A Rule Against Murder and The Brutal Telling

Title: A Rule Against Murder and The Brutal Telling
Author: Louise Penny
Series: A Chief Inspector Gamache, book 4 and 5
Genre: Mystery
Published: 2009
Rating: 7.5/10

I have continued reading Louise Penny's mystery series featuring Inspector Gamache. Sometimes I find a new series and want to read more and more about the characters. This series is one such. Five books in the same series within a month is quite a bit for me, but I am enjoying it.

A Rule Against Murder is a bit of an interlude in the story; for the first time the action takes place not at Three Pines, but at a resort in Quebec where Gamache and his wife are vacationing. The set of suspects is obviously limited to those present at the Manor, but to keep in touch with the previous books, some of the familiar characters from before make an appearance there as well. I enjoyed the book and the large ensemble of new characters introduced there and some reversal of roles present in this book.

The next installment, The Brutal Telling, brings us back to Three Pines again. People sure get murdered a lot there! Unlike the previous tome, this is clearly the first book of a larger story arch and for the very first time in the series, the ending is more of a beginning than a wrap-up.

The book has all the signature Penny moves: lots of references to books, arts, sculpture, poetry. There is tension and the ending is actually rather unexpected. There are also unrelated-to-murder story line developments dealing with Clara's career and Ruth with her duck. I rather liked these interludes. The ending as I mentioned leaves on a bit of a cliffhanger, I am very likely to pick up the next book in the series.