A Better Man

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Without question, I love Louise Penny’s writing and story telling, and possibly, A Better Man is her best book in the 15 book Armand Gamache series. Every year, I look forward to her next novel. In her new story, she has the usual cast of characters including Armand and Reine-Marie Gamache, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, Isabelle Lacoste, Clara Morrow, Ruth Zardo, and Myrna Landers, and as usual, Penny sprinkles in a few characters like Vivienne Godin, her husband Carl Tracey, her father Homer Godin, and Agents Cloutier and Cameron. It’s remarkable that Penny is able to write about the evil side of life and still do it with love for everyone involved. Her understanding and appreciation of the complexity of humanity is impressive. In this story, Armond, Jean-Guy, and Isabelle are still recovering from their physical and emotional wounds from the gun battle in the last book.

I won’t be a spoiler in this review, but it is a murder mystery as the result of Vivienne’s tragic death when she fell through the railing of a rotting old bridge over a flood swollen river which is threatening Three Pines, the mythical village where most of the key characters live. Penny keeps the reader guessing who is responsible for this death until the last few pages. Perhaps this plot is a bit more complex than some of her other books, but she holds her story together very well. There are subplots that the reader will best get by reading the books in order, but each of the Gamache series is also a stand-alone book. This one is a 5-star effort, and now I will impatiently wait for Penny’s next release.