Spoiler Thread Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny Spoiler Thread

So, what did you really think without having to keep a quiet tongue for fear of ruining it?

It was my favorite of the six books so far, even though there's so little of Three Pines in it.

I'm heartbroken—I really liked Morin. I liked him from the moment we met him and, when he picked up the violin in A Brutal Telling, it was wonderful.

And, I always loved Old and The Wife, much more than Olivier (though Gabri is one of my favorite characters).

I confess, I didn't think Penny could change the results of the last book but she did...and without me saying, "Oh come on! That's just ridiculous!"

I'll be here soon...

I have to admit that the ending in Brutal Telling with Olivier being the murderer was the one small spot that kept the book from being 5 stars for me. I didn't think that the solution was perfect and I felt that there were still unanswered questions so I was thrilled when the case was re-opened.

Somehow or other I felt that we had to identify the Hermit and when we did, the answers would start flowing in an entirely different direction. I have to admit that I was a bit surprised when it turned out to be Old. I was heartbroken for The Wife and when we find out that the Hermit was really Old's father - I was stunned. But all the little pieces fit.

The murder that Gamache was helping investigate in Old Québec was interesting in that we are provided wth some Canadian history. Something tells me that we might be going back there again.

But the best part of the book was the terrorist plot interwoven between the two investigations. The flashbacks that Armand experiences at some of the strangest moments seemed so real. I, too, liked Morin and was hoping that he would have some character growth but this portion did help to move Beauvoir along as a character as well as Agent Nicole. Maybe she'll be moving front center soon.

Overall, yes, I thought it was the best book in the series and I'm thrilled that I have a copy that I can read again when I want.

I agree with all above. I like these books more and more (if that's possible) as I read them. Like Tad, I was amazed that she could change the end of The Brutal Telling without using the ol' Dallas-the-whole-last-season-was-just-a-dream device. I did cry about Morin--I expected a lot from him after the last book, and this just broke my heart. I enjoyed the history, and the fact that she could interweave three stories so perfectly.

Drat. Typed a long post and I lost it! Argh.

Can someone clarify what exactly happened with Morin? I just finished this book two minutes ago and I'm a little fuzzy on something...
So...when they found Morin, there was no bomb? There were terrorists waiting to shoot the officers who rescued Morin? How come Morin didn't tell Gamache there was no bomb? Morin didn't know? And Morin was shot by the terrorists at 11:18, right? Just wanted to make this part clear in my mind. Thanks. For a brief minute or so I was afraid Morin was a double agent and had led them into a trap and Gamache had to shoot him. Not sure where that came from.

I thought that this explanation of the murder of the Hermit was SO much more satisfying than the one in 'A Brutal Telling.' At the end of ABT, I thought there were a lot of loose ends. I tried to tell myself that Penny was being realistic, because real life isn't neatly tied up, but there were nagging doubts.

I was devastated when I heard that he'd killed his own father. And I'm glad to finally know what WOO meant. But of course, it's heartbreaking for his family.

It was nice to see Beauvoir soften a little and finally begin to love Three Pines. His relationship with Ruth makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time.

It bothers me that Olivier is not willing/able to forgive Gamache at this time. I know it was rough on him to be in prison for six months and be unjustly accused of murder, but surely he's got to realize that he brought a lot of this upon himself by his greed and lies. Analyzing the evidence would have brought anyone to the same conclusion. Perhaps in time he will realize...

My review...

'Bury Your Dead' is the sixth book in Chief Inspector Gamache's Three Pines series. I've read them all, and this is the first one I've given 5 stars. The books really do get better as the series progresses.

There are three plot lines in this novel, starting out independently and growing together toward the end. First, we have Gamache visiting his mentor in Quebec City. He's recuperating from something terrible involving him and his agents, leaving many wounded, and many dead. The reader does not know what happened. This is gradually revealed through a series of flashbacks throughout the book.

Second, Gamache stumbles upon a crime scene in Quebec City. The investigator recognizes him and asks for Gamache's help as a consultant. There is a lot of history brought in, because the death has to do with the search for Samuel de Champlain's burial place. As Gamache studies this crime, he is finally able to discuss the tragic investigation, his injuries, and the loss of life. It's the beginning of his healing process. He learns to 'bury his dead'.

He also comes to accept his imperfections. Instead of dwelling on his own mistakes, he learns, as does the rest of his team, that he can be a great Chief Inspector even though he is not always right. (A lesson that all perfectionists do well to learn).

The third thread stars Inspector Beauvoir. Gamache quietly sends him back to Three Pines to recuperate, but also to re-open the case from "A Brutal Telling." He's not 100% satisfied and realizes he may have made a mistake. We get to know Beauvoir better, and Beauvoir realizes he may have mis-judged the people of Three Pines.

I gave this book 5 stars because it is, as they say, 'the complete package'. It contains mystery, love, friendship, death, sadness, regret, jealousy, revenge, forgiveness, reunion, history, mistakes, apologies, joy, and healing. Penny keeps it real, no sugar coating, magic, or happily ever afters. Just real people with real emotions.

Okay, now that I've started 'talking' I can't shut up!

Does anyone else think that Olivier will be a 'better' character now? He's lost so many of his defenses...and he has no reason to lie and be secretive anymore because it's all out in the open. He was beginning to see at the end of ABT that the people in Three Pines loved him for HIM, not for all his lies and false appearances. I'm thinking he's going to come out of all this a better person...

>5 BookAngel_a:: Can someone clarify what exactly happened with Morin? ...How come Morin didn't tell Gamache there was no bomb?

Morin was shot by the terrorists. They planned to blow the dam and shoot him at 11:18. Gamache was in the building but turned the wrong way, so was a moment late getting to Morin.

He couldn't tell them there was no bomb because he was immobilized, headphones, etc. He didn't even know there were others around him...he thought he was alone.

9- Thank you!

I just found this thread - I've been dying to do just this since I read it. I think it's the best of the series, but of course I won't let anyone read it until after they've read at least some of the others and of course they must read The Brutal Telling first. She did such a good job of revealing slowly who had survived so I kept hoping for Morin - I did liked him.

I cried when Gamache insisted on walking around the hospital so he would build up his strength to walk in the funeral march.

And Tremblay infuriated me. Gamache did indeed have the job of talking to Paul, but that didn't mean he had to stop thinking or that Tremblay should disregard his thoughts after so many years as a successful cop. Just more of the indications that many are jealous of Gamache and his success, I guess.

Olivier still has some growing up and healing to do, I expect her to show some of that in the next book or two.

And I loved learning about Montreal and Champlain. The image of the ice sliding off the roof in winter was chilling (pun intended).

>11 lauranav:: I'm wondering if the Tremblay thing is where the larger plot line will move next. Gamache is so broken by the loss of Morin and the others, and Tremblay's little revenge at the end so petty, that I can't see Gamache not deciding something must be done.

Good point - you are probably right that we'll see more of this issue with Tremblay. And more of Nichol as well, I hope, letting her out of her cave.

Chiming in very late because I have only just got hold of my copy of Bury Your Dead and finished it.

I found each of the three story strands (Quebec, Three Pines and the terrorists) really engrossing and got so drawn into each one that I almost found it quite frustrating when we switched to a different one, even though I really wanted to find out what happened in that story too!

I think another writer might have decided to make the terrorist plot a book on its own (not told in flashback) and I'm glad Penny didn't. It wouldn't have felt quite right to me.

Although I've borrowed my copies from the library, these are definitely books I want to buy so that I can reread them.

#3 Cheli, I had to go back and reread the section where we discovered the Hermit was Old's father because I just couldn't believe it.

#5 Angela, I'm glad it wasn't just me who found the Morin situation slightly confusing.

And seeing Beauvoir soften a little (and soften on Ruth!) was really good.

#6 & #8 I hope so too.

#9 So the gunfight between the Surete and the terrorists happened after the terrorists shot Morin? In the same room or somewhere else?

#11 "I cried when Gamache insisted on walking around the hospital so he would build up his strength to walk in the funeral march. " - Me too Laura

#12 & 13 I wasn't sure whether Penny was trying to imply that Agent Nichol might have been involved in releasing the video. And I also kept wondering whether she had deliberately given them wrong information about the number of gunmen. Gamache keeps remembering he was told there would be three and I wasn't sure whether she was just wrong or whether there was the possibility that she knew there were more.

I really liked the flashback technique, even though it was clear to me immediately that Morin had died and Gamache felt responsible. The question was how/why. I thought it was brilliantly structured.

Thought this was by far the best part of the book despite the fact that I had pretty much guessed the identity of the hermit's murderer by the time Jean-Guy interviews Olivier in prison. As soon as the mention of Old's father falling through the ice came up, I hit on the link. Otherwise, why introduce it? That was the only flaw I saw here -- she had to put the clue in, but any clue was going to be too blatant.

I enjoyed the separatist angle in this book, because I've been amazed Penny hasn't dealt with this tension before. If you read the other books, you'd think that the anglos and the "pure laine" quebecois exist peaceably all the time, in the way that Gamache and Three Pines residents live together. It just ain't so, and I was glad Penny found a way to make that more realistic. Because it always jarred on me that Gamache and his team are all Montreal Quebeckers, francophones, dealing predominantly with crimes in an anglo community (obviously set in the E. Townships) without ethnic/linguistic friction? Over and over? Just wouldn't happen. So I was glad to see it explored here. And I found myself humming "gens du pays" which really is a gorgeous tune that the separatists co-opted.

Bury your dead Not sure anyone will see this, but following the thread above -- I came here with a question others asked: confirmation on how Paul Morin was killed.
With the consensus above that he was gunned down by the 10 conspirators waiting for 11:18 to do just that, I must now ask -- Why did they do it this way?

Why weren't they sitting in front of a TV waiting to see the news of the dam blowing up?
What was accomplished by their actually carrying out that threat in such an "in person" way?

They could have left Paul there (or somewhere else) alone, and accomplished everything else, including the devastating mortification of tricking Gamache and the Surete with this diversion while the dam blew sky high.

Or, they could have been in another room, waiting for the news on TV (or computer), and still had a terrible gunfight with Gamache's team.

What did the execution style killing add?
Thanks!

This is my favorite Louise Penny/Gamache novel yet!! A real tour-de-force, in my opinion.

I absolutely LOVED the PTSD/flashback scenes -- so well done.

RE souloftherose (#12&13) -- it was repeated several times, the part about "why were we told there were only three of them?" (and although Gamache doubled their own numbers, to be on the safe side, it wasn't enough) -- I agree that it's unclear who is to blame. Seems like it might be Agent Nichol (because she was the one listening to the silences on the phone call and relaying information). However, she seemed to be a bit of a double-agent in a previous book, where we were led to believe that she was working against Gamache and then it turned out that he had her working for him. So maybe that is happening here? (we're being led to think she's evil and then it'll turn out that she wasn't the one giving the wrong info?)

Also: I think the whole why-an-ambush question is going to turn out to be part of the over-arching revenge plot that has already threaded through several books. I suspect that this "terrorist" attack is related to the former police officer who is in prison thanks to Gamache (I forget what the former officer's name is), whose reach has already been shown to extend beyond the prison cell. And may also involve the head of the Sûreté, who used to be Gamache's best friend but who has turned against him (and is apparently the person who released the video of the ambush to the world).

NOTE: I'm just now working my way through the series, so no doubt these questions have already been answered in some future book. But it's fun to discuss and speculate on the journey!