A Rule Against Murder

Chief Inspector Gamache, Book 4

By: Louise Penny

Narrated by: Adam Sims

It's the height of summer, and the wealthy Finney family have gathered at the Manoir Bellechasse to pay tribute to their late father. But as the temperature rises, old secrets and bitter rivalries begin to surface. When the heat wave boils over into a mighty storm, a dead body is left in its wake. Chief Inspector Gamache, a guest at the Bellechasse, finds himself with a building full of suspects. With the hotel locked down, the murderer is trapped. But a cornered predator is always the most dangerous of all....

Coming soon: Book 5 in the Chief Inspector Gamache series, The Brutal Telling. When Chief Inspector Gamache arrives in picturesque Three Pines, he steps into a village in chaos. A man has been found bludgeoned to death, and there is no sign of a weapon, a motive, or even the dead man's name. As Gamache and his colleagues start to dig under the skin of this peaceful haven for clues, they uncover a trail of stolen treasure, mysterious codes, and a shameful history that begins to shed light on the victim's identity - and points to a terrifying killer....

©2008 Louise Penny (P)2009 Hachette Audio

Same book: A Rule Against Murder

If you could sum up The Murder Stone in three words, what would they be?

The same book (as A Rule Against Murder)
or
A good read

Any additional comments?

Be aware that this is the same book as the book with the title "A Rule against Murder: A Three Pines Mystery". I made the mistake of buying "A Rule against Murder" and returned it because I already have this one and it is the same story.

Good book

My only criticism was that the narrator no longer has a British accent which I prefer
I also know that a new narrator with a Brit accent appears later in the series

Deep roots laid out

The narrator was excellent at bringing these mostly unpleasant characters to life. Nice to have echoes of earlier and later stories appear.

The Wrong Voice

Any additional comments?

I found the first 3 books in this series quite charming.This 4th book was only available with Adam Sims as narrator and, although I knew the switch wouldn't be seamless, I was surprised at how much less I enjoyed the story with him narrating. Listening to Ralph Cosham, each character had a distinct 'voice', but I was still able to get lost in the story and sort of forget Cosham was there. However, Sims' conspicuous acting of every character made it hard for me to hear the story. I really had to force myself to focus in order to take in what was happening. I don't want to miss events in Gamache's life or in Three Pines, but I'll be skipping books 5 & 6 since only Sims' versions are available.

Good story, but...

Where does The Murder Stone rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In the top 25%.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Good ending. Nice denouement.

What does Adam Sims bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

This is where the "but" comes in. His portrayal of all the new characters was great, as was his portrayal of Gamache and his wife and Gamache's subordinates. But, I did not like his characterization of Clara. I thought it was too harsh. I listened to this book after I'd listened to all the others in this series so I know where Clara and Peter's relationship is going. Clara is softer than Adam Sims portrayed her. I like Clara and I didn't like her much in this book and I think it is because of Mr. Sims' interpretation of her.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Both.

Any additional comments?

There was a lot about Clara and Peter in the first half of the book and then it was as if Ms. Penny forgot Clara was in the book. Clara's reactions to events in the first part of the book were so strong that I wanted some resolution for them. I didn't get that. In many other ways the book was very satisfying. The other scene I wish I had been in on was Gamache's last talk with his son. The author just told us it had taken place, instead of showing it to us so that we could experience the scene. A missed opportunity, I think.

Weakest of all Inspector Gamache books so far

I found this a hard book to get into, which is unusual for Louise Penny's books. I have loved all the other Inspector Gamache books and will continue on, listening to the others, looking forward to The Long Way Home.

I love Louise Penny

I thoroughly enjoy Louise penny‘s work. I’m not 100% thrilled with this narrator, but I am very grateful that her audiobooks exist.