Written by Louise Penny, Narrated by Ralph Cosham

-An audio book review-

Jo Anna Perrin

I arrived slightly out of sync to Louise Penny’s Chief Inspector Armand Gamache/Three Pines series.  I started with her fourth novel,  A Rule Against  Murder, and thence thoroughly hooked, happily retreated  to the first book in the series and worked my way forward. If you are unfamiliar with Penny’s well crafted series starring the intelligent and empathetic Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and the absolute confection of the town of Three Pines and its quirky inhabitants, I suggest you give her a listen.

The sixth installment, Bury Your Dead, is in my opinion, the most brilliantly constructed of the series thus far.  As narrated by the incomparable Ralph Cosham, it becomes even more so than the already considerable sum of its parts.

In this latest novel, it is Winter Carnival in Quebec City and Armand Gamache has returned to the old city not for the joys of the season, but for respite after suffering through the devastating effects of an investigation gone tragically wrong. However murder follows Gamache even here in the death of a local historian and community pariah who just may have found the answer to the 400 year old mystery of the final resting place of Samuel de Champlain the founder of Quebec. Gamache also has unfinished business in Three Pines where one of its beloved inhabitants had been arrested and now sits in prison convicted of murder.  After receiving desperate daily letters from within the village, the Inspector develops suspicions about the actual guilt of the man serving time.

Penny artfully combines the three threads of story seamlessly, cohesively combining each turn of event. She manages to paint a tapestry of the history of Quebec, the rift between the Quebecois and the Anglo populations, and the hopes and fears of a community in flux, while allowing Gamache ample room for hope, resolution and redemption. She is at the peak of her storytelling skills in this novel, and leaves one clamoring impatiently for the next and seventh installment of the series.

Having first read the novel, I was delighted to listen to it anew as narrated by the rich tones of Ralph Cosham.  He is a perfect fit for Penny’s writing, giving Armand Gamache the ideal combination of insight and humor, and making all the characters, from the quirky to the ordinary, both distinctive and atmospheric.

One word of warning for the listener though. The vivid rendering of Old Quebec City and Carnival might just leave you yearning for a warming brew of authentic local Caribou or a careen down the giant ice slide in front of the historic Chateau Frontenac. It would be best to table your credit card until the craving wears off.

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