I love the suspense/mystery genre. Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache series is one reason why. I’ve introduced both my husband and my teen daughter to this series, and now our dinner table conversations are peppered with references to Gamache or Ruth (or her duck) or Jean-Guy or Clara or the marvelous food they always seem to be eating. The characters feel so real to us, it’s like we have a relationship with them.

To call this a “genre” mystery is to seriously under-describe this book.

I first heard Penny’s name a few years ago when I was writing my first novel. Penny wrote The Cruelest Month, which is what I had titled my (will never be published because it’s that bad!) book. How dare she! Being an unreasonable person, I seethed a bit, even though we both got the phrase from Chaucer and Eliot. After recovering my sense of reason, I laughed at myself and checked out her work. And loved it. She’s one of the few authors whose works I consistently enjoy.

In this one, she manages to weave three mysteries in one:
  • a previous case unsatisfactorily solved (the murderer insists upon his innocence)
  • the present mystery of the death of an archaeologist, and
  • a professional tragedy that has left Inspector Gamache and his team shaken and personally traumatized.

Her language is beautiful, her characterizations rich, and the ending–well,this is one book where I’m glad I didn’t read the ending first. It lifts the mystery genre to literary heights. (To fully appreciate this novel, read The Brutal Telling first; this book will make much more sense if you read the previous one!)

(Review of Bury Your Dead originally posted on Goodreads)

If you enjoy this novel, you may enjoy the Frieda Klein series by Nicci French, as both feature strong characters and a variety of relationships within a friend community. There’s also an overarching plot that develops throughout the series; while the individual novels can stand on their own, it’s best to read the books in order.