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Book Review of The Cruelest Month (Chief Inspector Gamache, Bk 3)

The Cruelest Month (Chief Inspector Gamache, Bk 3)
reviewed on + 152 more book reviews


I decided to read this series in order. I had given Book 1 just two stars--found it hard to keep track of all the characters; gave Book 2 three stars. Maybe it's just because I've now read three books (in the last 18 months) that I can keep better track of the characters. There was the ongoing suggestion starting in Book 1 and continuing to Book 3 that someone in the police department was out to get Gamache and had a spy or two on Gamache's team. References were made to Officer (I think he was the Chief) Arnot in the first two books and again in this one. If I recall correctly, there was never a clear explanation in Books 1 or 2 about the Arnot situation.

As I read Book 3 there were again references to Arnot and I wondered if the author was going to string readers along throughout the entire series (I believe there are about 14 books in this series). Consequently, I was surprised and pleased to see that the Arnot incident was explained and although some things were resolved, Gamache doesn't seem to be out of hot water at the end of the book.

The mystery itself was OK. I will be putting Book 4 on my paperbackswap.com wishlist.