I wonder how anyone can be an unbiased, professional critic. Each of us has a style or genre that pleases us and it is sometimes hard to get beyond that. I do like detective stories. And that’s what this is: a modern day detective story set in Canada. It introduces Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his team of investigators. The Canadian setting is interesting itself. So many detective stories are set in England, Ireland, the United States. For a country that is so close, they have their own issues. French Canadians are almost a different country themselves and that brings another layer of issues into this story.
Louise Penny is an excellent writer. She has the ability to carefully craft scenes and characters that are worthy of mentorship. There are passages in this book that I will go back to to study how to do it.
She has chosen a unique murder weapon—a bow and arrow. In most towns, that would severely limit the number of suspects, but in the town of Three Pines, it appears many inhabitants are proficient with archery and the town is close to the Quebec woods, where hunting is common. There is a town fascination with both archery and art.
And there are a lot of odd people in the town as well, which complicates discerning the motive.
Although I didn’t map it out, I think she lost track of the passage of time. The detective was supposed to go away for a week and a memorial service was to be held a week out, and yet the murder only happened a week ago. I find it particularly irritating in TV shows when stars seem to travel places at the speed of light for international investigations. Maybe I was wrong and I should go back and reread the time frame.
She also introduced and developed a police character with seemingly no purpose other than to provide a reflection on the character of the chief inspector. That character’s story was developed and then abruptly dropped. Maybe she brings this character back in future books, but shouldn’t a book stand on its own - unless it is obviously part of a series?
But the other issue I had with this book is the uncontrolled fluttering of the point of view. I understand the omniscient third person, but I don’t believe I have read a book where the point of view shifts in single paragraphs. It makes me uncomfortable not know whose head I am in from sentence to sentence.
But there you go. It’s a matter of opinion and obviously many people like Louise Penny’s storytelling just the way it is.