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    Bury Your Dead: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel
    Bury Your Dead: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel
    Bury Your Dead: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel
    Audiobook12 hours

    Bury Your Dead: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel

    Written by Louise Penny

    Narrated by Ralph Cosham

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    "Ralph Cosham’s excellent narration of Louise Penny’s newest mystery demonstrates why a terrific narrator is an author’s best partner." —AudioFile Magazine

    Bury Your Dead is a novel about life and death—and all the mystery that remains—from #1 New York Times bestselling author Louise Penny

    Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is on break from duty in Three Pines to attend the famed Winter Carnival up north. He has arrived in this beautiful, freezing city not to join the revels but to recover from an investigation gone hauntingly wrong. Still, violent death is inescapable—even here, in the apparent sanctuary of the Literary and Historical Society, where one obsessive academic’s quest for answers will lead Gamache down a dark path . . .

    Meanwhile, Gamache is receiving disturbing news from his hometown village. Beloved bistro owner Olivier was recently convicted of murder but everyone—including Gamache—believes that he is innocent. Who is behind this sinister plot? Now it’s up to Gamache to solve this killer case . . . and relive a terrible event from his own past before he can begin to bury his dead.

    “Few writers in any genre can match Penny’s ability to combine heartbreak and hope.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Audio
    Release dateSep 28, 2010
    ISBN9781427210722
    Bury Your Dead: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel
    Author

    Louise Penny

    LOUISE PENNY is the author of the #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Globe and Mail bestselling series of Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novels, and coauthor with Hillary Rodham Clinton of the #1 New York Times bestselling thriller State of Terror. She has won numerous awards, including a CWA Dagger and the Agatha Award (nine times), and was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Novel. In 2017, she received the Order of Canada for her contributions to Canadian culture. Louise lives in a small village south of Montréal.

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    Reviews for Bury Your Dead

    4.5/5

    220 ratings85 reviews

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    • 5/5
      What a pleasant surprise. This is the latest of six in the Chief Inspector Gamache mystery series. I had read the one before "The Brutal Telling" thanks to Library Things earlier reviewer copy. I felt I missed something when I read that book before books 1, 2, 3 and 4. I recommend starting from the beginning of the series. But I loved this book. I listened to the audio version and was enthralled by the narrator's voice - warm and thoughtful and Penny's writing of Gamache's humanity. Let me tell you I don't use the word enthralled too often. Louise Penny juggles three plots during this book. One plot involves Librarians and Libraries. A favorite topic of mine in fiction or non-fiction. This book was a surprise because I liked it so much more than "The Brutal Telling". I enjoyed the characters more, the mysteries were more involving and Quebec is described lovingly. Mysteries with a strong sense of place make a book much more enjoyable for me. I have yet to enjoy Three Pines as a place, but I will go back and read books 1-4 since this one gave me so much pleasure. One note - it was sometimes difficult to adjust to the change of plot lines, but I rolled it and caught up.
    • 5/5
      Armand Gamache has made a mistake. A huge mistake, which led to the deaths of several Sûreté agents, and to the injury of many more, including Gamache and Jean Guy Beauvoir. Gamache has gone to Quebec City to recuperate (physically and mentally) at the home of his former mentor, Emile Comeau, and to spend some time doing research into the Battle of Quebec. During his visit, a local fanatic is found murdered in the basement of the Literary and Historical Society, and Gamache reluctantly agrees to help the local inspector. Meanwhile, every day, Gamache receives a letter from his friend Gabri in Three Pines, and every letter ends with a question that leads Gamache to wonder about his conclusion of an earlier case. He calls Jean Guy, who is itching to get away from his over-solicitous wife, and asks him to go to Three Pines on an unofficial basis and poke around. Louise Penny has done it again. Once I started this book, I stayed up until it was finished. Penny puts the three stories together in a most compelling way, and, as usual, we find out more about the characters of Gamache and Beauvoir. Three Pines plays a much smaller role in this story, but all the usual characters are there, and new alliances are made. Penny has woven in some fascinating history of Quebec and the search for the body of Samuel de Champlain, one of the founders. She admits up front to taking a few liberties, but nothing major, and from one who knew nothing about that history, it didn’t seem to make a difference. The humor, the pathos, the realness of the characters—it’s all here, and I can’t wait for her next book.
    • 5/5
      It's true. Each Penny book is better than the last. Here is a triple-plot, murder mystery, historical novel, and psyhcological intrigue with a strong sense of time and place. This book answers questions raised in the last one. Penny developes familiar characters and deepens the bond between series and reader.
    • 5/5
      It has been a pleasure watching Louise Penny grow as an author over this past year. I started the Three Pines series last January and was happy to find a cozy mystery series that I thought I would stretch out over a couple of years. I knew from other reviewers that the books were better and better as you progressed through the series and I could see that improvement occur as I read each entry. But her latest book, “Bury Your Dead” is an outstanding literary effort, as well as a fantastic mystery and it’s really hard not to note the skill improvement.In this book, Penny weaves together three separate plots, each well-developed and each laden with suspense. That’s far different from the earlier entries which pretty much concentrated on one plot line although some of them referenced earlier scenarios that played a role in the narrative. But the sophistication of this book is unparalleled. Tense drama with lots of suspense and this was the first time that I, personally, would put a Penny book into the “can’t put down” category. The Chief Inspector and his right hand man Jean Guy Beauvoir are recovering from wounds suffered in a recent investigation gone wrong. While recuperating at the home of a friend in Quebec City, Gamache is asked to assist in a case of the murder of a fanatical historian, who has dedicated his life to searching for the remains of the founder of Quebec, Samuel deChamplain. At the same time, Gamache asks Beauvoir to re-open an investigation of a previous case in Three Pines. Three plots, three settings and an absolutely fabulous look at the history of Quebec combine to produce a very erudite mystery. Keep ‘em coming Ms. Penny. I’ll keep reading ‘em. Very highly recommended.
    • 3/5
      Pleasant, but not a great read. And the writing sometimes makes me cringe - where are the editors?
    • 4/5
      Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surete is recovering both physically and psychologically from a traumatic case that started with the murder of one of his officers and the kidnapping of another. He’s visiting his mentor, Emile Comeau, in Quebec City. While he’s there, Gamache is haunted by the memories of his recent ordeal and beset by letters from someone associated with another murder case – one in which he apprehended the murderer of a man called “the Hermit” and sent convicted killer to prison. But now Gamache is having second thoughts: is the right person in prison? He gives one of his men, who is recovering from wounds he suffered at the same time as Gamache, an assignment to unofficially and discretely reopen the case. But a more immediate murder interrupts Gamache’s troubling thoughts – that of a much-ridiculed man obsessed with finding the remains of Samuel deChamplain, one of the founding fathers of Quebec and Canada. The body of the victim, Augustin Renaud, is found in the basement of an institution devoted to everything English – this in the middle of French-speaking Quebec. Gamache had been using the institution’s library to do his own historical research … and is asked by the local police to consult on the case. Dealing with one complicated plot line is enough for most writers, but in Bury Your Dead, Louise Penny successfully juggles three. And she manages to throw light on the complex politics, separatist movement and culture wars in Quebec … along with a little Canadian history to boot. Although the plot move a little more slowly than I usually prefer, I stayed with it and was rewarded. Bury Your Dead was a very satisfying read and I learned something in the process.Review based on an Early Reviewer’s copy of the book, provided by the publisher.
    • 5/5
      Oh my goodness! Why have I not read Louise Penny before now?! I loved this book and literally could not put it down! Bury Your Dead is the 6th book in the Chief Inspector Gamache series.Detective Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec is hoping to recover from his horrific last case that left him both physically and mentally wounded. He has come to Québec City to stay with his mentor Émile Comeau and heal. It is winter in Québec and Carnaval is on, but Gamache instead seeks out solitude in the library of the Literary and Historical Society - an English bastion in a French dominated city and province. The Lit and His tries to maintain a low profile, but that is shattered when a well known local archaeologist, bent on finding the lost body of Quebec's founding father, is found murdered in the basement of the library. Inspector Gamache reluctantly agrees to consult.The hidden village of Three Pines is a setting for many of the previous books in this series. Gamache has sent Olivier, a local bistro owner, to prison for the murder of a local hermit, but receives letters every day from the man's partner proclaiming that a mistake has been made. Gamache, already second guessing himself, decides to send his deputy Jean-Guy Beauvoir, also on leave from the tragic last case, to unofficially re investigate the case.This was my first introduction to this marvelously fascinating lead character. Gamache is wise, introspective and human. In addition to nearly losing his own life in his last investigation, he did lose members of his team. The one who lives in his head every day is Paul Morin. Je me souviens, thought Gamache. The motto of Québec. The motto of the Québécois. I remember. That was the problem. Always the problem. I remember. Everything."As Gamache works his way through the murder at the Lit and His, Morin's voice is always in his head. Snippets are revealed and more as Gamache moves forward, a little bit at a time.Every school age child in Canada has studied Samuel de Champlain, known as the founding father of New France - Québec. But, Champlain's final resting place and some details about his life have never been firmly established. Penny has brought the mystery of Champlain into the mystery of Bury Your Dead, weaving intriguing historical detail into her fictional tale. The political atmosphere of Québec is captured with much discussion surrounding the Separatist movement for Sovereignty. I enjoyed reading the descriptions of Québec City very much, as I have visited many of the places described.Penny has written an incredibly detailed, thoroughly engrossing mystery that successfully includes historical and political subplots. The odd little village of Three Pines is filled with quirky characters that I look forward to knowing better. But it is the characters, their thoughts, feelings and emotions that made the book for me. Just superb. Bury Your Dead is a fitting title on so many levels. Gamache must put the past to rest before he can move, as do many of the characters in the book.Louise Penny has joined the list of my favourite mystery authors. Fans of Peter Robinson would enjoy this author.
    • 5/5
      This is my favorite book of the year. Penny's prose, whether inside Inspector Gamache's head or out, pulls the varied threads of this amazing story together so well. Gamache is recuperating in Quebec City, dabbling in some historical research when a murder involving another driven historian is discovered. Unofficially, Gamache is invited to participate in the investigation. In the meantime, Three Pines still flutters through his mind, with daily notes from bistro owner Gabri. Finally, he sends Inspector Beauvoir, who is also recovering from their recent case to Three Pines, to take a fresh look at who may have killed the hermit. Although the quirky characters of Three Pines may be hard to keep up with if you haven't read the previous book, The Brutal Telling, I think you could muddle through if you had to, but would be better off for reading that mystery first. The story absolutely wowed me. Louise Penny did a great job.
    • 5/5
      This is the sixth book in Louise Penny's murder mystery series featuring Chief Inspector Gamache and I think this series really does need to be read in order. So much of the emotional impact of this book was because I had come to know and love the characters by reading the preceding books in the series.There are three story strands to follow; firstly, Gamache and Beauvoir have been injured in an incident at work which has had devastating implications. We only discover the full details of the incident in flashbacks throughout the book. In the second story arc, Gamache has doubts about the outcome of the murder case in book 5 (The Brutal Telling) and asks Beauvoir to return to The Three Pines to do some further investigation and finally there is a murder in Quebec where Gamache is recuperating and in trying to find the solution to this murder Gamache is drawn back to an old historical mystery and the founding of Quebec itself.Once again, this book was everything I have come to expect from Louise Penny: good writing, thought-provoking themes and well-loved characters. She writes about Quebec and its history in a way that makes me want to visit the city. I was gripped by all three storylines and this is a book I will want to reread in the future (whilst I'm impatiently waiting for book #7...)
    • 5/5
      'Bury Your Dead' is the sixth book in Chief Inspector Gamache's Three Pines series. I've read them all, and this is the first one I've given 5 stars. The books really do get better as the series progresses.There are three plot lines in this novel, starting out independently and growing together toward the end. First, we have Gamache visiting his mentor in Quebec City. He's recuperating from something terrible involving him and his agents, leaving many wounded, and many dead. The reader does not know what happened. This is gradually revealed through a series of flashbacks throughout the book.Second, Gamache stumbles upon a crime scene in Quebec City. The investigator recognizes him and asks for Gamache's help as a consultant. There is a lot of history brought in, because the death has to do with the search for Samuel de Champlain's burial place. As Gamache studies this crime, he is finally able to discuss the tragic investigation, his injuries, and the loss of life. It's the beginning of his healing process. He learns to 'bury his dead'.He also comes to accept his imperfections. Instead of dwelling on his own mistakes, he learns, as does the rest of his team, that he can be a great Chief Inspector even though he is not always right. (A lesson that all perfectionists do well to learn).The third thread stars Inspector Beauvoir. Gamache quietly sends him back to Three Pines to recuperate, but also to re-open the case from "A Brutal Telling." He's not 100% satisfied and realizes he may have made a mistake. We get to know Beauvoir better, and Beauvoir realizes he may have mis-judged the people of Three Pines.I gave this book 5 stars because it is, as they say, 'the complete package'. It contains mystery, love, friendship, death, sadness, regret, jealousy, revenge, forgiveness, reunion, history, mistakes, apologies, joy, and healing. Penny keeps it real, no sugar coating, magic, or happily ever afters. Just real people with real emotions.
    • 5/5
      The story begins with what we soon realize is a flashback to an incident that occurred at an unspecified time. Then, we realize that Detective Inspector Armand Gamache is in Quebec City, visiting an old friend and mentor. His wife, Reine-Marie, has been with him, but returned home to Montreal that morning. Slowly, it is revealed to that Gamache is in the process of recovering from a trauma.In Quebec City, he is filling his days by doing some historical research at the library of the English Literary and Historical Society. One day,he arrives to see emergency vehicles outside, and is at first not allowed to enter. Then, the Inspector in charge recognizes Gamache, and tells him that a body has been found in the sub-basement of the historic building, and that the body is not a centuries-old skeleton as might be expected, but Augustin Renaud, a local historian.Gamache agrees to consult with Inspector Langlois on the case, partially to avoid thinking about the incident he's trying to come to terms with, a situation he believes he handled badly.Gamache receives daily letters from Gabri Dubeau in Three Pines stating that his partner Olivier Brule is innocent of the murder for which he's been convicted (see The Brutal Telling). He begins to doubt hhis handling of Olivier's case as well, and asks his assistant Jean Guy Beauvoir, also on leave, to go to Three Pines and investigate. Though Beauvoir hates Three Pines, he'd do anything for his Chief (and is frankly relieved to be doing something). The narrative moves easily between the flasbacks which slowly reveal the progress of the incident that put them both on leave, Gamache's investigation in Quebec City and Beauvoir's investigation in Three Pines.This may well be the best book of a series in which all the books are extraordinary.
    • 3/5
      I don't usually read this kind of thing but I was drawn by the historical aspects of the plot. It started slow and I had to make myself keep reading but it did build up suspense at the end. Didn't really feel I learnt too much about the characters and I found the who-did-its quite unlikely.
    • 5/5
      I'm always torn when I read one of Louise Penny's novels. I want to finish it as quickly as possible to learn the answers to the mysteries central to the book, yet I want to linger as long as possible in the world she's created. As much as I love Three Pines, I was even more enchanted by the Quebec City of Bury Your Dead -- its blend of Old World and New World charm, of French and English culture. The murder's setting in a historical society's library and the connection to a historical mystery about Champlain, combined with the atmosphere of Quebec City, make this a favorite book in a favorite series.The books in this series are part police procedural, part psychological mystery, and part village cozy, and this one is part historical mystery. Yet Penny's books transcend genre. Her writing doesn't feel formulaic. Her books are not so much about death as about life -- the value of others' lives and of one's own. Gamache's respect for life is a key to his success as an investigator. He observes, questions, and meditates until he identifies the person among all the suspects who values his or her own life so far above others that he or she is willing to kill to preserve it.Penny's respect for her readers is evident in her spare writing style. She knows her characters intimately, and she shows us their thoughts and emotions without wordy descriptions. She doesn't need a lot of words to communicate the story. She knows we'll understand. And we love her for it.If you're new to this series, please don't start with this book. It is inseparably connected to the previous book in the series, The Brutal Telling, and that book should be read first.This review is based on an advance reading copy provided by the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.
    • 5/5
      The best yet in an enchanting series!
    • 5/5
      First Line: Up the stairs they raced, taking them two at a time, trying to be as quiet as possible.Chief Inspector Armand Gamache has come to the beautiful old city of Quebec during Winter Carnival to recuperate from an investigation gone horrifically wrong. He stays with a dear friend, he takes his dog for walks along the streets, he frequents favorite restaurants, and he does a bit of research at the English-operated Literary and Historical Society. But death intrudes even in that sanctuary, and everyday a letter arrives from the village of Three Pines which tells Gamache, "He didn't do it, you know."I was absolutely thrilled with Penny's first novel, Still Life, and-- incredibly-- each book in this series has grown stronger and stronger. Readers new to Penny will rejoice that they don't need to start with book one. Although characters from previous books make appearances in Bury Your Dead, it isn't necessary to read the other books in order to enjoy this one. Readers who are well aware of Penny's talent will simply rejoice that there's a new book to read. (We know the treat we have in store.)At the beginning of this book, we are told that Gamache and other members of his team have been seriously injured in a previous investigation, but Penny wisely doles out the information about this in a slow but steady stream. A strength in this book is that-- although I was dying to know everything about this investigation-- I didn't become angered by the author's slipping away into other plot threads. The other plot threads themselves are very strong.There is information about the French and English communities in Quebec, both past and current. The treasure hunt revolving around Samuel de Champlain is fascinating. Gamache sending his second-in-command, Jean Guy Beauvoir, to Three Pines to reopen an investigation introduces new readers to that marvelous village of characters that is so beloved by those of us who already know it.This series is consistently excellent, and is one that I always recommend to others. Many mysteries seem to focus so strongly on death and past mistakes that they never rise above the two. There are two sentences in Penny's acknowledgments that tell readers a great deal about the series as a whole: "Like the rest of the Chief Inspector Gamache books, Bury Your Dead is not about death, but about life. And the need to both respect the past and let it go." This is why these books rise above: they have a humanity that so many of the others lack.
    • 5/5
      Another winner in the series and set outside of Three Pines. Penny delved more deeply into the psyches of Gamache and Beauvoir - very well done.
    • 5/5
      Excellent book by an excellent author. The flashbacks were set up very nicely throughout the book, and reliving the shootout and the pain Gamache was going through nearly brought tears to my eyes. Again the characters are well written, and the misdirection set up superbly.
    • 5/5
      Penny has matured nicely in her story-telling, though I missed the delightful sense of humor which was so much in evidence in her first books.In [Bury your Dead], she corrects a poor conviction from a previous book, weaves that plot into a new (well, that may be a bit of a stretch--forgive my literary license) plot, plus interweaves a third, desperate plot throughout the whole--and keeps all three plots juggling together nicely.I would say this is her best effort to date! Enjoy your time in Québec!
    • 5/5
      Those who say this is a "must read" are not wrong. And neither are those who say this is Louise Penny's best novel so far aren't either.But you do need to read this series in order! And in particular you must read THE BRUTAL TELLING before you read BURY YOUR DEAD.Inspector Armand Gamache is recovering from an event that happened since THE BRUTAL TELLING but I'll let you find out from what for yourself. But let me tell you that in BURY YOUR DEAD he solves no less than three mysteries. And I learnt so much about Quebec's history! We learn too that Armand Gamache is not always right, and that he knows how to say sorry.The whole book is such good reading. There is more than the police procedural and the writing is wonderful.My rating: 5.0 and with that it slides to the top of my best reads so far this year.1. Still Life (2005)2. Dead Cold (2006) aka A Fatal Grace3. The Cruellest Month (2007)4. The Murder Stone (2008) aka A Rule Against Murder5. The Brutal Telling (2009)6. Bury Your Dead (2010)THE BRUTAL TELLING was the winner of the Agatha Award for best novel of 2009. and I'll be very surprised if BURY YOUR DEAD does not capture a whole swag of nominations.BookPage, in the US, named BURY YOUR DEAD their Mystery of the Month for October 2010
    • 5/5
      The latest in the continuing saga of Armand Gamache and his team of homicide officers in Quebec. Louise Penny's best yet in the Three Pines Mystery series.
    • 5/5
      Every once in a while a book comes along that keeps you reading into the wee hours of the morning and faster than you’ve ever read a book before all the while telling yourself to slow down so that you can prolong the pleasure. This is such a book.Bury Your Dead is Louise Penny’s sixth mystery featuring Armand Gamache, Chief Inspector of the Surete du Quebec.She has crafted a beautifully written mystery with characters so skillfully drawn they come alive for the reader. This is one of those books that when it ends, you’re sad because you find yourself missing the characters who peopled it.The city of Quebec is as much a character in Penny’s hand as Gamache, Beauvoir, Renaud, and Champlain. Penny beautifully describes the city so much so that you can almost believe that you, too, know the city as well as Gamache as he walks the cobblestone street. As Penny describes the effects of winter on the city, you may find yourself drawing covers over you to quell the cold even as the the temperatures rise to the 90s outside your home.Penny has written a multi-layered mystery with three story lines. She deftly intertwines each plot line. She is skilled at building and maintaining the tension in each story. The story opens with Gamache having gone to Quebec to visit with his mentor after having been wounded in an attempted terrorist attack on the La Grand dam. He is drawn into an investigation of the murder of an amateur archaeologist who is on a quest to find the burial place of Champlain. While Gamache tries to recover his equilibria, he sends his assistant back to the small town of Three Pines to reopen a case that Gamache solved and saw the murderer convicted. The author follows each of these plot lines with such skill and so seamlessly that the reader barely notices the switch.The ending is satisfying and all the loose ends of each of the plot lines are niftily tied up without being contrived or rushed.It has been many years since I laughed out loud when reading a mystery. Penny had me guffawing when a seventy-something dignified English woman tries to speak French and ends up speaking gibberishDo not start reading this book if you have to work the next day. This is one of those books that we long for, but only comes along one in a great while - you know, the one you can’t wait to get back to, the one you’d miss your best friend’s wedding for, the one that you forget to eat while you’re reading it.
    • 5/5
      Have not been disappointed yet! The characters are like family. Every book I read feels like a reunion.
    • 5/5
      Louise Penny's series of books featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, continues with this brilliant book, which delves into the mind and soul of her protagonist. He is trying to sort out his life and feelings after a deadly kidnapping and shootout which resulted in the deaths of a number of police officers as well as serious injury to himself and others of his comrades. Gamache holds himself responsible for not being able to defuse the situation without such a terrible price. We are given glimpses of what occurred, through flashbacks, while Gamache, who is on leave, delves into the mystery surrounding the death of a rather eccentric and prominent, though not well liked citizen of Quebec. The body was found in the Literary and Historical Society, a little known bastion of English life buried in the heart of French Quebec. More than just a body is uncovered as feelings run high in this land of split loyalties and centuries old animosities. Gamache's self doubt brought on by the recent tragedy also insinuates itself to his past, as he starts to question the validity of a recent murder conviction for a crime in the town of Tree Pines. It would be helpful although not essential, at this point, if the reader has already read the previous book in the series, "The Brutal Telling." The author skillfully balances all these themes and a rich cast of characters, while managing to touch the heart of both her characters and the reader. Penny breathes life into her creations and takes our breath away at the same time.
    • 4/5
      Chief Inspector Gamache is recovering from feelings of failure after some officers in his charge were killed, and now he's in Quebec visiting an old mentor. They get embroiled in a murder case, and it seems that mistakes abound, from Montcalm on the Plains of Abraham almost through until the last pages of this mystery.
    • 4/5
      This series, the Chief Inspector Gamache series, is one of my favorite mystery series. Armand Gamache stands as a beacon directing the lost to truth. Gamache learned early that four sentences herald and direct life: I'm sorry. I was wrong. I need help. I don't know. These four sentences shine within the story. The story begins with a broken Gamache, trying to understand his last assignment. While Gamache helps to investigate a murder in Quebec, Jean-Guy Beauvoir searches for truth in Three Pines. Louise Penny shows the spirit and demons within ancient Quebec, and the animosity between the French and the English. Penny presents Gamache as an unlikely hero, and a veritable model for all to emulate. I love the setting, the characters, and the language that Louise Penny exhibits. One can almost feel the bitter cold, but also the absolute delight of a winter day.
    • 4/5
      This was my least favorite of the series so far, but I think that's because it's the darkest so far and there wasn't enough of Clara in it. It is still a very good traditional mystery, and Ralph Cosham does his usual excellent job with the narration. You really need to have read at least the previous book, The Brutal Telling, for this one.
    • 5/5
      If you have not already read Penny's previous novel, The Brutal Telling, you need to do so before reading this book. This review contains a spoiler for The Brutal Telling. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his second-in-command Jean Guy Beauvoir are recuperating from injuries sustained in a terrorist/hostage situation. Gamache goes to Quebec City to visit his retired mentor Emile Comeau. He visits the Literary and Historical Society's Library on most days. When the body of a man obsessed with locating Samuel de Champlain's remains turns up dead in the library's basement, Gamache joins the investigation in an unofficial capacity. Meanwhile, Gabri, from the village of Three Pines, sends Gamache daily letters which are forwarded to him in Quebec City, which ask "Why would Olivier move the body?" Gamache finally gives in, calling Beauvoir and asking him to secretly reopen the investigation. Interwoven throughout both stories are the memories of that horrible terrorist incident.The author has done an excellent job weaving three stories into one. The characters are well-drawn. There are so many layers to this novel. I really could not put the book down. I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning just to finish it! Louise Penny has written what may be her best novel to date. The review is based on an advance reader's edition provided by the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program with the expectation that a review would be written.
    • 5/5
      I don't read mysteries. But I do read Louise Penny. Her books, while technically mysteries, are always deeper and more satisfying than the typical whodunit. They are about people...real people, it seems. I am emotionally invested in the lives of her characters, and I would really love to move to Three Pines if it were only possible!This sixth entry in her wonderful Three Pines/Gamache series does not disappoint. "Bury Your Dead " continues events from the fifth book while adding layers upon layers along the way. Gamache, one of the most sensitive, wise, and warm homicide investigators conceivable, has made a mistake. A mistake that cost several officers their lives, and almost cost his own. He has gone to Quebec City to visit an old friend and recuperate from both his physical and his spiritual wounds...and Gamache being Gamache, stumbles right into the middle of a murder investigation that may well be connected with one of the oldest and most puzzling mysteries in Quebec history. Meanwhile, back in Three Pines, poor Gabri is still unable to believe that his partner committed a murder. Every day he sends a letter to Gamache, and every day that letter asks the same question..."Why would Olivier move the body?" Gamache, never fully satisfied with the ending of that case, sends his second-in-command Beauvoir to Three Pines to unofficially re-investigate the murder of the Hermit and tells Beauvoir to work from the assumption that Olivier is innocent. Beauvoir, never fully at home in Three Pines the way Gamache is, finds this a difficult task. For one thing, he's convinced Olivier is guilty! But as he continues to dig into the lives and pasts of the Three Pines residents, he becomes more and more convinced that Gabri might just be right...they convicted the wrong man.Nuanced, amazingly well-constructed, and very moving, "Bury Your Dead" might be one of the best entries in a wonderful series. I'll admit it...I cried at the very end. And once you've read it, you'll understand why!
    • 5/5
      What more could you want from An Inspector Gamache Three Pines Mystery? Nothing that I could think of. Using the settings of old Quebec City, a wonderfully old Literary and Historical Society library and the ‘snow globe’ community of Three Pines, my favorite cast of Inspector, Detectives and police lead the reader on a twisted and mysterious trail to find answers to new and old murders.Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his right hand Detective Jean Guy Beauvoir both follow different trails in perhaps intertwined stories. The story begins with Gamache and Beauvoir recovering independently from the aftermath in “The Brutal Telling”. There is a body discovered in the old library in Quebec City and Gamache is requested into the investigation of case to determine who the victim is it is and if there has been a murder. Beauvoir is in Three Pines at the direction of the Inspector to do some further investigation regarding the previous murder in The Brutal Telling.I don’t want to spoil this story but I can say that the storyline was exciting, complex and emotionally touching, especially for those of us that have become invested in these characters as they seem very real and I feel as if I know them because the characterization is so strong and consistent.“Bury Your Dead” is by far the best of the Penny’s books and I thought “Still Life was wonderful and was her best until this book. I have read all of the ‘Three Pines’ series and have not been disappointed by any of her books. I find Louise Penny to be an excellent writer and I highly recommend her books. I would recommend reading them in order.(Still Life, A Fatal Grace, The Cruelest Month, A Rule Against Murder, The Brutal Telling and last but definitely not least, Bury Your Dead.
    • 5/5
      Wow. Louise Penny just gets better with every book. I see there's another one of these coming out this year and plan to put myself on the hold list as soon as the library has it on order. Despite the heavy themes that Penny explores (particularly in this title), there's love and lightness to balance those themes and I just didn't want to get out of my car half the time because I was so wrapped up in the story. This series is just one of the best.