A Rule Against Murder (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #4)
by
Louise Penny
It is the height of summer, and Armand Gamache and his wife are celebrating their wedding anniversary at 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…
As the heat rises and the humidity closes in, some surprising guests turn up
...moreMass Market Paperback, 384 pages
Published
September 1st 2009
by Minotaur Books
(first published 2008)
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Recommended to Patti by:
Robin Agnew gave me an ARC--thank you!
I just want to hang out with Armand Gamache. He is such a calm, practical person to be around, and you just know that he'll figure out who did what and why. In this entry into the series, Armand and his wife, Reine-Marie, are spending their anniversary at their favorite lodge, not far from Three Pines. While they there, a family reunion is going on also, with a family that seems such in name only--they are related to each other, but there is no affection displayed or even seemingly felt among...more
A Rule Against Murder is the second Louise Penny book that I have read and again, I enjoyed it completely. Chief Inspector Gamacheis the head of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec. He is a strong character and yet he has his own personal history and demons that he must cope with. In this book Inspector Gamache and his wife come to Manoir Bellechasseto to celebrate thirty-fifth wedding anniversary. While staying at the Manior, they are somewhat overtaken by the Morrow family who are meeting fo...more
Another wonderfully inventive and humane mystery from Louise Penny! Policeman Armand Gamache and his wife are once again at the luxurious auberge Manoir Bellechasse to celebrate their anniversary. The only other guests are the Finney family, a dysfunctional brood having a family reunion. Armand is astonished when his friends from Three Pines, a lovely village not far from the manor, appear as part of the family. Artists Peter and Clara are at odds with his family, but Peter cannot resist see...more
I liked this more than the previous 2, but give it a 3 due to the crime motivation and perpetrator. I enjoyed the story overall, with the characterizations and more of the inspector's back story, without Nichol or politics intruding.
The changes in POV, while sometimes confusing, serves to provide insight into the characters that would not be apparent in a simple 1st person narrative. This can result in a greater sense of sympathy towards the characters. In this story, however, t...more
The changes in POV, while sometimes confusing, serves to provide insight into the characters that would not be apparent in a simple 1st person narrative. This can result in a greater sense of sympathy towards the characters. In this story, however, t...more
Since first discovering Louise Penny's "Bury Your Dead," I have become addicted to her Chief Inspector Gamache series. Although they can be read out of order, I love the forward progression and recurring characters she has created. It is always a delight to visit in Three Pines. It feels like going home to a place you know even though you know something bad (and exciting) is going to happen.
"A Rule Against Murder" is book number four in a brief list of seven title...more
"A Rule Against Murder" is book number four in a brief list of seven title...more
A warning before the review: this novel is extremely omniscience point of view and you flow into the head of one character to another in a matter of a sentence or two. I know this bothers some people. If you dislike that pov, you can stop reading the review and the book right about now.
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his wife, Reine-Marie, are on vacation at the Manoir Bellechasse celebrating their anniversary and awaiting the birth of a grandchild in Paris. The most anxiety they sh...more
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his wife, Reine-Marie, are on vacation at the Manoir Bellechasse celebrating their anniversary and awaiting the birth of a grandchild in Paris. The most anxiety they sh...more
While I am still reading this book, I'd like to comment on the series.
I rarely read books in a series one after another, however that is exactly what I am doing now.
I am reading about Chief Inspector Gamache and the cast of characters located in the small town of Three Pines, Quebec.
This is described as a "cozy mystery" series - and the description is accurate.
Despite someone getting murdered in each book - the series is a pleasure to read and getting to know...more
I rarely read books in a series one after another, however that is exactly what I am doing now.
I am reading about Chief Inspector Gamache and the cast of characters located in the small town of Three Pines, Quebec.
This is described as a "cozy mystery" series - and the description is accurate.
Despite someone getting murdered in each book - the series is a pleasure to read and getting to know...more
A brilliant, big, old-fashioned drawing-room mystery with a denouement worthy of Agatha Christie, from the international bestseller. Wealthy, cultured and respectable, the Finney family is the epitome of gentility. When Irene Finney and her four grown-up children arrive at the Manoir Bellechasse in the heat of summer, the hotel's staff spring into action. For the children have come to this idyllic lakeside retreat for a special occasion - a memorial has been organised to pay tribute to their lat...more
Another gift from Jan M. Thanks!
This series takes place in a tiny village. I was trying to figure out how the author would keep the series going without killing off the entire town. In this book, she solves the problem by selecting two of the villagers and sending them off on vacation, where they happen to meet the detective and the detective's wife. The four of them have suffered through three previous murder investigations together and are great pals. Farfetched, but I don't read t...more
This series takes place in a tiny village. I was trying to figure out how the author would keep the series going without killing off the entire town. In this book, she solves the problem by selecting two of the villagers and sending them off on vacation, where they happen to meet the detective and the detective's wife. The four of them have suffered through three previous murder investigations together and are great pals. Farfetched, but I don't read t...more
I'm mad at Louise Penny because of book #5 in the Three Pines/Chief Inspector Gamache mysteries, and I want to take it out on her now, but in fairness I just can't. I loved this book as much as I expected to. I thought that moving the action out of Three Pines would make me grumpy, but instead it made me feel, more than ever, that I want to live in Three Pines because Manoir Bellechasse is close for those times I need to get away from the hectic hustle and bustle of Three Pines (snort).
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This "Three Pines Mystery" is the first in the series in which the murder happens somewhere other than the village of Three Pines. A vacation lodge at which Inspector Armand Gamache and his wife are celebrating their anniversary is the setting. Peter and Clara Morrow, from Three Pines, and Peter's family are among the suspects as are all the members of the staff of the lodge. Penny's superb writing and strong characterizations keep the pages turning. We learn about Peter's past and Ins...more
Other Goodreads reviewers have done a very good job of expressing their admiration for Louise Penny and her well-written detective series. There's little I can add except to say that Penny's distinction as a writer occurs when her exceptional talent at creating a sense of place combines with the carefully drawn characters in her books. You almost sense a bomb going off: of course, in this genre, the "bomb" is murder.
The mysteries that I enjoy the most are those that careful...more
The mysteries that I enjoy the most are those that careful...more
This is another of the Armand Gamache series set in Canada of an exclusive lodge set in the wilderness. Armand and his wife have gone to celebrate their wedding anniversary as they have gone for over 30 years. While the Gamaches are enjoying the peace and solitude of this tranquil area, the Morrow clan meets for a reunion and to unveil a statue of the deceased father, Charles Morrow. Four grow children converge on their mother and her new husband. One of the children is Peter, the artsit fro...more
This is the fourth in the series by Louise Penny. The only sad part is that when I finish this book there is only one more written in the series and I will have to wait for her next book to read more. The story mostly takes place in a small town call 'Three Pines', Quebec. This installment in the series 'A Rule Against Murder' takes place at a lodge just over a mountain ridge from Three Pines. The chief inspector Armand Gamache is the main character in the series. A very strong, independent pers...more
This is the fourth in the Inspector Armand Gamache/Three Pines mystery series. Inspector Gamache and his wife Reine Marie to a country inn not far from Three Pines to celebrate their anniversary, which falls on Canada Day.
They are sharing the Manoir Bellechasse with Irene Morrow Finney and her family of adult children, who are having their annual reunion. This year is very special, as Irene is honoring her late husband by erecting a huge statue of him. When the statue falls on Irene'...more
They are sharing the Manoir Bellechasse with Irene Morrow Finney and her family of adult children, who are having their annual reunion. This year is very special, as Irene is honoring her late husband by erecting a huge statue of him. When the statue falls on Irene'...more
A rule Against Murder, by Louise Penny, A. narrated by Ralph Cosham, produced by Blackstone Audio, downloaded from audible.com.
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, who had come to a luxry hotel with his wife to celebrate their 35th anniversary, suddenly finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation of the murder of Julia Morrow, who turns out to be Peter Morrow’s sister. The morrow family, their mother, now Eileen Finney, and their step-father, her new husband, were there to pla...more
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, who had come to a luxry hotel with his wife to celebrate their 35th anniversary, suddenly finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation of the murder of Julia Morrow, who turns out to be Peter Morrow’s sister. The morrow family, their mother, now Eileen Finney, and their step-father, her new husband, were there to pla...more
There’s no escaping murder even while on vacation as Chief Inspector Gamache and his wife celebrate an anniversary at an upscale inn, in the woods not far from Three Pines.
Gamache and his team are stumped when a huge statue falls upon one of the inn’s guests.
Anger flares as insults spew forth along with accusations among the members of the disagreeable Finney family. Those insults spread out to those around them as the Finneys don’t care who they maim with their angry ...more
Gamache and his team are stumped when a huge statue falls upon one of the inn’s guests.
Anger flares as insults spew forth along with accusations among the members of the disagreeable Finney family. Those insults spread out to those around them as the Finneys don’t care who they maim with their angry ...more
I love this series........ Armand Gamache is someone I would like to know, as well as his wife. They not only come to life as a couple, but as individuals. Armand is certainly highlighted, along with his 2 primary sidekicks. this has become my new favorite of the series, and I have trully enjoyed all of them. Bean, young child in the book, is an unusual character (boy or girl??), and there is never any definitive answer, but it is a sub theme in the book that is quite engaging. The family...more
This is the 4th book in this series I read and I liked the change of venue. The other Inspector Gamache novels were centered in the Quebec village of Three Pines. This one was at the Manoir Bellechasse inn in the middle of the Quebec woods.
The major players in this story are members of a well to do family named the Morrows. Yes, this is the family of Peter Morrow, one of the main characters from the other novels.
The Inspector and his wife have come to the Manoir on their a...more
The major players in this story are members of a well to do family named the Morrows. Yes, this is the family of Peter Morrow, one of the main characters from the other novels.
The Inspector and his wife have come to the Manoir on their a...more
Pennyn neljännen dekkarin alku säikäyttää lukijan lähes hengiltä: miljöö ei olekaan Three Pines, Gamache viettää hääpäiväänsä eristetyssä kartanossa metsän keskellä!
Muutaman luvun päästä saa jo hengähtää. Pikkukylässä piipahdellaan useampaankin kertaan ja tuttuja henkilöitä saapuu paikalle. Murhan tapahtuessa onkin jo kotoinen olo.
Suljetun huoneen piirteitä sisältävä Murder Stone kertoo tarinan suvusta, joka on täynnä psykopatologiaa ja salaisuuksia. Kirjan edetessä lukija ymmärtää niistä yhä en...more
Muutaman luvun päästä saa jo hengähtää. Pikkukylässä piipahdellaan useampaankin kertaan ja tuttuja henkilöitä saapuu paikalle. Murhan tapahtuessa onkin jo kotoinen olo.
Suljetun huoneen piirteitä sisältävä Murder Stone kertoo tarinan suvusta, joka on täynnä psykopatologiaa ja salaisuuksia. Kirjan edetessä lukija ymmärtää niistä yhä en...more
“A Rule Against Murder” is Louise Penny’s fourth novel featuring Sûreté du Québec Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his team. In this outing, Gamache and his wife, Reine-Marie, are celebrating their wedding anniversary at Manoir Bellechasse as they do every year. A family, the Morrows, are having their family reunion at the Manoir as well. It doesn’t take long before the Morrow adults begin sniping at one another with long-festering hurts from childhood. None of the Morrows are as they seem. Wh...more
#4 of the Armand Gamache series- This is the first book I have read in the series. The mystery revolves around the death of Julia Morrow. She is part of a family reunion at the resort the Gamache couple is staying at. This very dysfunctional family becomes suspect after Julia is found in the yard of the resort after a storm. The beginning of the book was a bit slow. After about 100 pages, however, I started to get really excited about this book. I love the way the author writes. This is ...more
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, as I have the previous three Louise Penny novels that feature Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. Not only is Penny is extremely talented in creating a wonderful murder plot, she's also a genius at creating atmosphere in her books that makes me feel as though I am right there. I could smell the forest, feel the heat, and taste the food. Because that's another thing that Penny is good at: writing a lot about the foods her characters are eating. How many times have I sa...more
Armand Gamache and his wife arrive at Manoir Bellechasse, for their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary.
They are the ideal guests, not complaining and happy with the room they are given. They are glad to see their old acquaintance the innkeeper, Clementine Dubois, at the reception desk.
Clementine tells them that the Finneys have taken the other five rooms for a reunion, all arriving in their expensive cars and asking for free upgrades.
The highlight of the Finney'...more
They are the ideal guests, not complaining and happy with the room they are given. They are glad to see their old acquaintance the innkeeper, Clementine Dubois, at the reception desk.
Clementine tells them that the Finneys have taken the other five rooms for a reunion, all arriving in their expensive cars and asking for free upgrades.
The highlight of the Finney'...more
For the first time, we leave Three Pines for the majority of our story. It's an interesting choice and one I couldn't support long term, but it actually made for a nice change. The Morrows are a terribly messed-up family, but fascinating. I found it interesting that we never do find out if Bean is a boy or a girl. Penny often creates suspense by making it clear that clues have been found by the officers, particularly Gamache, but waiting to share that information with us. I can't decide if I li...more
This is the fourth, and best so far, mystery about a small Quebec community called Three Pines, which has had far more than its fair share of homicide in the last few years. The writing is lyrical but not precious, the mystery (and the "how" done it in particular) is a great puzzler, and the chief detective is so fully realized that his character and its complexities are equally as fascinating as the crimes. In each book, the author also helps us rediscover bits and pieces of poetry ...more
Inspector Armand Gamache and his wife Reine-Marie are celebrating their wedding anniversary at an exclusive lakeside auberge. Other guests at the lodge include the Finney/Morrow clan who are gathering for a family reunion. Armand and Reine-Marie are pleasantly surprised to discover that Peter and Clara Morrow are part of the Morrow reunion. However, their idyllic vacation comes to a screeching halt when one of the Morrows is murdered by a falling statue. How this was accomplished and who mana...more
Note: This has also been published under the title A Rule Against Murder
This is the fourth in Penny's series of mysteries featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Quebec Surete. Gamache and his wife, Marie-Reine, are staying at the Manoir Bellechasse to celebrate their wedding anniversary. A remote resort along Lac Massawippi, the Manoir's other guests include the wealthy Finney family who are there for the unveiling of a memorial to their late father. Rivalries, secrets, and fa...more
This is the fourth in Penny's series of mysteries featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Quebec Surete. Gamache and his wife, Marie-Reine, are staying at the Manoir Bellechasse to celebrate their wedding anniversary. A remote resort along Lac Massawippi, the Manoir's other guests include the wealthy Finney family who are there for the unveiling of a memorial to their late father. Rivalries, secrets, and fa...more
This book is the 4th in a series of mysteries involving Armand Gamache and Three Pines, Quebec. This book differes from earlier books in that the venue has moved from the extremely likeable town of Three Pines (a Canadian Stars Hollow) to a remote lodge. Another notable difference is that although there is a murder, it is subsumed by the familial dynamics of the Morrow/Finneys. There is a murder (a Morrow) and there is an eventual resolution. But the characters are so well drawn and so tortu...more
The murder is cleverly done and will hold one's attention, which is a good thing, since so much of the plot drags. A Rule Against Murder follows the Louise Penny formula.
I listen to Louise Penny while driving. Super close attention is not required and the plot is just intriguing enough to keep me hooked. But to sit and invest actual reading time is not going to happen. If I was reading, I would not be able to endure all the psycho babble--skimming would occur, turning several pages at once...more
I listen to Louise Penny while driving. Super close attention is not required and the plot is just intriguing enough to keep me hooked. But to sit and invest actual reading time is not going to happen. If I was reading, I would not be able to endure all the psycho babble--skimming would occur, turning several pages at once...more
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Many of Louise Penny's books are published under different titles by UK/Canada and US publishers.
She lives with her husband, Michael, and a golden retriever named Trudy, in a small village south of Montreal.
Her first Armand Gamache novel, "Still Life" won the New Blood Dagger, Arthur Ellis, Barry, Anthony and Dilys Awards.
Awards:
* Agatha Awa...more
More about Louise Penny...
She lives with her husband, Michael, and a golden retriever named Trudy, in a small village south of Montreal.
Her first Armand Gamache novel, "Still Life" won the New Blood Dagger, Arthur Ellis, Barry, Anthony and Dilys Awards.
Awards:
* Agatha Awa...more
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“But you want murderous feelings? Hang around librarians," confided Gamache. "All that silence. Gives them ideas.”
—
11 people liked it
“We're all blessed and we're all blighted, Chief Inspector," said Finney. "Everyday each of us does our sums. The question is, what do we count?”
—
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