Review: "A Rule Against Murder" by Louise Penny

Quick Summary

Type: Novel, book 4 in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series

Genre: Mystery

Back Cover: ""What happened here last night isn't allowed," said Madame Dubois.

It was such an extraordinary thing to say it stopped the ravenous Inspector Beauvoir from taking another bite of his roast beef on baguette.

"You have a rule against murder?" he asked.

"I do. When my husband and I bought the Bellechasse we made a pact....Everything that stepped foot on this land would be safe."

It is the height of summer, and Armand and Reine-Marie Gamache are celebrating their wedding anniversary at Manoir Bellechasse, an isolated, luxurious inn not far from the village of Three Pines. But they're not alone. The Finney family—rich, cultured, and respectable—has also arrived for a celebration of their own.

The beautiful Manoir Bellechasse might be surrounded by nature, but there is something unnatural looming. As the heat rises and the humidity closes in, some surprising guests turn up at the family reunion, and a terrible summer storm leaves behind a dead body. It is up to Chief Inspector Gamache to unearth secrets long buried and hatreds hidden behind polite smiles. The chase takes him to Three Pines, into the dark corners of his own life, and finally to a harrowing climax."

Read Time: 4 days

Rating: 3.75 stars

Review

I thought this particular installation of the series was a little slower getting to the action than the previous books. I also thought the motive for the murder - hatred for the estranged-soon-to-be-divorced-husband of the victim - was a bit contrived.

The family drama was interesting to me, and much more tense than in the TV show. I will say that I don't really like book-Peter - he has some issues, and I feel bad for Clara because he takes those issues out on her. But I really enjoyed most of the other characters (maybe not the Morrow family, they all suck except for the kid). The hotel workers were all very human though, and it was nice to have a case outside of Three Pines, although still with some connections back to Three Pines.

The climax was not necessarily what I would call 'harrowing', but as someone with severe fear of heights, I did feel some anxiety at it. The romantic part of me wishes the Morrow family would have, upon almost losing the most innocent of their number, that they needed to make amends with each other, but I guess in real life that doesn't always happen.