Like a virtuoso, Penny plays a complex variation on the theme of the clue hidden in plain sight. A winning traditional mystery."
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Cerebral, wise, and compassionate, Gamache is destined for stardom. Don't miss this stellar debut."
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"A gem of a book....a beautifully told, lyrically written story of love, life, friendship, and tragedy."
—Booklist (starred review)
"This cerebral mystery...is a rare treat."
—People
"A perfectly executed traditional mystery."
—The Denver Post
"Don't look for the hamlet of Three Pines anywhere on a map of the countryside outside of Montreal, although Louise Penny has made the town and its residents so real...that you might just try to find it."
—Chicago Tribune
Synopsis
Welcome back to Three Pines where the villagers are preparing for a traditional country Christmas…and murder.
When Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is called to investigate a womans death, it doesnt take long for him to realize that no love was lost on Miss de Poitiers. But even if everyone hated herher husband, lover, and daughter among themhow is it that no one saw her get electrocuted in the middle of a frozen lake in the center of town? A FATAL GRACE Gamache digs beneath the surface of Three Pines to find where the real secrets are buried. But other troubles lie ahead for the detective. It seems he has some enemies of his own…and with the coming of the bitter winter winds, something far more chilling is in store.
“This is a fine mystery in the classic Agatha Christie style and it is sure to leave fans wanting more.”Booklist
“The cozy mystery has a graceful practitioner…in Louise Penny.” The New York Times
Synopsis
Winner of the 2007 Agatha Award for Best Novel!When Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is called to investigate a womans death, it doesnt take long for him to realize that no love was lost on Miss de Poitiers. But even if everyone hated her—her husband, lover, and daughter among them—how is it that no one saw her get electrocuted in the middle of a frozen lake in the center of town?
Gamache digs beneath the surface of Three Pines to find where the real secrets are buried. But other troubles lie ahead for the detective. It seems he has some enemies of his own…and with the coming of the bitter winter winds, something far more chilling is in store.
About the Author
Louise Penny, author of the New York Times bestselling Chief Inspector Gamache novels, worked as an award-winning journalist for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation before leaving to write crime fiction. Her first mystery, Still Life, was the winner of the New Blood Dagger and the Arthur Ellis, Barry, Anthony, and Dilys Awards; and was also named one of the five Mystery/Crime Novels of the Decade by Deadly Pleasures magazine. Louise went on to become the first writer ever to win the Agatha Award for Best Novel four times, as well as an Anthony Award for The Brutal Telling and the Dilys, Arthur Ellis, Macavity, and Anthony Awards for Bury Your Dead. Her novels are bestsellers in the United States and Great Britain and have been translated into twenty languages. She lives with her husband, Michael, in a small village south of Montréal.