A Rule Against Murder - Penny - 4 stars

[Jgrace]

A Rule Against Murder - Penny
4 stars

Armand and Reine-Marie Gamache are celebrating their wedding anniversary at the luxurious and remote Manoir Bellechasse. I enjoyed the healthy affection they had for each other. It provided respite from the other guests who were all members of a vilely dysfunctional family. Sadly, a murder interupts the Gamache’s romantic getaway. The chief inspector assembles his team to investigate.

It’s a bizarre murder. Louise Penny seems to like the macabre when it comes to methods of killing. In this book the victim is crushed by a large statue which should not have moved as much as a centimeter. I wasn’t as baffled as the detective team. The author left plenty of clues as to how it was done. I was feeling very intelligent until the killer was revealed. I hadn’t come close to guessing correctly.

Most of the characters from Three Pines are virtually absent from this mystery. I missed them. This series is all about the ongoing characters. They form an interesting community despite the constant appearance of yet another corpse. This book had a deeper focus on Armand Gamache. I thought the story of his father’s influence on his life was more important than the murder.