Inspector Gamache is on vacation. He has taken his wife to the beautiful and historical Manoir Bellechasse. They have gone there every year since Gamache asked his wife to marry him. It is a secluded retreat from the pressures of being a policeman. Also at the Manoir is a family reunion though it isn't a happy one. They are there to remember their patriarch and to put a statue in the garden. During a severe thunderstorm the statue falls over and kills a young woman. Gamache is pulled into the family's tragic past while investigating the murder. He finds secrets from the bus boy to the Manoir's owner. Will he figure out what happened in order to save them from themselves?
This is the fourth volume in the Three Pines series. Gamache is a bit battered from the events from the last novel. He needs time to reflect and gather his strength. The novel's tone has changed a bit from the last few stories. It is a bit darker and not so quick with the puns. Gamache has seen some of his friends betray him and that has caused some hesitation in his thinking. Don't get me wrong. The novel is pure Gamache with his questions, provoking comments and undying love for his wife. We learn even more about the history of Quebec and its peoples. But the change is there. The ending is so surprising and exciting that you realize Gamache isn't done yet. Heartily recommended for mystery and well as history aficionados.
6 Degrees of Reading: A Fine Summer's Day: An Inspector Rutledge Mystery by Charles Todd, Vertigo 42: A Richard Jury Mystery by Martha Grimes, A Dangerous Place: A Maisie Dobbs Novel by Jacqueline Winspear.
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