Gamache #3, Louise Penny 2007; 2008 Agatha Award Winner
When a beloved woman in Three Pines dies a horrible death during a seance, suspicions of murder prove to be true. Gamache and his squad are on the job. There’s a new member on Gamache’s team; can he be trusted? We’ll find out, as the vendetta against Gamache that was hinted at in A Fatal Grace is fleshed out and escalates sharply in this volume.
The Cruelest Month is a study in the imperfection of relationships: marriage, devoted commitment between platonic lovers, a lifetime friendship. All can become toxic, even if that toxicity is hidden. In one of those relationships the seeds are sown for events that occur throughout several more volumes in the series, and the ongoing conflict Armand Gamache experiences within his organization, seemingly resolved in this volume, also continues. Best to read this series in order, due to the development of two plotlines that need more than one or two books to reach resolution.
Ralph Cosham narrates, beautifully as always.