Readers' rating:
Published in USA
Aug 2010
400 pages
Genre: Mysteries
Publication Information
Chaos is coming, old son.
With those words the peace of Three Pines is shattered. Everybody goes to Olivier’s Bistro - including a stranger whose murdered body is found on the floor. When Chief Inspector Gamache is called to investigate, he is dismayed to discover that Olivier's story is full of holes. Why are his fingerprints all over the cabin that's uncovered deep in the wilderness, with priceless antiques and the dead man’s blood? And what other secrets and layers of lies are buried in the seemingly idyllic village?
Gamache follows a trail of clues and treasures from first editions of Charlotte’s Web and Jane Eyre to a spiderweb with a word mysteriously woven in it - into the woods and across the continent, before returning to Three Pines to confront the truth and the final, brutal telling.
Click to the right or left of the sample to turn the page.
(If no book jacket appears in a few seconds, then we don't have an excerpt of this book or your browser is unable to display it)
"This superb novel will appeal to readers who enjoy sophisticated literary mysteries in the tradition of Donna Leon." - Library Journal
"If you don't want to move to Montreal with Gamache as your neighbor - or better yet, relocate to Three Pines and be welcomed into its community of eccentrics - you have sawdust in your veins, which must be very uncomfortable." - Kirkus
"Readers keen for another glimpse into the life of Three Pines will be well rewarded." - Publishers Weekly
"There's always a log fire burning and it's always story time in the charming mysteries Louise Penny sets in sleepy Three Pines … While constant readers may think they know all there is to know about its eccentric villagers, Penny is a great one for springing surprises." - New York Times
The information about The Brutal Telling shown above was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's online-magazine that keeps our members abreast of notable and high-profile books publishing in the coming weeks. In most cases, the reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author of this book and feel that the reviews shown do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, please send us a message with the mainstream media reviews that you would like to see added.
Photo: Gary Matthews
Louise Penny's first novel, Still Life, won the New Blood Dagger, Arthur Ellis, Barry, Anthony, and Dilys awards. Her second book, A Fatal Grace, won the 2007 Agatha Award for Best Novel, as did her third, The Cruelest Month. Her next, A Rule Against Murder, was a New York Times bestseller, followed by The Brutal Telling, which was a New York Times, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, and National Indie bestseller. Louise lives in a small village south of Montreal.
Pronunciation Guide: Louise Penny's website provides a wealth of interesting information about her and her books including a pronunciation guide to the characters and places referenced in her books.
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache Series (to 2020)
A Girl is A Body of Water
by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi
A powerful portrait of a young Ugandan girl and her family.
Reader Reviews
Piranesi
by Susanna Clarke
A new novel from the NY Times bestselling author of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.
Reader Reviews
The author of the worldwide bestseller Call Me by Your Name revisits its complex and beguiling characters.
About the book
Memorial Drive
by Natasha Trethewey
The moving, intimate story of a poet coming into her own in the wake of tragedy.
Visitors can view some of BookBrowse for free. Full access is for members only.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
Subscribe to receive some of our best reviews, "beyond the book" articles, book club info, and giveaways by email.
