Series : Inspector Gamache (Book 5)
Author : Louise Penny
Narrators : Ralph Cosham
Genre : Mystery
Publisher : Blackstone Audio
Listening Length : 13 hours 12 minutes
Rating : 1/5
Narrator Rating : 4.5/5
A body has been found in the Three Pines Bistro and antiques shop owned by Olivier and Gabri. No one can identify the body, and Inspector Gamache and his team is called in to investigate.
What unfolds is long and tiresome, and I hate saying this, because I was so looking forward to a good mystery series I could sink my teeth into. In the first book of this series (Still Life), Penny delivers a resoundingly good tale. This book is, by contrast, a massive let-down.
Firstly, the plot is pretty shaky and the denouement just as unbelievable. The book goes into mysticism, and fables, and both seem rather made-up to me. Secondly, this book seemed to be an ode to Inspector Gamache. There was adulatory language praising him to the gills, so he seemed to be the main focus, not the mystery.
Thirdly, is it just me or have the inhabitants of Three Pines gotten more annoying? The banter is so pat. I didn’t see the point of Ruth, her duck or her poetry in this book. The village inhabitants suddenly consider Gamache their friend and moral compass; his opinion is needed on everything (see note on adulation above). Also, I understand that the mysteries are set in Three Pines, but with each mystery do we learn more and more unsavory things about the villagers whom we’ve gotten to feel affection for until now? If so, it’s quite the reverse of feel-good!
All in all, this was a big disappointment. I’m going to try some more of this series, this time in order, and hope for the best.
The book was a let-down; the narrator wasn’t. Cosham is very pleasant on the ears.
