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Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #5-6
The Brutal Telling / Bury Your Dead
Chaos is coming, old son.
With those words the peace of Three Pines is shattered. Everybody goes to Olivier's Bistro―including a stranger whose murdered body is found on the floor. When Chief Inspector Gamache is called to investigate, he is dismayed to discover that Olivier's story is full of holes. Why are his fingerprints all over the cabin that's uncovered deep in the wilderness, with priceless antiques and the dead man's blood? And what other secrets and layers of lies are buried in the seemingly idyllic village?
Gamache follows a trail of clues and treasures―from first editions of Charlotte's Web and Jane Eyre to a spiderweb with a word mysteriously woven in it―into the woods and across the continent, before returning to Three Pines to confront the truth and the final, brutal telling.
It is Winter Carnival in Quebec City, bitterly cold and surpassingly beautiful. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache has come not to join the revels but to recover from an investigation gone hauntingly wrong. But violent death is inescapable, even in the apparent sanctuary of the Literary and Historical Society--where an obsessive historian's quest for the remains of the founder of Quebec, Samuel de Champlain, ends in murder. Could a secret buried with Champlain for nearly four hundred years be so dreadful that someone would kill to protect it?
Meanwhile, Gamache is receiving disquieting letters from the village of Three Pines, where beloved Bistro owner Olivier was recently convicted of murder. "It doesn't make sense," Olivier's partner writes every day. "He didn't do it, you know."
As past and present collide in this astonishing novel, Gamache must relive a terrible event from his own past before he can begin to bury his dead.
With those words the peace of Three Pines is shattered. Everybody goes to Olivier's Bistro―including a stranger whose murdered body is found on the floor. When Chief Inspector Gamache is called to investigate, he is dismayed to discover that Olivier's story is full of holes. Why are his fingerprints all over the cabin that's uncovered deep in the wilderness, with priceless antiques and the dead man's blood? And what other secrets and layers of lies are buried in the seemingly idyllic village?
Gamache follows a trail of clues and treasures―from first editions of Charlotte's Web and Jane Eyre to a spiderweb with a word mysteriously woven in it―into the woods and across the continent, before returning to Three Pines to confront the truth and the final, brutal telling.
It is Winter Carnival in Quebec City, bitterly cold and surpassingly beautiful. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache has come not to join the revels but to recover from an investigation gone hauntingly wrong. But violent death is inescapable, even in the apparent sanctuary of the Literary and Historical Society--where an obsessive historian's quest for the remains of the founder of Quebec, Samuel de Champlain, ends in murder. Could a secret buried with Champlain for nearly four hundred years be so dreadful that someone would kill to protect it?
Meanwhile, Gamache is receiving disquieting letters from the village of Three Pines, where beloved Bistro owner Olivier was recently convicted of murder. "It doesn't make sense," Olivier's partner writes every day. "He didn't do it, you know."
As past and present collide in this astonishing novel, Gamache must relive a terrible event from his own past before he can begin to bury his dead.
Paperback
First published June 12, 2017
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About the author
Louise Penny
83 books26.3k followersLOUISE PENNY is the author of the #1 New York Times and Globe and Mail bestselling series of Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novels. She has won numerous awards, including a CWA Dagger and the Agatha Award (seven times), and was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Novel. In 2017, she received the Order of Canada for her contributions to Canadian culture. Louise lives in a small village south of Montréal.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
February 12, 2019
Another instalment in the Gamache murder mysteries, set in Three Pines. This is a go-to series when I feel like a cosy crime, and I enjoyed returning to the characters & setting. It’s darker than earlier books & introduces some new characters. I found the plot of this one a little convoluted but love the genteel pace & detail of art & architecture
June 22, 2020
I have my reservations about this pair of books, in particular that the story continues from the first to the second which I don't really think is necessary. It makes for a confused ending to The Brutal Telling, but I guess the marketing people like that people will buy the next one, just as they will like the video-maker cliff-hanger at the end of Bury Your Dead.
It's just cheap manipulation which is a shame because the writing and stories are absolutely brilliant, as are the familiar faces, rising above the rather silly Brigadoon-like character of the mysterious Three Pines.
I find some of the characters a bit OTT, particularly Ruth and occasionally Gabri, but the main police officers are wonderful, so human and well observed.
In Bury Your Dead the handling of the story in Quebuec and the flasback story of the kidnapping are fantastically well done nd it didn't need the 3rd level continuation of the story in 3P.
Nevertheless, I have awarded 5* for the sheer quality of the writing.
It's just cheap manipulation which is a shame because the writing and stories are absolutely brilliant, as are the familiar faces, rising above the rather silly Brigadoon-like character of the mysterious Three Pines.
I find some of the characters a bit OTT, particularly Ruth and occasionally Gabri, but the main police officers are wonderful, so human and well observed.
In Bury Your Dead the handling of the story in Quebuec and the flasback story of the kidnapping are fantastically well done nd it didn't need the 3rd level continuation of the story in 3P.
Nevertheless, I have awarded 5* for the sheer quality of the writing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 30, 2018
This was a satisfying read! Two stories woven into one beautifully! Louise Penny does an excellent job in keeping the story interesting as always!
July 5, 2019
OMG! This is brutal! So much richness and many complexities in this book! From stories of the Czechs, the Haida, Down Syndrome, saving horses, newcomers to the village, Rosa the duck in her clothing, and don't forget Clara, many themes, all important, weave into this story. Gamache is his quiet thoughtful intelligent self. These books make me so happy!
October 30, 2017
Love Louise Penny and her characters.
September 21, 2020
I vacillated between "Ooh, more details!" and "Can I just find out whodunit?" the entire book. Good mystery, but could have had a tighter storyline.
March 1, 2022
I love you, Louise Penny. Truly, I love you.
January 25, 2023
I've always thought that these two books should be read as one, so it makes a lot of sense to publish an edition in which they are joined. The through story for both books is the murder of an unknown old man who had apparently lived for years in a humble cabin in the woods on the outskirts of Three Pines. Who was this man? Why was his cabin filled with priceless treasures? Who killed him and moved his body? These questions occupy Gamache and Beauvoir throughout both books.
The second book introduces two additional plots. One is Gamache's investigation of the murder of a Quebec separatist gadfly. The other, told in flashbacks, is of a planned terrorist attack that Gamache and his team work frantically to prevent, despite the lack of support and downright hostility from the Chief Superintendent of the Surete. This plot is hugely impactful on the lives of Gamache and Beauvoir, and will resonate through many of the books to come.
As always, these books are filled with the human emotions, good and bad, that drive its characters' actions. We get to know Gamache and Beauvoir better, and we have the pleasure of revisiting the residents of Three Pines.
To me, these two books are the best in the series and I very much enjoyed re-reading them. One thing really bugged me about these books, though it's not something that most readers will notice. Penny includes a lot of characters in the book who are supposed to be Czech. The names include Roar Parra, Hanna Parra, Havoc Parra, and somebody named Woloshyn. Not only are these not Czech names, they are names that could not exist within the rules of Czech orthography. In Czech, you never have to combine letters to make a single sound. They would never have the "oa" in Roar, the double Rs in Parra, the double Ns in Hanna, or the "sh" in Woloshyn. And speaking of the last, the Czechs don't even use the letter W! I don't know where Louise Penny got these names, but they sure aren't Czech, and only a tiny bit of research would have made that obvious.
The second book introduces two additional plots. One is Gamache's investigation of the murder of a Quebec separatist gadfly. The other, told in flashbacks, is of a planned terrorist attack that Gamache and his team work frantically to prevent, despite the lack of support and downright hostility from the Chief Superintendent of the Surete. This plot is hugely impactful on the lives of Gamache and Beauvoir, and will resonate through many of the books to come.
As always, these books are filled with the human emotions, good and bad, that drive its characters' actions. We get to know Gamache and Beauvoir better, and we have the pleasure of revisiting the residents of Three Pines.
To me, these two books are the best in the series and I very much enjoyed re-reading them. One thing really bugged me about these books, though it's not something that most readers will notice. Penny includes a lot of characters in the book who are supposed to be Czech. The names include Roar Parra, Hanna Parra, Havoc Parra, and somebody named Woloshyn. Not only are these not Czech names, they are names that could not exist within the rules of Czech orthography. In Czech, you never have to combine letters to make a single sound. They would never have the "oa" in Roar, the double Rs in Parra, the double Ns in Hanna, or the "sh" in Woloshyn. And speaking of the last, the Czechs don't even use the letter W! I don't know where Louise Penny got these names, but they sure aren't Czech, and only a tiny bit of research would have made that obvious.
January 17, 2026
This review is for Louise Penny's Bury Your Dead. This is the first book that I have read by this author and my first book in the Chief Inspector Gamache series. The details about Quebec, its history and the enduring conflict between the French and Anglo communities made interesting reading and made me ponder how human conflicts tend to be very similar across the world. The undercurrent of mistrust between communities that have lived together for generations on the basis of religion and class has a strong resonance that refuses to go away. The author mines this conflict (though it stays more or less in the background) even as the storyline focuses on the main character Armand Gamache struggling with two murder mysteries, besides the terrorist attack incident that haunts Gamache's professional career and personal life.
Gamache and his dog Henri are the two most interesting characters in a book that has a multiplicity of quirky characters. And this large cast is perhaps what slows down the pace in the first half of the book. To keep the interest of the readers alive, the author ends most scenes on a cliff-hanger and we keep turning the pages. But even as the investigative process is detailed we really don't get any major 'reveals' until the last quarter of the book when everything starts happening all at once. Suddenly there are twists and turns galore. The convoluted plotting of the murder set in Three Pines is a little too contrived and leaves you with a 'what-the-heck' feeling. The other mystery set in Quebec's Literary and History Society has a much more believable resolution.
If there is one thing that annoyed me no end, it is Gamache's flashback scenes...these happen mid-scene and sometimes in the middle of a conversation that Gamache is having with another character. The first couple of times this happened, I had to go back and re-read what I had just read in order to figure out what's going on. As a writing device, it's clunky and confusing. So, I am one of the minority reviewers who hasn't fallen hook, line and sinker for the Gamache series.
Gamache and his dog Henri are the two most interesting characters in a book that has a multiplicity of quirky characters. And this large cast is perhaps what slows down the pace in the first half of the book. To keep the interest of the readers alive, the author ends most scenes on a cliff-hanger and we keep turning the pages. But even as the investigative process is detailed we really don't get any major 'reveals' until the last quarter of the book when everything starts happening all at once. Suddenly there are twists and turns galore. The convoluted plotting of the murder set in Three Pines is a little too contrived and leaves you with a 'what-the-heck' feeling. The other mystery set in Quebec's Literary and History Society has a much more believable resolution.
If there is one thing that annoyed me no end, it is Gamache's flashback scenes...these happen mid-scene and sometimes in the middle of a conversation that Gamache is having with another character. The first couple of times this happened, I had to go back and re-read what I had just read in order to figure out what's going on. As a writing device, it's clunky and confusing. So, I am one of the minority reviewers who hasn't fallen hook, line and sinker for the Gamache series.
March 19, 2019
I've read the first five of Ms. Penny's Inspector Gamache series and greatly enjoyed them one and all, however this one peeled back the profound ugly in the act of murder like none of the others. Having written this about the book, I also noted that the author seemed to have more empathy for the characters and addressed conflict in a less idealized way than in the previous novels. The Three Pines citizens inspire just as much fondness as they did, but show the rough edges that we all have in more relief in book five. Thoroughly enjoyable....
September 18, 2019
Pretty hard to swallow, but Olivier has a dishonest conniving side to him. A confusing ending but still a gripping tale with twists and turns after a body is found in the Bistro. Unique story for sure, with a cabin hidden in the woods filled with priceless historic pieces.
February 17, 2020
Not the best of her books. I'm afraid I'm addicted to the Three Pines location. I was captivated (?) by how she told (drew out) the story of and reason behind Chief Inspector Gamache's "leave of absence" - no spoiler here.
June 16, 2023
Didn't enjoy this as much as the other Inspector Gamache I've read. Too many stories, too many timelines, too many sets of characters to follow. It could be confusing at times how it skipped from one story to another (thru memories or telling others of previous events).
December 13, 2025
Two books of Louise Penny. Louise Penny has been described to me as the Canadian Agatha Christie. Something I can agree too. Definitely worth reading, BUT, read these books series in order; it is worth it.
November 14, 2018
these 2 need to be read in sequence and the first one leaves many unanswered questions. Great writer!
March 13, 2019
I did not like the ending. Feels unresolved. Hopefully more will be revealed in the next book of the series.
October 13, 2019
Thumbs up again!
March 3, 2020
Love these books
March 20, 2020
Fascinating how LP can take a story and continue it in the next book -- and keep the characters coherent and yet grow.
April 5, 2020
Louise never disappoints, but this left me "unsatisfied". Upon reading other reviews, apparently is all resolved in Bury Your Dead. Power on!
June 8, 2020
Gripping.
January 14, 2021
As usual Chief inspector Gamache comes thru. Penny is a hilarious mystery writer with a knack for details but this book didn't have her suspenseful ending. Still enjoyed it.
February 24, 2022
This novel was her best yet . The conclusion was a shocker . Hopefully in her following novel the murder will continue to be investigated
March 9, 2022
This is my favourite one in the series so far. I love character development.
March 19, 2022
Like going home, this series has sucked me in. This one was a bit long-winded and I have my doubts about the ending, so on to the next one to see what changes take place.
January 19, 2024
I never want this series to end...
October 9, 2024
I love Inspector Gamache!
Audiobook.
Audiobook.
December 7, 2024
These two mysteries were some of my favorites. I learned a lot about Canadian history and the character development was interesting.
May 7, 2025
loved it!
August 24, 2025
Back into Louise Penny after a trip to Three Pines. Had to read these two together!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews