A Fatal Grace (Chief Inspector Gamache)

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Speaking of Quebec culture, Episodes 5 and 6 are also a mini-nod to French Canadian series, “19-2,” as it reunites actors Laurence Leboeuf (a major player in the Quebec star system) and Mylène Dinh-Robic from the English remake. In “The Murder Stone” they play sisters-in-law for a whodunnit that takes place in a sweeping hotel, which is also a nod to those grand, drawing-room murder mysteries. The fifth episode is notably directed by French Canadian “19-2” alum Daniel Grou, who also goes by Podz. I’m not going to discuss the plot, other than to say that the unpleasant woman who was murdered was mourned by nobody, and her impending doom is mentioned in the first sentence. There are a few scary moments, but this is not a thriller. It is a just a good story told in good company.

Starred Review. A traditional and highly intelligent mystery …. sure to create great reader demand for more stories featuring civilized and articulate Chief Inspector Gamache…. Highly recommended." - Library JournalThree Pines was a pretty little village and as it was nearing Christmas, it was bitterly cold with snow and ice surrounding the cottages, the bistro, the B&B as well as the village green; even the lake was completely iced over. CC de Poitiers had been despised by all – no one person was sorry about her death. But Gamach was determined to discover who had murdered her; he rarely failed.

Gamache tells Lemieux, “All the mistakes I’ve made have been because I’ve assumed something and then acted as though it was fact.” Have you ever made important assumptions that turned out not to be true?The focus of the cruelty was on fat. And for a while it seemed that it was only the characters who were being cruel but then I read this passage about a 12 year old girl. CC’s murder seems impossible: She was electrocuted at the curling match, in the middle of a frozen lake in front of dozens of witnesses. After Gamache gathers his team in the old railway station, Beauvoir recaps the only way CC’s murder could have worked: “A: she had to be standing in water; B: she had to have taken off her gloves; C: she had to touch something electrified; and D: she had to be wearing metal on the bottom of her boots.” Sure, nobody liked CC, but who hated her enough—and had the expertise—to pull off something like that? What do you make of Gamache’s relationships with the different members of his team, from Beauvoir to Nichol?