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A Better Man: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel
- Chief Inspector Gamache/Three Pines Series, Book 15
- Narrated by: Robert Bathurst
- Series: Chief Inspector Gamache/Three Pines, Book 15
- Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins
- Categories: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery
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When a peculiar letter arrives inviting Armand Gamache to an abandoned farmhouse, the former head of the Sûreté du Québec discovers that a complete stranger has named him one of the executors of her will. Still on suspension, and frankly curious, Gamache accepts and soon learns that the other two executors are Myrna Landers, the bookseller from Three Pines, and a young builder. None of them had ever met the elderly woman. The will is so odd and includes bequests that are so wildly unlikely that Gamache and the others suspect the woman must have been delusional.
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Gamache ... I mean Penny, does it again!
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When a mysterious figure appears in Three Pines one cold November day, Armand Gamache and the rest of the villagers are at first curious. Then wary. Through rain and sleet, the figure stands unmoving, staring ahead. From the moment its shadow falls over the village, Gamache, now Chief Superintendent of the Sûreté du Québec, suspects the creature has deep roots and a dark purpose. Yet he does nothing. What can he do? Only watch and wait. And hope his mounting fears are not realized.
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On their first night in Paris, the Gamaches gather as a family for a bistro dinner with Armand’s godfather, the billionaire Stephen Horowitz. But an attempt on the elderly man’s life sends Armand, his wife, Reine-Marie, and his former second-in-command at the Sûreté, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, from the top of the Tour d’Eiffel, to the bowels of the Paris Archives, from luxury hotels to odd, coded works of art. It sends them deep into the secrets Armand’s godfather has kept for decades.
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Wonderful!
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When an intricate old map is found stuffed into the walls of the bistro in Three Pines, it at first seems no more than a curiosity. But the closer the villagers look, the stranger it becomes. Given to Armand Gamache as a gift the first day of his new job, the map eventually leads him to shattering secrets. To an old friend and older adversary. It leads the former Chief of Homicide for the Sûreté du Québec to places even he is afraid to go. But must. And there he finds four young cadets in the Sûreté academy, and a dead professor. And, with the body, a copy of the old, odd map.
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Excellent until the very last word!
- By sylvie morisset on 2019-06-01
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The Nature of the Beast
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Hardly a day goes by when nine-year-old Laurent Lepage doesn't cry wolf. From alien invasions to walking trees to winged beasts in the woods to dinosaurs spotted in the village of Three Pines, his tales are so extraordinary no one can possibly believe him. Including Armand and Reine-Marie Gamache, who now live in the little Quebec village.
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Good Story
- By Naida on 2019-05-08
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Former Chief Inspector of Homicide, Armand Gamache, has found a peace he'd never imagined possible, away from the front line of the police and in the tranquil village of Three Pines. But when his friend Clara Morrow asks for help, he can't bring himself to refuse her, despite the old wounds it threatens to re-open. Clara's husband, Peter, is missing, having failed to come home on the first anniversary of their separation, as promised.
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When a peculiar letter arrives inviting Armand Gamache to an abandoned farmhouse, the former head of the Sûreté du Québec discovers that a complete stranger has named him one of the executors of her will. Still on suspension, and frankly curious, Gamache accepts and soon learns that the other two executors are Myrna Landers, the bookseller from Three Pines, and a young builder. None of them had ever met the elderly woman. The will is so odd and includes bequests that are so wildly unlikely that Gamache and the others suspect the woman must have been delusional.
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Gamache ... I mean Penny, does it again!
- By Tina Fehr Kehler on 2018-12-12
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Glass Houses
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When a mysterious figure appears in Three Pines one cold November day, Armand Gamache and the rest of the villagers are at first curious. Then wary. Through rain and sleet, the figure stands unmoving, staring ahead. From the moment its shadow falls over the village, Gamache, now Chief Superintendent of the Sûreté du Québec, suspects the creature has deep roots and a dark purpose. Yet he does nothing. What can he do? Only watch and wait. And hope his mounting fears are not realized.
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On their first night in Paris, the Gamaches gather as a family for a bistro dinner with Armand’s godfather, the billionaire Stephen Horowitz. But an attempt on the elderly man’s life sends Armand, his wife, Reine-Marie, and his former second-in-command at the Sûreté, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, from the top of the Tour d’Eiffel, to the bowels of the Paris Archives, from luxury hotels to odd, coded works of art. It sends them deep into the secrets Armand’s godfather has kept for decades.
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Wonderful!
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Excellent until the very last word!
- By sylvie morisset on 2019-06-01
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Hardly a day goes by when nine-year-old Laurent Lepage doesn't cry wolf. From alien invasions to walking trees to winged beasts in the woods to dinosaurs spotted in the village of Three Pines, his tales are so extraordinary no one can possibly believe him. Including Armand and Reine-Marie Gamache, who now live in the little Quebec village.
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Good Story
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Shadows are falling on the usually festive Christmas season for Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. When Gamache receives a message from Myrna Landers that a longtime friend has failed to arrive for Christmas in the village of Three Pines, he welcomes the chance to get away from the city. Gamache soon discovers the missing woman was once one of the most famous people not just in North America, but in the world, and now goes unrecognized by virtually everyone. As events come to a head, Gamache is drawn ever deeper into the world of Three Pines.
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Amazing!
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No outsiders are ever admitted to the monastery of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups, hidden deep in the wilderness of Quebec, where two dozen cloistered monks live in peace and prayer. They grow vegetables, they tend chickens, they make chocolate. And they sing. Ironically, for a community that has taken a vow of silence, the monks have become world-famous for their glorious voices, raised in ancient chants whose effect on both singer and listener is so profound it is known as “the beautiful mystery.”
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Miss Adam Sims
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A Trick of the Light
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“Hearts are broken,” Lillian Dyson carefully underlined in a book. “Sweet relationships are dead.” But now Lillian herself is dead. Found among the bleeding hearts and lilacs of Clara Morrow's garden in Three Pines, shattering the celebrations of Clara's solo show at the famed Musée in Montreal.
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You picked the wrong narrator
- By Jane M Lotimer on 2019-10-20
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Bury Your Dead
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As Quebec City shivers in the grip of winter, its ancient stone walls cracking in the cold, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache plunges into the strangest case of his celebrated career. A man has been brutally murdered in one of the city’s oldest buildings - a library where the English citizens of Quebec safeguard their history. And the death opens a door into the past, exposing a mystery that has lain dormant for centuries... a mystery Gamache must solve if he’s to catch a present-day killer.
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Too many cooks
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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...
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The Brutal Telling
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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...
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Great series
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The discovery of a dead body in the woods on Thanksgiving Weekend brings Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his colleagues from the Surete du Quebec to a small village in the Eastern Townships. Gamache cannot understand why anyone would want to deliberately kill well-loved artist Jane Neal, especially any of the residents of Three Pines - a place so free from crime it doesn't even have its own police force.
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wonderful start to a well written series
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Winter in Three Pines, and the sleepy village is carpeted in snow. It's a time of peace and goodwill - until a scream pierces the biting air. A spectator at the annual Boxing Day curling match has been fatally electrocuted. Despite the large crowd, there are no witnesses and - apparently - no clues. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache discovers a history of secrets and enemies in the dead woman's past.
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My new favourite mystery series
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It's Easter, and on a glorious Spring day in peaceful Three Pines, someone waits for night to fall. They plan to raise the dead.... When Chief Inspector Gamache of the Surete du Quebec arrives the next morning, he faces an unusual crime scene. A séance in an old abandoned house has gone horrifically wrong and someone has been seemingly frightened to death. In indyllic Three Pines, terrible secrets lie buried, and even Gamache has something to hide. One of his own team is about to betray him. But how far will they go to ensure Gamache's downfall?
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Great listen
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Detective Sergeant Chris Waters got the call at 05.29 that July morning. This is it, said DCI Reeve, you'll be first there, it's all yours, you're the crime scene manager. Suddenly, after months of waiting and wondering, Waters finds himself in at the deep end, and alone at the scene of a puzzling murder. As the investigation proceeds, the detectives at Kings Lake Central find themselves visiting familiar places and talking to some familiar faces, while old enmities reappear in the incident room. Before this is over, Chris Waters will need to make a career-changing decision.
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Interesting story, great performance
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Private Detective Cormoran Strike is visiting his family in Cornwall when he is approached by a woman asking for help finding her mother, Margot Bamborough - who went missing in mysterious circumstances in 1974. Strike has never tackled a cold case before, let alone one 40 years old. But despite the slim chance of success, he is intrigued and takes it on; adding to the long list of cases that he and his partner in the agency, Robin Ellacott, are currently working on.
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Engrossing To The Very End
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It is a cold January morning and Shetland lies buried beneath a deep layer of snow. Trudging home, Fran Hunter's eye is drawn to a vivid splash of colour on the white ground, ravens circling above. It is the strangled body of her teenage neighbour Catherine Ross. The locals on the quiet island stubbornly focus their gaze on one man – loner and simpleton Magnus Tait. But when police insist on opening out the investigation a veil of suspicion and fear is thrown over the entire community. For the first time in years, Catherine's neighbours nervously lock their doors, whilst a killer lives on in their midst.
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Great narration
- By Gayle on 2019-03-29
Publisher's Summary
2019 Amazon.com Best Books of the Year
"Robert Bathurst's intelligent narration captures every nuance, every emotion, and each of Louise Penny's subtle revelations about the unique, completely engaging residents of Three Pines." (AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award winner)
Catastrophic spring flooding, blistering attacks in the media, and a mysterious disappearance greet Chief Inspector Armand Gamache as he returns to the Sûreté du Québec in the latest novel by number one New York Times best-selling author Louise Penny.
It’s Gamache’s first day back as head of the homicide department, a job he temporarily shares with his previous second-in-command, Jean-Guy Beauvoir. Flood waters are rising across the province. In the middle of the turmoil a father approaches Gamache, pleading for help in finding his daughter.
As crisis piles upon crisis, Gamache tries to hold off the encroaching chaos, and realizes the search for Vivienne Godin should be abandoned. But with a daughter of his own, he finds himself developing a profound, and perhaps unwise, empathy for her distraught father.
Increasingly hounded by the question, how would you feel..., he resumes the search.
As the rivers rise, and the social media onslaught against Gamache becomes crueler, a body is discovered. And in the tumult, mistakes are made.
In the next title in this "constantly surprising series that deepens and darkens as it evolves" (New York Times Book Review), Gamache must face a horrific possibility, and a burning question.
What would you do if your child’s killer walked free?
What the critics say
"Enchanting...one of his most ennobling missions." (Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review)
"With an uncompromising eye, Penny explores the depths of human emotion, both horrifying and sublime. Her love for her characters and for the mystical village of Three Pines is apparent on every page." (Publishers Weekly starred review)
"The appeal of this series and especially of Gamache himself has always been Penny's ability to show her hero moving from the tangible, brutal facts of murder to the emotions within, the stories in the blood. There are multiple stories, often contradictory, to be found in the many-tentacled web of human tragedy and suffering that Gamache teases to the surface in this moving exploration of ties that both bind and destroy." (Booklist starred review)
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What listeners say about A Better Man: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Michelle
- 2019-08-31
So worth the wait
I love the characters in these books, and Louise Penny shows that you don't need shock value to have a great murder mystery. I often think if I drive into the Eastern Townships I will somehow come across Three Pines although it is a fictional town, so powerful are the characters and descriptions. Gamache is always thoughtful and kind, the kind of person I wish there were more of in this crazy world we live in. I liked the social media thoughts in this book, the good, the bad and the ugly of it. Very timely.Excellent through and through
4 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 2019-12-17
I wish the narrator had been French Canadian.
Of course the book was amazing but I think the narrator should have been French Canadian or at least French. So hard to follow with someone without an understanding of the French Canadian view. His British accent devalued the experience for me. I'm from Ontario but think the bóok woud have been better with a different narrator!
3 people found this helpful
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- JMLD
- 2019-12-29
No more.
This is the first book of fiction I have listened to and can't take any more of it. Some of the voices are so grating I'm cringing while listening. The dialogue is weak. Very disappointing.
1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 2019-12-13
British accent out of place
I normally like to be read to by someone with an English accent but found it unsatisfying in this case. Mispronunciation of place names eg Abitibi was annoying. I’m sure Judge Pelletier should have Ben pronounced differently. Surely there are French Canadian readers who could have made the experience more authentic.
1 person found this helpful
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- janet corcoran
- 2019-11-09
British accent???
Why would audible record a French Canadian set book by Brit R Bathurst? I found it very distracting and difficult to reconcile a British accent to characters who are French Canadian. I would recommend reading Louise Penny’s latest novel.
1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 2021-01-07
I loved it
Gripping and full of twists and turns. I couldn't predict anything! Want to read it again!
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- Patricia Nilsson
- 2020-12-22
A Better Man
Penny doesn’t disappoint. Once again Armand is wonderful, compassionate and obsessed with truth and life’s meaning. All characters remain interesting and each book brings us new depths to explore. I’m still looking for a Three Pines in my life!! Oh for the peace, tranquility and companionship of such a community.
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- cj
- 2020-10-23
A good read
Despite the ongoing distractions made by inauthentic character presentation and mispronunciation of far too many French words, the story held my attention, as have almost all other Louise Penny stories. Future books will be read and not listened two as my brain just cannot seem to reconcile the gap between performance and story context.
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- Linda's Page
- 2020-10-23
Great Characters
The first of her books I"ve read but it certainly won't be tne last. I look forward to reading many more. Loved from cover to cover.
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- Tara
- 2020-08-30
What a find!
I just discovered this author and will now be buying/reading all of Penny's works! Bathurst is one of the best readers I have encountered. What a team! I enjoyed it thoroughly!!
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- Lulu
- 2019-12-21
Inevitable, But Still Sad
I am a huge fan of Louise Penny and the Three Pines series. Such a fan, these books inspired me to visit Montreal and Quebec City. I think Armand Gamache is one of the truly great characters of modern literature and the characters who inhabit Three Pines fascinating. I loved many of the detailed plotlines of previous books and learned so much reading several of them. The fact that I lasted through 15 books in any series is a testament to the quality of the series. I am usually burned out by the 5th or 6th book in most series. They always become predictable and repetitive or increasingly outlandish and unbelievable. Not so this series. While I was slightly frustrated by the ongoing conspiracy subplots, I could largely ignore it and focus on the primary mystery to be solved in each book and the characters. That changed with book 14, Kingdom of the Blind. Suddenly the ongoing conspiracies sucked up most of the plotline and the actual mystery to be solved slipped into the background, as did the characters. I hoped it was an aberration, so moved on to A Better Man. Unfortunately, this book continued to focus on all of the various people out to get Gamache for no apparent reason and spent little time on the actual crime to be solved. It made me finally think about Gamache differently If so many people hate him enough to take such elaborate steps to destroy his career, then what am I missing about him? And suddenly his patience and almost saintliness made him seem weak and not nearly as interesting a character. So, before I fall out of love with one of my favorite characters of all time, I have decided it is time to put an end to this relationship. Unfortunately, I believe A Better Man is my last Three Pines book. I always assumed this day would eventually come. But I still find it depressing.
30 people found this helpful
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- Sally
- 2019-09-10
Not My Favorite
The series seems to be getting pretty dark. The constant attempt to diminish Gamache is getting so old that this has taken over the entire series. And now Clara has also become a target...it is just getting to dire. Where Three Pines used to be a magical place, the residents all seem to be suffering from a never ending depressive malaise. Always looked forward to the next book in this series but not at all sure that I will spend a credit on the next one. I do however appreciate this narrator and the difficult time he had overcoming his fabulous predecessor.
39 people found this helpful
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- Joanne
- 2019-09-21
What Happened?
I'm a HUGE Louise Penny/Inspector Gamache fan. I will continue to be a HUGE fan. However, this book will play no roll in contributing to my enthusiasm. The story lines were thin, and repetitive. It's time to move away from the story line of everyone having it in for Inspector Gamache. And, although there will never be another Ralph Cosham, until "A Better Man..." Robert Bathurst was an acceptable narrator. But, his representation of the new characters in this book was truly difficult to listen to. In fact, his take on Ruth has always made me cringe. I still look forward to the next installment of this series. Louise Penny is truly a gifted writer who produces intellectually rich and interesting characters.
20 people found this helpful
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- Kcosper
- 2019-09-12
Tiring
I did not find this as compelling as the ones before. The story too forever to unfold as the officers talked it over and over and over and over. The domestic violence issue is important but the story turned into a melodrama, continually referring to the officers' thinking of their own families over and over and over. Still love the characters and the place not the story, not so much.
19 people found this helpful
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- Angelyn S. Furst
- 2019-09-04
Gamache has become predictable
I loved the previous Gamache novels. Unfortunately, this one is tired and predictable. Gamache, as always, carries guilt, which I find boring. A little guilt is fine, but guilt over everything's is just plain boring. The story doesn't capture my imagination and the continuous "GET GAMACHE" from his supervisors is dragging the entire story down.
25 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 2019-09-01
I never want to leave Three Pines.
Clichéd though it may be, to say it, finishing a Louise Penny book is like leaving home. Yes, sometimes Armand and Renne-Marié are a bit too saintly, not to mention omniscient. That said, I cherish the good people of Three Pines, even when they do the wrong things. The mysteries are well-plotted, and the frisson of danger to Gamache because of corrupt officials is well-played. I look forward to my next hot chocolate at the Bistro. But I'll never understand the licorice pipes!
14 people found this helpful
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- Donna J. Shaw
- 2019-09-01
Becoming stale
It is time to stop beatifying Gamache and work on rounding out some of the other characters a bit more. What makes Three Pines so special is the interplay between its residents. Saint Gamache is a bit too perfect. I would like to read more about the more down to earth folks like Myrna, Ruth, Claire, Gabri, Olivier, and Rene-Marie.
24 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 2019-08-31
Another fantastic novel, but....
I never tire of the characters of Three Pines. I’ve read the whole series. The sense of humor is so witty and the plot so interesting that I can’t wait for the next book to come out. Louise Penny brings to the reader great insight into the emotional lives of the characters. One suggestion; take a break from the conspiracy theories and paranoia of the upper echelon of the Surete du Quebec. The murder investigations themselves are fascinating. The plot doesn’t always need a corrupt leader under every rock. Maybe just under every other rock?
29 people found this helpful
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- Lara Kellett
- 2019-09-07
Disappointing and redundant
After 14 books, the readers well know the denizens of Three Pines. We didn't need the old descriptions repeated over and over. Too many details felt tired and unnecessary. Bathhouse's interpretation was contrived to the point of seeming condescending. He reads the story as if to children. The story was at times intriguing, but Penny over-explains points that are already obvious. The narration did not bode well for several two dimensional characters who were so stereo typed that we cannot wait to be rid of them. Overall, this was certainly not the best in the series. Surely, we hope there will be another, but next time, perhaps the reader may be given a little credit for having some insight.
13 people found this helpful
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- Wayne
- 2019-08-28
Fantastic novel in a fantastic series!!
Karin Slaughter and Louise Penny released modern detective series novels on consecutive weeks one based in Georgia and the other in Quebec. Life is good! I'm hard pressed to say which is better because both are a close to perfect as possible. A BETTER MAN is Book 15 in Louise Penny's Gamache/Three Pines series which is set in Quebec province of Canada especially in the small hamlet of Three Pines which is just north of the Vermont border. Armand Gamache is getting a bit long in the tooth but he is as sharp as ever. Frankly the publisher's summary tells too much. The incomparable Ralph Coshan narrated the first 10 novels in the Three Pines series. After Cosham's death Robert Bathurst took over series narration. Bathurst is not as good as Cosham but he easily earns 5 stars. Each novel in this series stands alone quite well, but to appreciate the wonderful job author Penny has done with the development of the quirky Three Pines characters (and the less quirky ones) listening to some of the earlier series novels is recommended. If you have not done so in the past you owe it to yourself to give Louise Penny a try.
24 people found this helpful
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- COLOMBIE Julien
- 2020-09-11
So good!
I think this book becomes among my preferred book of the Gamache’s series, a great story, a nice suspense, an exciting denouement, it’s worth the reading.