A Fatal Grace, Louise Penny
A Fatal Grace, Louise Penny
46 Rating(s)
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A Fatal Grace
A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel

Author: Louise Penny

Narrator: Ralph Cosham

Unabridged: 10 hr 31 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/06/2014

Synopsis

Winner of the 2007 Agatha Award for Best Novel!

From the Dagger award winning author Louise Penny comes the second Armand Gamache mystery set in the stunning countryside of Quebec.

Welcome to winter in Three Pines, a picturesque village in Quebec, where the villagers are preparing for a traditional country Christmas, and someone is preparing for murder.

No one liked CC de Poitiers. Not her quiet husband, not her spineless lover, not her pathetic daughter—and certainly none of the residents of Three Pines. CC de Poitiers managed to alienate everyone, right up until the moment of her death.

When Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, of the Sûreté du Quebec, is called to investigate, he quickly realizes he's dealing with someone quite extraordinary. CC de Poitiers was electrocuted in the middle of a frozen lake, in front of the entire village, as she watched the annual curling tournament. And yet no one saw anything. Who could have been insane enough to try such a macabre method of murder—or brilliant enough to succeed?

With his trademark compassion and courage, Gamache digs beneath the idyllic surface of village life to find the dangerous secrets long buried there. For a Quebec winter is not only staggeringly beautiful but deadly, and the people of Three Pines know better than to reveal too much of themselves. But other dangers are becoming clear to Gamache. As a bitter wind blows into the village, something even more chilling is coming for Gamache himself.

About Louise Penny

Canadian author, Louise Penny, has been very successful in her career of writing mystery novels. The main character of her novels is francophone Chief InspectorArmand Gamache of the Surete du Quebec. She won several awards for her work, including the Agatha Award for five years, and the Anthony Award five times, as well as publication in 23 languages.

Penny's earlier career was a broadcaster with the Canadian Broadcasting System after her graduation from college. Many times, she had postings booked far from family and friends, so loneliness became a big problem. She turned to alcohol, until age 35 when she admitted her problem to herself and has been sober since.

After accomplishing sobriety, she met her future husband, Michael Whitehead, who was head of hematology at Montreal's Childrens Hospital. They were married for 20 years, and she described him as a man of kindness, thoughtfulness, generosity, and a man of courage and integrity. She lost her beloved husband to dementia in 2016 at age 83. Louise has all of her friends in the village outside of Montreal, along with her golden retrievers to keep her company.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Emily on January 07, 2022

(2.5) I was warned that the first two books in this series were rough and to start with book three. I'm stubborn so I didn't. I love the small village vibes, I love a lot of the characters there, the main Inspector and the French Canadian bits made me feel at home. I struggled with this book so much b......more

Goodreads review by Susan on October 02, 2013

Where to begin with all the richness that A FATAL GRACE gave me. Reading it, I wondered how I had lived so long without discovering the work of Louise Penny, a first-rate writer. Her creation in this book is so real, her writing so lyrical, her characters so unique and the book's structure and meani......more

Goodreads review by Elizabeth on March 26, 2015

The setup for this book is very long and the main thing the author established was how cruel some characters were and how others were affected by cruelty. This section was so unnecessarily long that I wanted to give up on the book. The only reason I didn't was because I really enjoyed the first book......more

Quotes

“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 haven't 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 can't 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 it's 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 Agatha's Mystery Bookstore

“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 on Still Life

“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) on Still Life

“Cerebral, wise, and compassionate, Gamache is destined for stardom. Don't miss this stellar debut.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) on Still Life

“A gem of a book....a beautifully told, lyrically written story of love, life, friendship, and tragedy.” —Booklist (starred review) on Still Life

“This cerebral mystery...is a rare treat.” —People on Still Life

“A perfectly executed traditional mystery.” —The Denver Post on Still Life

“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 on Still Life

Awards

  • Agatha Awards - Winner
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