The book takes place in and around Quebec City, Canada, where the dwindling Anglophone community feels it is still fighting wars 250 years in the past. One which the English had won, “securing Quebec for the English, on paper,” but not so in actuality. Even beyond the strong separatist feelings, there is a great deal of animosity between the two cultures [Francophones being the other], down to the refusal of most of its citizens to learn the language of the other. As the Quebecois say, “je me souviens,” I remember. We are told that “not everything buried is actually dead. For many, the past is alive.”
The plot deals with two present-day murders, and the author teases the reader by alternating the chapters between the two investigations – indeed, three, as there is another involving deeds, and a dead body, from over a century ago. A great deal of fascinating history is provided, regarding events of which I do not hesitate to admit that I [and I suspect many other non-Canadians] was unaware.
Inspector Gamache, “head of the most prestigious homicide unit in Canada, the Surete du Quebec,” returns in his sixth appearance. This time around he is literally and figuratively scarred and haunted by recent events, a deadly incident involving the murder of one Surete officer and the kidnapping of another, pitting Gamache up against his superior officer who refuses to consider a scenario other than the one which he perceives to be the correct one in order to try to rescue their endangered colleague. Now on leave, and haunted by the tragic outcome of the incident, Gamache is told by a trusted mentor that everything will heal, “avec le temps,” with time.
Gamache is described as “a man who preferred good books and long walks to any other activity.” He also has a strong sense of justice, and feels duty bound to take another look at the case which was at the center of “The Brutal Telling,” the prior entry in the series, the murder of a hermit in the charming village of Three Pines, despite the fact that the man he had arrested for the murder was convicted and is presently serving his sentence.
The pace of the novel is a leisurely one, and although I could not figure out why I found it so slow-moving, I must say it gave me that much greater an opportunity to enjoy the charming prose. The three prongs of the tale are all deftly and satisfyingly resolved, and Inspector Gamache is once more shown to be a clever and very human police officer. Very enjoyable, the novel is recommended.
