A Fatal Grace A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel

Louise Penny — 2007

Sent to a village south of Montreal to investigate the death of CC de Poitiers, an extremely unpopular woman apparently killed in an electrical accident, Armand Gamache of the Surete du Quebec finds that nearly everyone in town had a motive to kill her.

Reviews

Lara Engle@bzzlarabzz

Aug 23, 2023

Yeah, I like Three Pines. Honestly, the mysteries don't even matter. This one was somehow overly complex but easy to solve. But the town and the townspeople are the real draw here. They remind me of Stars Hollow in Gilmore Girls.

B. R.@bluerae

Oct 21, 2022

While the setting and background characters are still generally charming, I did not like this book nearly as much as the first. I found the mystery a lot more predictable than the last book. Not sure if this is a function of listening to the audio book but the connection of the names of L and the others to the letters was pretty obvious early on. Also, the pitying misery language applied to Crie and L was really heavy handed in my opinion and kind of yikes. The way the text especially focuses on Crie’s weight and how her clothes fit to her body made me really uncomfortable while listening. I’ve only read the first two books in the series now, but at this point I’d recommend skipping this book entirely.

This review contains a spoiler

Jenna@jenna

Jun 8, 2022

A Fatal Grace is the second of Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache series. And it was fine. I liked it, but I didn't love it. I like the coziness of the characters and town now that they're more familiar, but... I don't know, I'm just not completely on board? I'll probably keep reading the series because I do at least like the books and people say they pick up after the fourth one. The second book in the series, this book takes Gamache back to Three Pines to solve the seemingly impossible (but for real, this method of murder would never happen) murder of one of it's newest residents. As Gamache investigates, he uncovers old ties of the deceased to the town. However... this book is kind of forgettable? But also predictable? It's been about a month since I finished it and I barely remember any details. I also predicted more in this book than I did in Still Life. The mystery wasn't as well crafted, in my opinion. Anyway, I'll probably read more Lousie Penny, because now the characters are familiar but also because I already bought the third book when I bought this one. If you aren't in the LP club... I guess I still don't feel like I can tell you it's worth it. Maybe I'll feel that way in a few more books but for now I'm still not entirely sold.

Cindy Lieberman@chicindy

Mar 26, 2022

3.75. Despite figuring this one out well before the end (which I very rarely do, as I prefer to "enjoy the ride"), the book had some interesting character development. This was very clearly designed to be the series launch following the success of her first novel, with many more story lines left to follow. And follow I will!

Sheila@duchess

Feb 7, 2022

HAH OF COURSE I FINISHED THIS IN ONE SITTING GOD GOD GOD the writing is just so good it's unfair

Melody Izard@mizard

Jan 10, 2022

Craig and I listened to the audio book while on a trip. I convinced him that he didn't need to have read number 1 in the series. I was wrong. I even would have benefited by brushing up on what had come before. These are smart reads. You have to pay attention. You have to keep up with the characters because they all matter. Read in order. Don't let too much time pass between books. I think I'm going to be in trouble for number 3 because I'm not taking my own advice.

Amy L Hamilton@amyl60