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Cozy mystery

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A lovely mystery that tackles issues of friendship, family and what it means to be a community. Penny is an excellent writer and her characters are vivid and speak the language of real people. But it is her detective, Gamache, that really impresses me- he's multi layered, elegant and charming- everything I want in a fictional detective hero! THe mystery here is better than Penny's first Three Pines mystery- can't wait to read the next!
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Intriguing second novel

Customer Rating:
When I read Louise Penny's first novel, "Still Life", I was hooked and looked forward to reading her other books. "A Fatal Grace" is a welcome return to the lovely village of Three Pines in Quebec. The friends from the first book are back and so is Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. In the first book the murder victim is a well-loved member of the group, but in this book the woman who dies is universally reviled by others in the village. The suspects are numerous but, in spite of the fact that I figured out the killer's identity, the author takes the reader through a delightful series of red herrings before settling on the true murderer.

Louise Penny creates delightful characters. Some are pleasant and some are not, but often they seem to have a deeply artistic and philosophical nature. The main core of characters are great friends, and they put up with a variety of odd characteritics in one another. Inspector Gamache is a student of human behavior and he uses not only hard evidence, but psychological profiles as well to solve his cases. This series of books will satisfy those who love a good mystery and good writing.

An obvious who-done-it tale

Customer Rating:
Rocky and ill-timed changes of point of view, timelines, and scenes made it a difficult read. Mid-way through the story, it strengthens, taking a turn, showing a promise of what the author is capable of ... creating, an emotional, and stimulating edge to her future mysteries. ~Affaire de Coeur

An excellent whodunit

Customer Rating:
Penny has created a charming list of characters in a wonderful, warm setting. Her writing is excellent and so descriptive with the special nuances of eastern Canada that lend fascination. I've read two of Penny's novels now and plan to continue with her for as long as she produces such lovely, captivating work.

guilty pleasure?

Customer Rating:
I very much enjoyed "Still Life" but unfortunately "A Fatal Grace" is not nearly as entertaining. I had the same kind of experience reading it that one of the inhabitants of Three PInes, Clara, had when viewing the Christmas window in a department store in which she formerly had been completely able to lose herself: an unpleasant realization shattered the fantasy.

A psychopathic minor Martha Stewart is murdered in Three Pines at Christmas. She is a woman so horrible that most of the villagers have motives to kill her. Inspector Gamache of the Surete believes that the key to her death lies in her mysterious past which seems to be somehow connected to Three Pines.

The characters from "Still Life" reappear, but instead of being quirky and eccentric, they are now overdrawn black-or-white cardboard figures. The village is no longer just charming--it's greeting card perfect. Inspector Gamache, always too good to be true, is now a saint. Apparitions of God appear. The victim is an impossibly motivated woman with a literally unbelievable rationale. A subplot having to do with politics within the Surete is supposed to draw us further into the series, but really seems an unnecessary distraction.

However, Ms. Penny's work has moments of descriptive power and good humor, and I have to confess to enjoying the descriptions of Three Pines during the Christmas season in spite of myself. I hope her future novels return to the level of her first.