A Fatal Grace - Louise Penny

Welcome to winter in Three Pines, a picturesque village in Quebec, where the villagers are preparing for a traditional country Christmas, and someone is preparing for murder.No one liked CC de Poitiers. Not her quiet husband, not her spineless lover, not her pathetic daughter—and certainly none of the residents of Three Pines. CC de Poitiers managed to alienate everyone, right up until the moment of her death. When Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, of the Sûreté du Québec, is called to investigate, he quickly realizes he's dealing with someone quite extraordinary. CC de Poitiers was electrocuted in the middle of a frozen lake, in front of the entire village, as she watched the annual curling tournament. And yet no one saw anything. Who could have been insane enough to try such a macabre method of murder—or brilliant enough to succeed?With his trademark compassion and courage, Gamache digs beneath the idyllic surface of village life to find the dangerous secrets long buried there. For a Quebec winter is not only staggeringly beautiful but deadly, and the people of Three Pines know better than to reveal too much of themselves. But other dangers are becoming clear to Gamache. As a bitter wind blows into the village, something even more chilling is coming for Gamache himself.

I really enjoyed the first book I read in this series and I was quite happy when I found this title. I did enjoy reading it but, in the end, not as much as the previous book.

I loved meeting Gamache again. I really enjoy how he works and how he deals with those subordinates of his. How ever it feels like something bad is about to happen to him and we have some sort of impending doom feeling from beginning to end of the story. I also would have enjoyed to see more of his wife.

I did like revisiting the same little village - even if I am asking myself how many murders can take place there -  and reading again about Gabri and Oliver, Ruth, Clara and her husband, Myrna... All those unique characters I had previously met in book 1.

I didn't much like the mystery in it self. The victim was an odious woman, I did not feel I got to know her well enough and I was hoping the murderer would be someone else. The resolution of this case had a very bittersweet feel to it as one is left to wonder who the real victim was.

And my attention was mostly focused on what was being said and done in Gamache's back. In a way this felt like laying the ground for the next book nowhere he will have to face some troubles. It's a book that won't stand long in my kind but that left me curious for the next  one.

Grade: 3/5