Cassidy (Cassidys.Bookshelf)’s Comments (group member since Sep 08, 2017)

Cassidy (Cassidys.Bookshelf)’s comments from the Penny Pushers group.

Katherine wrote: "I was really bad and finished the book before we were supposed to start. I could not help myself. I fell head first in love with the town. I am staying out of the discussions but really enjoying ev..."

You raging ahead reader you! Feel free to add any spoiler free thoughts to the discussions if you want to!

Melanie wrote: "Question 3: I think the stamp "C" refers to CC. And the B refers to Beatrice (Mother) and perhaps even the Kaye to K. Somehow these women are connected - were they all in India at some time?"

I did not make that connection! Good thinking!

Melanie wrote: "Question 1: I'm with you Lindsay - I think one of the clues as to why CC wants a property in Three Pines is the Noel ball with its three trees design. She stares at it "losing herself in its peace ..."

That's a really good theory! I could totally see that being her end game in Three Pines.

Lindsay wrote: "Question 3: Crie! I love her already and feel so bad for her. I can only imagine what having CC as a mom must be like. To be honest, the first few pages I read about Crie I thought ,"Maybe she kill..."

I thought the same thing! It would be horrible to have a mother like CC and I wouldn't blame her one bit for at least wanting her gone.

Wow. What an ending! I will keep the starter questions short since I'm sure everyone has their own thoughts that they want to discuss.

1. So we finally find out what this whole Arnot case is all about and it is apparent that his decision is already working against him. Do you think that his decision will be the start of the end for him? What roles do you think Nichols, Lemieux and Superintendent Brebeuf are playing in relation to this?

2. Are you surprised at the deathly lengths Emilie, Kaye and Mother went to protect Crie from being found out as CC's murderer? Did you suspect Crie at all?

Here are the starter questions for chapters 29-32. Please no future spoilers!

1. Everything is falling into place for Gamache. The eagle logo connects CC to the necklace that was L's. This reveals two important things. One, L was CC's mother and two, CC killed her. CC was never depicted as a nice person, but did it shock you that she was responsible for her own mother's death?

2. Beauvoir asks if Gamache trusts Nichols. It seems that despite having earlier dreams about her dismemberment, Beauvoir is more willing than Gamache to give her another chance. Does this surprise you considering their past?

3. The house that Saul Petrov was staying in goes up in flames and everyone races to the scene to put the fire out. Nichols runs into the house to try to save Saul without telling anyone. Do you consider this reckless or heroic of her? At first she seems so grateful that Gamache and Beauvoir rescue her, but then she starts to back peddle in her own head and ends up cursing Gamache. Why do you think she always blames Gamache for her own actions?

Here are the starter questions for chapters 25-28. Feel free to comment on anything from these and prior chapters. Spoiler free for future chapters please!

1. Saul burns a roll of film just before Gamache and his team come to question him. He admits to the affair (I totally thought he was about to admit to the murder!) and goes over his movements throughout that day. Agent Beauvoir believes Saul to have done something wrong, but he just can't prove it. Do you believe Agent Beauvoir is on to something?

2. Gamache visits Richard Lyon at his home and finds Crie still in a comatose state. Richard doesn't seem to think much of it. Do you agree with Myrna that social services should not be called? Myrna also says that what Crie needs now is a loving parent. Do you think Richard is capable of being that for her?

3. Gamache finds out that the book the bag lady had on her was Clara's. He informs Clara of her death and she instantly starts to doubt herself and everything she believed the bag lady to be. How do you think they are connected? Do you think Elle previously lived in Three Pines?

There were so many revelations in these chapters that it was hard to narrow down the starter questions. Please discuss whatever you want from these and prior chapters, just no future chapters!

1. The movie The Lion in Winter comes into play as well as the Li Bien ball that Peter had gifted (from the dumpster!) to Clara for Christmas. Why would someone throw out these items and with such care for the Lie Bien ball instead of smashing it? Who do you think CC's mother could be?

2. The reason CC came to Three Pines is revealed as Emilie reveals what happened at Mother's meditation center with CC. Do you think this could be enough motive for Mother to be considered a suspect? What do you make of the saying 'Be Calm' continually popping up in this case?

3. We get a small glimpse into Agent Nichols family life. After reading that, do you feel any different about her? At parts it seems like she might have changed, but then at others it seems like something shady is going on behind the scenes. What's your take on the situation?

Here are the starter questions for Chapters 17-20. Feel free to discuss anything from these chapters and prior, but no future chapters to keep this spoiler free!

1. Agent Beauvoir has a negative feeling towards Mother after meeting her for the first time. Later they went to her studio to ask for her perspective on CC. Mother believed her to be a very unhappy person and unenlightened despite what she claims to be in her book. What did you take away from this scene? Do you think Agent Beauvoir getting sick with the flu right after this meeting was a coincidence or just poor timing?

2. Gamache surprisingly apologizes to Agent Nichols for ignoring her. He gives her the assignment to look into CC's husband, Richard, and their daughter, Crie. Do you think the apology was warranted? Why do you think Gamache even gave her this assignment and will she even take it seriously?

3. The photographer, Saul Petrov, willingly gave the cops his film/pictures from the day CC was murdered, but we find out that he held a roll back for himself. He believes that this film is going to make him enough money for him to retire, maybe even in Three Pines. What could he possibly have caught in this roll of film that he thinks will be worth that much money? Do you think he will get away with withholding evidence from the police?

4. The team is having a difficult time tracking down CC's past. Agent Lacoste finally finds out that the information she put in her book about her past is a falsity. Why do you think CC went at such great lengths to hide her past?

Starter questions for Chapters 13-16:

1. Everyone seems to be taking a guess at who the murderer is. Clara even asks Peter who he thinks it is and he implicates Ruth. Do you have a feeling at this point to who it could be?

2. Agent Beauvoir sums up CC's murder as "a series of unlikely events" which leads me to think that it was either meticulously planned out, a complete accident or someone quickly seized the opportunity. After reading how unlikely it all was, what are your thoughts?

3. Dun dun duuun... Agent Nichols is back. Everyone seems pretty horrified to have her back on the team. Are you surprised that Gamache held his cool in front of everyone when he realized she was there? Do you think that she truly has changed after being on a different assignment for a year?

Here are the starter questions for Chapters 9-12. As always, if you haven't read these chapters yet, prepare to see spoilers!

1. Gamache is brought to the scene where CC was murdered. Many of the town's people were there watching a curling match when she was electrocuted, but no one claims to have seen anything. Do you think it is really possible that no one saw a thing or do you think the town is covering up her murder?

2. Agent Beauvoir clearly idolizes Gamache. He is hesitant to have Gamache bring Agent Robert Lemieux on with the team, but Gamache does it anyways. Do you think this is going to be a disaster like it was with Agent Nichols? (Who everyone still seems to outwardly loathe.)

3. Gamache doesn't seem to be afraid of much, but the old Hadley house sends shivers through his body. After quickly observing CC's husband and daughter, he thinks that it is still a tragic house despite the new ownership. Do you think the house is cursed or are cursed people just drawn to it?

Here are a few starter questions based off of Chapters 5-8. If you have not read these chapters, please stop reading! This discussion will contain spoilers. Feel free to discuss anything from these chapters, but do not discuss any future chapters to keep this spoiler free!

1. The villagers of Three Pines are all celebrating Christmas together (and the descriptions of all the wonderful food made me envious!) They really act more like a family than just neighbors. Do you find this odd or endearing?

2. Crie sings in church and everyone is taken aback by her beautiful voice. Why do you think her mother doesn't want anyone to hear her sing in public? Do you think one of the villagers should have stood up to CC when she was belittling her daughter?

3. Chief Inspector Gamache is introduced in Chapter 8 when he is going over cold cases with his wife, Renee, on Boxing Day. Renee stumbles across a folder of the recent murder of the homeless woman that was outside of the bookstore where the folks of Three Pines, including CC, were at. Are you surprised to find out she was murdered that same day and do you think her murder is connected in any way to the future murder of CC?

Hey everyone! I will slowly be adding the discussion folders for A Fatal Grace over the weekend. I added the one for Chapters 1-4 tonight. I will add a few more tomorrow when I can find the time. These folders will contain starter questions so if you want to avoid spoilers please do not read them until you are done with the chapters listed. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know!

Welcome back to Three Pines everyone!

Here are a few starter questions based off of Chatpers 1-4. If you haven't read these chapters yet, please stop reading! This discussion will contain spoilers. Feel free to discuss at your leisure and about anything from these chapters. Please do not discuss any future chapters to help keep everything spoiler free.

1. We meet CC de Poitiers in Chapter One and are immediately informed that she is going to be murdered. What are your initial reactions of CC? Why do you think she was so desperate to own a home in Three Pines?

2. Saul finds an artist portfolio in the trash that catches his breath and he declares to be brilliant. Later we find out that it is Clara's from when she gave it to CC. Do you think he will end up helping Clara get discovered?

3. Crie seems so desperate for her mother's love and acceptance. How do you think she will handle her mother's murder?

Megan wrote: "Just got it from the library...How will I restrain myself?"
I put my copy at the bottom of my September TBR pile! I'm excited to start it in a couple weeks.

Hey everyone, I'm Cassidy! I'm 29 years old and I live in Minnesota with my husband of 9 years and our 10 month old son. I am currently a stay at home mom and try to sneak in as much reading as I can during nap time!

Hey Penny Pushers! I thought I would share how I am planning on setting up our reading of A Fatal Grace for October, especially for all the newcomers to our awesome group! I will create discussion folders for every four chapters since it was so much fun being able to chat in real time about Still Life with everyone. I hope to stay ahead of all the raging ahead readers and have a starter question or two posted for each block of chapters starting on Sunday, October 1st. Since it can be difficult to finish a book in a week with everyone’s busy schedules, we will stretch this read out a little bit more and do a final discussion on Saturday, October 21st. I can’t wait to read and chat with you all about A Fatal Grace come October!

I was always suspicious of Ben and then I started thinking that Peter was in on it with Ben. I'm glad that we found out that Ben was lying about how awful his mother was to him. It confused me earlier in the book as to why Jane would be friends with Timmer if she was such a critical mother. It was almost like Jane could see through Ben's BS and the painting was her way to call him out.