Bury Your Dead: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel

All of Louise Penny’s mysteries are excellent, full of deep psychological insights and interesting, often beloved characters. This one is exceptional, however, in that it manages to alternate among four different stories—three contemporary and one historical—without being either confusing or frustrating, something few authors can manage. Penny chose change-over points that felt like natural breaks, so that it wasn’t painful to set aside one fascinating tale in order to pick up another, equally interesting one. I always recommend reading series in order, so that one can get to know the continuing characters and watch them develop, but in this case it’s particularly important to have read the previous book in Penny’s Inspector Gamache series, The Brutal Telling, before reading this one because one and a half of the stories in the present book grow out of it. The first of these continues the question of who killed the “Hermit” in the forest cabin near Penny’s Brigadoon-like Quebecois village, Three Pines; one of the regular Three Pines characters, bistro owner Olivier, was convicted of the crime at the end of the last book, but Olivier’s devoted partner, Gabri—probably along with a lot of readers—refuses to accept his guilt, so Gamache sends his second-in-command, Beauvoir, to Three Pines to reexamine the case while Gamache is busy elsewhere. The “half” involves appealing young agent Paul Morin, who was introduced in the earlier book; the peril in which Morin (along with Gamache and Beauvoir) finds himself in this story (told in flashbacks) does not grow out of that book, but readers who have read it will care more deeply about what happens to him. The other two mysteries, one present-day and one historical, center on the oldest parts of Quebec City, the capital of that mostly French-speaking Canadian province. They are Gamache’s, and the book’s, main focus. Penny’s rich descriptions of the Old City make me want to see it for myself someday, and she makes the Canadian history it embodies both clear and fascinating even to those of us whose previous knowledge of it came from dimly remembered social-studies texts. The old and new stories both involve the question of what happened to the body of Samuel de Champlain, the province’s founder, who is to the Quebecois what, say, George Washington is to people in the United States. The book also gives interesting information about the key 1759 battle between the French and the English, fought nearby, that shaped the fate of the province and, indeed, the country. It is a story that resonates with Gamache because both the French and the English generals made important mistakes, just as he feels he did in the terrorist case involving Paul Morin. Echoes of the battle also can still be felt in the still-strained relations between the French-speakers and the English-speakers (now a somewhat embattled minority) in the city, which play a major part in the contemporary mystery. Penny’s writing, whether describing people or places, is wonderful throughout. This book is not the best place to start on her series, but for those who already have some acquaintance with Gamache, his fellow police officers, and the denizens of Three Pines, I can’t recommend it enough.

This is a mystery, and I want to communicate why this book is special while being careful not to give anything away. I have read hundreds of mysteries, and I have never read one so intricately put together. Louise Penny manages to interweave three story lines, actually four mysteries because the motive for one crime lies in a mystery in the founding and history of Quebec City. Moreover, Penny creates parallels among these story lines--for example, the title Bury Your Dead relates to the importance of burials or the placement of bodes in each story. At the very beginning of the book, the reader is introduced to a tragic incident months earlier from which Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his second-in-command Jean-Guy Beauvoir are still recovering. Their recoveries proceed separately but in parallel; the reader learns this tragic story gradually as they ruminate about it and begin to share it with others they trust. They become more themselves after they become invested in two other crimes that they separately investigate. Beauvoir's investigation follows up on the previous novel, The Brutal Telling, and brings in the familiar characters from Three Pines. Gamache's investigation introduces his mentor Emile Comeau as a character as well as bringing in the interesting history of the province and city of Quebec. The tension between French and English cultures, apparent in previous installments of the Gamache mysteries, takes center stage in this story line. This book will be much more meaningful to readers who already know the main characters. Jean-Guy Beauvoir becomes a more sympathetic character in this book, and Armand Gamache a more complex one because he is no longer perfect--he has been weakened by events, distrusts his judgment, and has to learn to accept his mistakes. If you don't care about these two characters and about the disruption to life in Three Pines that occurred in The Brutal Telling, the intricately interwoven story lines of Bury Your Dead might seem tedious rather than compelling. I don't agree with reviewers who stated that one has to read The Brutal Telling before this novel, but one does have to know something of the characters and their previous interactions, and care about them. Penny has created an impressive number of engaging continuing characters, from Gamache and his wonderful wife and his loyal and imperfect colleagues to the quirky and imperfect residents of Three Pines, as well as the interesting characters who become important in each particular novel. Being able to combine such wonderful characters with extremely well-crafted plots makes Louise Penny an impressive writer in the genre of cozy mysteries/police procedurals. I know I will read all of her novels in this series. My only disappointment in this novel is that her description did not make clear one aspect of what happened in the tragic event that begins and ends the book (even after I went back and forth between passages). Otherwise, this is a five-star mystery.

Book Six of the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series is the saddest so far. There is a sense of impending doom as we relive the memories of Gamache and Beauvoir during the countdown of their last case. A literal countdown that is infused with such sadness and feelings of helplessness. There are several threads to follow and the chapters do not necessarily delineate the different perspectives so you must pay attention. This installment in the Armand Gamache series includes FOUR mysteries in one: • Who really killed the man in the woods in the town of Three Pines? • Who killed an amateur archaeologist in Quebec? • Where is Quebec's founder, Samuel de Champlain, buried? What happened recently to Armand Gamache and his team, resulting in their injuries and PTSD? Throughout the story we come to understand a horrible case that took place, through the memories Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his second in command, Jean Guy Beauvoir, who are both suffering flashbacks and PTSD from what transpired. Three other mysteries run parallel in this book. Gamache is in Quebec recovering emotionally as well as physically from the earlier traumatic events. He becomes involved in a murder case steeped in politics, secrecy, and history. Meanwhile he directs Jean-Guy Beauvoir to take his convalescence in Three Pines and try to make sure that they did convict the right person of murder from Book Five. I highly recommend this series and recommend that you read them in order. I think this is my favorite book of the series, thus far.

"This visit was different. Like no other in all the winters Chief Inspector Gamache had been coming to Quebec City. This time it was Gamache who needed help.” There are several story lines in this disquieting novel. Two are in the immediate past, the third is in the present. The elements of each are interwoven into one remarkable narrative. One involves a recent case gone bad as the Surete attempt to rescue a kidnaped officer. One involves a murder case in Three Pines where the Chief Inspector is, months later, questioning whether he got the right man. The third takes place in old Quebec City where a dead man has been found in the sub-basement of the Literary and Historical Society Library. Worried that centuries old grudges between the French and the Anglos may be re-ignited, the local police chief has sought Gamache’s assistance in the investigation. “...while forgetting the past might condemn people to repeat it, remembering it too vividly condemned them to never leave.” Past and present come together in this outstanding novel as Gamache and his assistant, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, are shocked and horrified when they are forced to view the past in a very vivid and disturbing manner. Bury Your Dead is book 6 in Louise Penny's mystery series. It is “paired” with book 5 and definitely should be read in sequence. All of the books in this series are well-written, the characters beautifully developed. A delightful series with plenty of twists and turns. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ From the author: “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 the second of the Chief Inspector Gamache novels I've read, having started with How the Light Gets In. Suffice to say that no matter where one starts in the series, readers who love beautifully drawn characters and plots that are imaginative and complex (but never resort to gobsmacking "gotcha" trickery) will devour Louise Penny's books. Bury the Dead is, in fact, three mysteries at once -- each in the end connected directly or in other ways both heartbreaking and fascinating. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, in Quebec City to visit an old friend and mentor (and to heal from the psychological scars of the terrible price he and his team paid to foil an act of domestic terrorism) finds himself drawn into the mystery of the murder of Augustin Renaud. Renaud, a local fixture whose obsession with finding the missing remains of Samuel de Champlain has aggravated nearly everyone -- both English and French Quebecois -- is found with his skull crushed in the basement of the Literary and Historical Society, a musty repository of artifacts of the English heritage in Quebec. The question of what Renaud was doing seems clear: looking for Champlain; it's what he was always doing. But why in the basement of the Lit and His? And why was he murdered, and by whom? Meanwhile, in Three Pines, Inspector Jean-Guy Beauvoir -- Gamache's senior team member -- has reopened the Surete's investigation into the death of a local eccentric known as the Hermit, for which bistro owner Olivier has been convicted on the basis of seemingly incontrovertible evidence. But if Olivier didn't commit the crime, who is the real killer? Looming over all is the mystery of the never-found final resting place of Champlain. By turns mournful, and wickedly funny, Bury Your Dead is a masterful mystery by a gifted writer working at the top of her form. Gamache is a remarkable creation, finely drawn and fully realized -- the kind of mentor, boss and man we wish we knew or could be, and we come to care about him deeply Though of necessity drawn in broader strokes, the supporting characters are all memorable. Be warned: once you've read the first few pages you aren't likely to stop until you've read to the very end. Bury Your Dead is simply one of the best novels I've read in many years.

Authors can speak to you on different levels. Louise Penny is a storyteller who is able to manage multiple story lines within one novel. This book has three plot lines that include a terrorist attack, multiple murders, and a healthy dose of Canadian history. Ms. Penny can be described as a painterly author; her descriptions of people and places are so vivid that the reader can see clearly through her verbal renderings. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his second-in-command Jean-Guy Beauvoir are recuperating from wounds they sustained during a terrorist attack gone wrong. Gamache goes to Quebec City to recuperate and to visit with his mentor and former chief. There he becomes involved in a murder that rocks the English community in this French city. Augustin Renaud, considered a lunatic by many in Quebec City, has only one thing on his mind—finding the body of Samuel de Champlain, founder of Quebec, missing for 400 years. And now Renaud is dead, his body poorly buried under the Literary and Historical Society, a hushed library barely known, rarely visited. Gamache has sent Jean-Guy to Three Pines, a bucolic-appearing village that roils with undertones, to reconsider whether the police got a previous murder conviction right. Jean-Guy thought the people of Three Pines were “cunning, deceitful, arrogant, and nearly incomprehensible, especially the Anglos. They were dangerous because they hid their thoughts, hid their feelings, behind a smiling face. Who could tell what was really going on in their heads? They said one thing and thought another. Who knew what rancid thing lived, curled up, in that space between words and thoughts?” Recurring flashbacks to the terrorist attack that wounded Gamache and Beauvoir both mentally and physically plague them as they go about their investigations. Penny deftly interweaves these horrific memories into the story—so well, in fact, that the reader feel all the anguish of the two men right along with them. The temperature in Florida today as I write “feels like” 100+ degrees, and the humidity is so thick that it slaps you in the face as you open the door. What a delight to travel to Quebec City in December with Gamache: “. . .he marveled at the beauty as the first light hit the new snow. It looked more pale blue than white, and here and there it sparkled like tiny prisms where the flakes had drifted and collected, then caught, remade, and returned to light. Like something alive and giddy.” Penny describes the effects of the cold so well that I could feel the chill. As the book progresses, the cold becomes so pervasive a part of the story that it actually almost becomes a character itself. “He sat and put his hands to his face, feeling the burning. Extreme cold left its ironic mark. It was indistinguishable from a sunburn. But within minutes it had subsided, and the circulation had returned to his hands, helped along by sitting on them.” This is a cool August treat that is much better than a beach read!

Overall I liked the book. The story flowed well and I felt that it was a nice follow up to Ms. Penny's previous book. In truth, the story consisted of three dominating plots. One was a recent murder in Quebec City into which CI Gamache gets drawn into, one is the continuation into the murder of the Hermit, and one dealt with events that occured between the previous book and this. I won't spoil anything by talking about it. The central theme to this book is the consequence of actions and how people have to live with what they have done and what has been done to them. This theme is developed well and it helps bring everything together in the book. There is also a number of historical points in the book that I felt help flesh out the story which made it more enjoyable for me. Of course I had minor dislikes in the story that I'm forced to live with. The major item was the relationship between CI Gamache and the Quebec City Homocide Division. It appeared to me that Gamache took over the case and the city washed their hands of it. No police force would let that happen regardless of who the 'expert' investigator was. There should have been more interaction with the local cops and the local cops should have been doing some of the leg work. After all, Gamache has no juridiciton in Quebec City and secondly, he was on medical leave. What would have happened to Inspector Langois career if something had gone wrong. Still, it is a good story and I do recommend it to anyone interested in police procedural stories.

Louise Penny is compassionate, humorous, poetic, awesome. Louise Penny makes me happy. If you have not discovered her, start with: (1) Still Life: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel (Three Pines Mysteries) . Follow it with: (2) A Fatal Grace: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel . (3) The Cruelest Month (Three Pines Mysteries, No. 3) . (4) A Rule Against Murder: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel . (5) The Brutal Telling: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel . In THE BRUTAL TELLING remember poor Olivier was convicted of murdering the hermit. How can we forget? Armand Gamache is an honorable man and decides the case be "dismantled and put together again, only this time seeing if the same evidence could exonerate him and point to someone else." In BURY YOUR DEAD Gamache is a man suffering, personally and professionally. He has made mistakes. He is searching for answers for Olivier and Gabri and himself as well as answers to another multi-layered murder. The publisher's blurb sets the scene: "It is Winter Carnival in Quebec City, bitterly cold and surpassingly beautiful. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache has come not to join the revels but to recover from an investigation gone hauntingly wrong. But violent death is inescapable, even in the apparent sanctuary of the Literary and Historical society - where an obsessive historian's quest for the remains of the founder of Quebec, Samuel de Champlain, ends in murder. Could a secret buried with Champlain for nearly four hundred years be so dreadful that someone would kill to protect it? As past and present collide in this astonishing novel, Gamache must relive a terrible event from his own past before he can begin to bury his dead." One of Louise Penny's strengths is the character sketch. The first depict members of the Literary and Historical society, the third, the Chief Inspector: (1)"He (Porter) examined Elizabeth, plain, tall and slim. At least she had been that when the world was young. Now she just look freeze-dried, like those ancient cadavers, pulled from glaciers, still obviously human, but withered and gray." (2)"She (Elizabeth) looked at Porter and saw a small, energetic toupeed man. His hair where not imported was dyed a shade of black the chairs would envy. His eyes were brown and darted about nervously." (3)"He was solid, comforably built. But it was his eyes that caught (Elizabeth). They were deep brown and calm. She hadn't expected that. She'd thought they'd be sharp, cold, analytical,eyes that had seen so many dreadful things their soft centers had hardened. But this man's eyes were thoughtful, kind." Louise Penny provides insight and clarity with a unique sense of humor, as seen above, and as seen in th following encounter between the head of the local police force and the chief inspector: " 'My English isn't very good, but you should hear the Head Librarian speak French. At least I think she's speaking French. She clearly thinks she is. But I can't understand a word. In the entire interview she spoke French and I spoke English. It was like something out of a cartoon. She must think I'm a moron. So far all I've done is grinned and nodded. And I think I might have asked if she's descended from the lower orders. 'Why did you ask that? 'I didn't mean to. I wanted to ask if she had access to the basement. But something went wrong.' He smiled ruefully. 'I think clarity might be important in a murder case.' 'I think you might be right. What did she say to your question?' 'She got quite upset and said that the night is a strawberry.'" I don't understand French, so I might think that, too. Penny did help by providing some translations of phrases. But a glossary would be wonderful. Finally, I wish Penny would omit vulgarity. It might define a character. Ruth comes to mind. But even Ruth the poet is not vulgar. Why diminish the message? Note: Since this is from a CD, all spelling and punctuation errors are mine. And, in the CD edition there is an author interview.

Sou fã de romance policial. Gostei demais do inspetor Gamache. Lembra-me muito o inspetor Maigrer. Esse romance, recentemente lançado em português, é excelente. Com certeza uma autora muito boa e um personagem principal memorável. Super indico.

Es una novela estupenda para conocer personajes complejos y entrañables así como el paisaje, clima, historia y sociedad de Quebec

Mixed reviews here on this one but for me, another enjoyable book from this author. It's a slow moving story, not a racing murder mystery scattered with bodies and mayhem, more a quiet meandering through the thoughs and mind of Armande Gamashe. He is in old Quebec city; a walled city littered with ancient buildings and artifacts which provide a perfect setting for this atmospheric mystery. HE IS IN THE LITERARY AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY LIBRARY WHEN A MURDER TAKES PLACE. Augustin Renault is found partially buried in the cellars of the library; an eccentric ameteur archaeologist who's obsession with the founder of the city, Samuel Champlain finds him trawling the city's sites digging for his burial place. Why is Renault in the library basement, what for and what did he hope to find? This is a story of three parts; One, the murder of Renault, two Beauvouir's research back in Three Pines of an old murder and three the ongoing plot of the traumas suffered by the team in their brush with a terorist. It's a thoughtful story, needing quite a bit of concentration but for me the setting alone was worth the read. What could be better than a library to discover a mysterious body! I loved this, not as much as Beautiful Mystery with the monks but I find the way this author visualises her scenes and her sense of place descriptions, you can't better it. It takes time to read this but I found the time well spent. I have no 3, The Cruelest Month to read next and am looking forward to entering the world of Armande Gamashe and the residents of Three Pines.

Till now this is one of the best I have read in this series. The past, the present, so much emotion and you will not want to leave the book till the end. A great work by Lousie. A word of advice do read its immediate previous version before starting this book, otherwise you will not be able to feel and visualise the character.

Teil 6 der kanadischen Chief Inspector Gamache Krimireihe! Inspector Gamache erholt sich von einem mörderischen Einsatz. In Quebec besuchen Inspector Gamache und seine Frau Reine-Marie Gamaches alten Mentor Emile. Immer noch nicht bereit über die Vergangenheit zu sprechen, befasst sich Gamache mit der alten Historie von Quebec. Täglich sucht er die alte britische Bibliothek auf und schwelgt in alten französisch-englischen Schlachten. Als eines Morgens eine Leiche im alten Kriechkeller der Bibliothek gefunden wird, weigert sich Gamache zunächst dem örtlichen Ermittlerteam zu helfen. Doch die Sehnsucht nach Normalität packt ihn und er macht sich auf die Suche nach dem Mörder. Tatverdächtige gibt es in Hülle und Fülle. Der Tote war ein selbsternannter Archäologe, der auf der Suche nach dem Grab von Champlain, dem Gründer Quebecs mehrfach in Ungnade fiel und als Grabräuber galt. Zeitgleich sendet Gamache Inspector Beauvoir zurück nach Three Pines. Dort soll er den Fall des toten Einsiedlers verdeckt ermitteln. Beauvoir selbst befindet sich dem schrecklichen Attentat auf sich selbst und seinem Team ebenfalls auf einer Suche zu sich selbst. Gamaches Suche nach dem Mörder in Quebec bringen ihm immer wieder zurück zu Agent Morin. Stück für Stück arbeitet sich der Leser durch die schrecklichen Stunden des Attentats, durch die Gedankengänge Gamaches und geht mit Beauvoir auf die Suche nach innerem Frieden. In Three Pines findet jeder genau das, was er braucht, um wieder ins Leben zu treten. Diese Gemeinschaft bietet Rückhalt, Freundschaft und gute Ratschläge. Der sechste Fall (auf Deutsch noch nicht veröffentlicht) macht natürlich wieder Lust auf den nächsten Teil. Ich habe mich hier für die kanadischen Titel im Original entschieden, da die deutsche Veröffentlichung sich leider nicht an die Erscheinungsreihe hält. Die passenden Hörspiele dazu sind ebenfalls sehr zu empfehlen! Mit Louise Penny begibt man sich in dieses beschauliche kleine Dörfchen und glaubt dort angekommen zu sein. Liebreiz umgibt einen aber hinter der Fassade scheint genau dies stets auch das Böse heraufzubeschwören und das Chaos und der Terror stehen Tür an Tür.