If you’re like me you read these evaluations before purchasing the item. One of the things I noticed is people don’t like negative reviews. Take a loo..Show More »k sometime and see how many people find negative reviews not helpful compared to positive reviews. With that said I’m still going to post my review (my opinion) of the book.

I really enjoyed the first book of the series, Still Life, so I was excited to receive the next one. I was very disappointed with A Fatal Grace. It was irritating listening to a story where you can figure out who the murderer is half way through the book. The Chief Inspector is supposed to be one of the best in the business but he can’t see the obvious. I won't give the plot away but here's just one example of what I mean. He's investigating two murders; one of the homeless lady called "L" and another woman. During the investigation he's trying to locate the mother of the murdered woman but all he knows is the woman's name began with an "L". This is one example but the whole book is like this. It was tiring waiting for him to finally figure things out and catch up with me, the reader. Another annoying thing was even after CI Armand Gamache figured out who the murderer was, he still keeps it from the reader as to build up suspense, it was more irritating than suspenseful. Trying to make a story suspenseful when you already know the ending, doesn’t work.

Even though I didn’t like this book, I really like the first one and will purchase the third book of the series. I discovered this series by searching the Past Agatha Award Winners & Nominees. Other books you might like if you like this, Blind Justice - series by Bruce Alexander, Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear, Mrs. Pollifax – series by Dorothy Gilman.



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Louise Penny offers incredible depth to all of her characters, and each book in the Gamache series probes into the characters of Three Pines more and ..Show More »more. Penny's latest book offers a mystery that leaves you guessing until the end when the truth is finally revealed. Incredible writing AND an incredible plot? Awesome.

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I loved "A Rule Against Murder" because Louise Penny's writing is simply music to my ears. Her ability to develop characters, describe scenery, and c..Show More »reate an ingenious plot are unparalleled. I am not extremely familiar with Canada or with French Canadians. Therefore, learning more about this particular culture through the characters was also of interest to me. I found myself looking forward to the evening hours so that I could sit down, dim the lights, sip a glass of cabernet and listen to this book. My only regret is that I have now finished the book!

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I've listened to all of the Three Pines novels now, having started with Still Life and fallen in love with the seemingly idyllic town and truly eccent..Show More »ric but delightful characters. Penny does a very fine job of drawing out the souls who people her novels as well as the settings, so much so that I wish I could find a Three Pines and move there.
As another reviewer had done, once I listened to Still Life, I downloaded and essentially devoured the remaining novels. I do hope Penny has another novel planned; this last one--The Brutal Telling--shook my gestalt as much as it did the citizens of Three Pines and the police. Although Penny is consistent in her story-telling, it wasn't until this last novel that I realized what it is that I like so much about her work: while her mysteries are traditional police procedurals, there's also an strong undercurrent of philosophy and psychology. The Chief Inspector's ruminations on human nature are what saved this particular novel from devastating me, leaving me with a tinge of hope, but also with an heightened understanding of how none of us is saved from those things that are "supposed" to happen to other people.
Like the Chief Inspector, I find myself ruminating about Three Pines and its inhabitants long after the "case is closed." And I hope I don't have to wait too long before there's another installment in this series.

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When I discovered Armand Gamache, I was hooked. Something about his wisdom and inner peace along with an acute intelligence just made me want to know..Show More » him more and more. Having read all the previous books, I feel this one meets all expectations. I was hooked from beginning to end and can't wait for the next one to come out.
The additional clip of an interview with Louise Penny was wonderful too. It was so great to hear her love of the characters and places and the fact that she sees the characters grow just as I do.

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I've listened to well over 200 audiobooks and I like a good detective story. Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache ranks for me far above the jaded, violen..Show More »t, tormented creations in modern detective fiction that seem so much to be the current fashion.
The Inspector Gamache stories have evolved to be about more then just "the case". The lives of the villagers in 3 Pines have become as much part of any new installment of the series then the hunt for the murderer, especially in this installment. That gives the books an additional dimension, no silly filler stuff, no gratuitous violence or almost laughable sexual encounters to keep the readers interested between the different steps of the investigation, but sweet, sad, intelligent, stupid, infuriating, and because of all that interesting characters, exist in the space "between" and around the actual case story.
Ralph Cosham has become, at least in my ears, very much the voice of Gamache. In a way he has become as much the voice of the stories then George Guidall simply is Walt Longmire in the Craig Johnson series (another series that, while it is a very different environment, I believe you will like if you like Inspector Gamache) .

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Louise Penny has written a tale with all my favorite things - fascinating historical context, complex, emotional characters, and a good story. The clo..Show More »istered monastery setting is wonderfully detailed, and each monk has a clear, vivid character (even the minor ones). The twists of the story, whether humorous little details or fast-paced dramatic actions, prevented me from putting it down. The murder mystery was a wonderful tale, with an interesting resolution and a strangely hopeful twist at the end.

The parallell story, among the regular characters, will be interesting to new readers, and almost overwhelming for those of us who follow the series. I noticed in her previous book, "Bury Your Dead," that Penny has a gift for imagining the most heart-breaking thing that could happen to Inspector Gamache, and making it so - drawing it out over the course of hundreds of pages, awful yet irresistible. This book is no different. She definitely has a gift for creating characters whose emotions are so engaging, so vivid, that I am invested in their well being.

I loved this book, but I do feel like I need a support group now.

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