My sister and I are going on an early birthday trip to Quebec next week. The first part of the trip will be to do some whale watching where the Saguenay Fjord meets the St. Lawrence River, close to the town of Tadoussac.
After our marine adventures, we will turn back to the Eastern Townships, an area east of the city of Montreal. We will be in search of the village that is the inspiration for the setting of the Inspector Gamache mystery series by our favourite author, Louise Penny. We are sorry to be missing the launch of her latest book (only by a week!) at Brome Lake Books in Knowlton, but we will drop in to the bookstore to soak up the atmosphere! www.bromelakebooks.ca
The first book in the series is Still Life which introduces the quirky inhabitants in the village of Three Pines. Louise Penny writes an intelligent mystery as she explores the inner workings of the human heart.
Her best book (in my estimation) so far, stunningly written with history woven into a modern day plot, is Bury Your Dead. Don't read this title first, as it is worth the effort to make your way through the series in order (see below).
From Louise Penny on her website: http://www.louisepenny.com
I'm often asked two questions: should the books be read in order? And, what is the order?
Both excellent questions. At the risk of appearing to want you to buy more books let me say that while it's not necessary to read them in any particular order (they're designed to be self-standing) there is quite a strong character development arc. I think you'd enjoy the books even more if read in order.
Now, here's the order, from the first to the most recent:
STILL LIFE
A FATAL GRACE / DEAD COLD
THE CRUELEST MONTH
A RULE AGAINST MURDER / THE MURDER STONE
THE BRUTAL TELLING
BURY YOUR DEAD
A TRICK OF THE LIGHT
Note that some of the titles vary between the Canadian/U.S. publications
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