Pretty good installment as a normal murder mystery, thank you. ( )

Another well-written and satisfying installment in the Three Pines Series. The story incorporates a murder, history, family intrigue and of course the integral relationships of the citizens of Three Pines. I also enjoy reading about the delicious food being served up at the Bistro! ( )

Book 14 Another great book. last in series? Came across that way at the end.KIRKUS REVIEWThe Chief Superintendent of the S?ret? du Qu?bec finds himself in a unique position: He's tangled up in the life of a recently deceased woman, and it doesn't involve her murder.As the first snowflakes of a major storm start to fall, Chief Superintendent Gamache is standing in front of a crooked house in the middle of the woods, unsure of whom he will find inside. Curiosity is what brings him here after receiving a vague invitation in the mail. But is there danger waiting beyond the door? It's what Gamache has been trained to anticipate. Currently suspended from his S?ret? post during the investigation into the controversial events of Glass Houses (2017), Gamache must remember he's here on unofficial business. He and two others who arrive at the house learn that they've been named executors of a will belonging to a woman they never knew in life. Stranger still, the woman, who called herself the Baroness, has left millions to her three children, money everyone is shocked to hear about. Her secretiveness was fueled by generations of family bitterness and resentment. And though it may seem like Gamache has all the time in the world to dive into this dark history, his attention is in fact divided: The deadly opioid that slipped untraced into Montreal under Gamache's watch is expected to hit the streets any dayĄa most unsettling thought. Penny reveals a deeper vulnerability in the introspective Gamache; is it possible he's not quite sure of himself anymore? A theme of desperation plays out in both story arcs, as characters from all walks of life move between hope and despair and traverse the fine line that separates them. The main mystery pales in comparison to Gamache's interior story, and the decisions he makes are sure to raise a few eyebrows. Moral duty has been synonymous with our hero, but Penny seems to be pushing her characters in new directions with this installment: ?[Gamache] considered his options and the atrocity he was about to commit.? The ending is adrenaline-filled but, no, not because of the mysterious will.This starts as a small-town mystery and becomes something grander and more frightening; Penny has upped her thrills-to?pain au chocolat ratio.

(2018)After losing an entire supply of a new very bad opioid in a border operation in the last book, Gamache undertakes an undercover operation on his own to recover them using Amelia. They do recover the drugs in the end, but she is injected with a deadly dose. She does pull thru but Gamache loses his job again and takes over as Head of Dectectives when Jean Guy takes a job in Paris in private industry. Gamache is devastated but overjoyed that Jean Guy has gotten out of the police business that has caused him so much pain. Also Gamache gets involved in a bizarre inheritance case as part of a trio of people executing a will. One of the beneficiaries is murdered by his brother Hugo to cover up a scheme of stealing millions of dollars. Again, well written and engrossing story that was almost not written after Penny's husband died just before it was written.KIRKUS REVIEWThe Chief Superintendent of the S?ret? du Qu?bec finds himself in a unique position: He's tangled up in the life of a recently deceased woman, and it doesn't involve her murder.As the first snowflakes of a major storm start to fall, Chief Superintendent Gamache is standing in front of a crooked house in the middle of the woods, unsure of whom he will find inside. Curiosity is what brings him here after receiving a vague invitation in the mail. But is there danger waiting beyond the door? It's what Gamache has been trained to anticipate. Currently suspended from his S?ret? post during the investigation into the controversial events of Glass Houses (2017), Gamache must remember he's here on unofficial business. He and two others who arrive at the house learn that they've been named executors of a will belonging to a woman they never knew in life. Stranger still, the woman, who called herself the Baroness, has left millions to her three children, money everyone is shocked to hear about. Her secretiveness was fueled by generations of family bitterness and resentment. And though it may seem like Gamache has all the time in the world to dive into this dark history, his attention is in fact divided: The deadly opioid that slipped untraced into Montreal under Gamache's watch is expected to hit the streets any dayĄa most unsettling thought. Penny reveals a deeper vulnerability in the introspective Gamache; is it possible he's not quite sure of himself anymore? A theme of desperation plays out in both story arcs, as characters from all walks of life move between hope and despair and traverse the fine line that separates them. The main mystery pales in comparison to Gamache's interior story, and the decisions he makes are sure to raise a few eyebrows. Moral duty has been synonymous with our hero, but Penny seems to be pushing her characters in new directions with this installment: ?[Gamache] considered his options and the atrocity he was about to commit.? The ending is adrenaline-filled but, no, not because of the mysterious will.This starts as a small-town mystery and becomes something grander and more frightening; Penny has upped her thrills-to?pain au chocolat ratio.Pub Date: Nov. 27th, 2018ISBN: 978-1-250-06620-6Page count: 400ppPublisher: MinotaurReview Posted Online: Aug. 21st, 2018Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15th, 2018

I like this series a lot however this one didn’t grab me like some of the others. The only reason I can think is that this is the first time I listened to the audio version. I think i might have given more than three stars if I’d read it myself. ( )