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Jul 14, 2019PimaLib_ChristineR rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
One little Rosa spoiler ahead. I love these novels. When I finally got this off the wait-list at the library everything else got dropped, and it was totally worth it. If you already love the series, you'll be pleased with this latest installment. Penny's writing is that perfect combination of the elevated and earthy, ruminating on the meaning of poetry one moment and then suddenly Gamache's grandson's first word comes out, and if you know he's been hanging out with Ruth and the duck, you can probably guess what it is. I really enjoyed the primary mystery of the Duchess and her will, and all the tangled skeins that came with it. It's always a pleasure, on reflection to realize how intricate her plotting is. We begin with the mystery of why these three specific people are chosen as executors of the Duchess' will. Then we get a dead body, some more monetary-mysteries, an overseas call that is hysterical, a silly hat and an ex-girlfriend. There's so much detail, that it's like a quilt. Less pleasing through its lack of realism is her dip into the netherworld of Montreal as Choquet is ejected from the Surete Academy and returns to her life of using. Choquet is truly "the one eyed man" in this kingdom of the blind, as people begin to follow her like she's the second coming. What is that all about? I will also say that I saw Choquet's ending at, oh, the very start of the book. Penny made a lazy move there because it has become one of her go-tos. I also have to say her view of drugs is very, mmm, former-addict-standard. All drugs are bad. Everyone who uses drugs will wind up doing unsavory things with unsavory people in unsavory alleys, and then they will all die horrible deaths. But that was it from critical me. The rest was butter. As always, her character development, is top-notch as we see Gamache's neighbors and co-workers continue on with their lives. As someone else mentioned, reading a Gamache novel is like catching up with family.