My only complaint about the actual storylines resolving is that I wish everything hadn’t been wrapped up so neatly. Gamache and his team are up against a bigger group with more resources and official backing, and their leader is in disgrace. Towards the end of the book, this series goes from occasional cozy mystery/character study to full on suspense thriller. Beauvoir was even kicked out of the house he shared with Annie for refusing to admit he had a problem (a drug addiction that Francoeur was encouraging, in order to manipulate and ruin him as a distraction and punishment for Gamache). And all the while, Gamache’s relationship with Beauvoir has deteriorated almost beyond repair. We see Gamache and the remainder of his people try desperately to learn Francoeur’s secrets. Here, finally, we learn why Francoeur has been doing all of this. I thought this had gone away in book three with the conclusion of the Arnot case, but Arnot was just replaced by Sylvain Francoeur, who as of this book, has maneuvered Gamache into a place of powerlessness, essentially destroying the Homicide department in order to discredit Gamache and force him into retirement. Since book one, Gamache’s confrontation with certain people in the Sûreté du Québec has been building.
Turns out Constance was one of the famous Ouillet Quintuplets (based on the real life Dionne Quintuplets), and she was murdered. Because Myrna is friends with the Chief Inspector of Homicide, she gives him a call and he heads over to Three Pines to help her out. Constance Pineault (nee Ouillet) is a friend of Myrna’s who is coming to visit for Christmas, but she never arrives. The first is the murder, and it was a really good one (though, I did figure out the murderer way before anyone in the book did, which happens approximately 1% of the time). There are two major storylines throughout the book, both of which Gamache is at the center of. The book was really good, I think the best yet, BUT it did have some problems. (Wouldn’t have been the first time I awarded five stars while still on a book high.) I think I might have even done it if I’d been able to read the book faster, but since I was stuck with audio CD’s from my library, which I could only listen to in my car, my time with the story stretched out and I was able to think about it more rationally than I would have if were sitting on my couch frantically turning pages to find out what happens next. This is the closest I have ever been to giving one of these books five stars.
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