The Brutal Telling: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel

Louise Penny

Sep 2009 · Chief Inspector Gamache Novel Book 5 · Sold by Minotaur Books

About this ebook

The wise and beleaguered Chief Inspector Armand Gamache returns to Three Pines The Brutal Telling, the fifth book in Louise Penny's #1 New York Times bestselling series.

Chaos is coming, old son.

With those words the peace of Three Pines is shattered. Everybody goes to Olivier's Bistro—including a stranger whose murdered body is found on the floor. When Chief Inspector Gamache is called to investigate, he is dismayed to discover that Olivier's story is full of holes. Why are his fingerprints all over the cabin that's uncovered deep in the wilderness, with priceless antiques and the dead man's blood? And what other secrets and layers of lies are buried in the seemingly idyllic village?

Gamache follows a trail of clues and treasures—from first editions of Charlotte's Web and Jane Eyre to a spiderweb with a word mysteriously woven in it—into the woods and across the continent, before returning to Three Pines to confront the truth and the final, brutal telling.

*BONUS CONTENT: This edition of Brutal Telling includes a new introduction from the author and a discussion guide.

Ratings and reviews

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is called to the location of a man found murdered, his body is found in the bistro in Three Pines, Canada. From the moment that the body of the Hermit is found, the author perfectly describes the soul of this quaint area in Quebec. I was fascinated with the start of the novel. The first lines, "All of them? Even the children? The fireplace sputtered and crackled and swallowed his gasp. "Slaughtered?" I was hooked. Louise Penny is a very descriptive writer. Her books would make an easy transition to the film world. In fact, as I learned more of Oliver Broule and the Hermit and the Hermit's home in the woods, a home filled with treasures, I was picturing the story unfolding as a made for TV drama, perhaps on Mystery Theater. The author's writing is reminiscent of the great Agatha Christie. It is easy to make a comparison between Armand Gamache and Christie's Hercule Poirot. Both men have a quiet, unassuming manner and are extremely polite to the suspects as well as to the innocent. Both men are highly respected and use their sense of logic to solve the puzzles that face them. In this case, Gamache is able to solve the riddle of who killed the Hermit and how the body got into the bistro. This is the fifth story with Armand Gamache and the critics knew from the start that Louise Penny was a star in the making. Her first Inspector Gamache book, "Still Life" won the New Blood Dagger, Arthur Ellis, Barry, Anthony and Dilys Awards. Amazing.

Mrs. Penny has succeeded where many have failed. I've read them all up to this title and I have yet to figure out for sure who did it before the end. Félicitations!

The Brutal Truth

About the author

LOUISE PENNY is the author of the #1 New York Times and Globe and Mail bestselling series of Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novels. She has won numerous awards, including a CWA Dagger and the Agatha Award (six times), and was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Novel. In 2017, she received the Order of Canada for her contributions to Canadian culture. Louise lives in a small village south of Montréal.