A Fatal Grace: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel: 2

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For example, when the whole village finds out what a beautiful voice CC’s daughter has, she proceeds to completely annihilate her in front of everyone. A 12-year old overweight girl is described on multiple occasion in the most jarring, mean-spirited way - not by other characters, but the author.

Hearing that CC knows important gallery owner Denis Fortin, Clara timidly asks if she would mind showing him her portfolio—which CC disdainfully throws in the trash. 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. What interests you most about the two murder victims, CC and the bag lady known only as Elle, and the way Gamache conducts his investigation? I know I will and I’ll not be waiting until I go to an out of town library until I read the next installment.It’s a perfect setting for the last job Saul intends to do for CC, who wants pictures of herself “frolicking among the natives at Christmas. Deliberately electrocuted, the villagers almost seem to be celebrating that the monster is dead and for good reason, but her death is linked to another sad loss nearby. I am enjoying the early stages of my Louise Penny binge, having found something that is not only unique, but captivating in its descriptive power. They usually have thick cables with orange rubber coating, and the clips are massive, not little bitty alligator clips.

She emotionally abuses her daughter (Crie) and husband, expresses contempt for her lover, and -- worst of all, the text says -- she wears boots made of baby sealskin, making her not merely a damaged, destructive human being but an actual monster who wears babies on her feet.She has won numerous awards, including a CWA Dagger and the Agatha Award (five times) and was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Novel. CC, who had a "spiritual guidance" business based on eliminating emotion, was hated by seemingly everyone, including her husband, lover, and daughter. This patchwork quilt of personalities keeps the story from getting too dreary, though Penny does offer much in the way of backstory and character development, such that I am going to have to keep things straight to learn all their nuances. A Fatal Grace is the second book I've read in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series and I'm ready for the next book.

After Gamache admires The Three Graces, Clara’s painting of Mother and the two other elderly women who are her best friends in Three Pines, she tells him about her poisonous encounter with CC at Ogilvy’s—and he quietly adds Clara’s name to the long list of suspects.She plans to make that place hers, and in her mind, she plans to raze all that makes the place amazing. An article in a Montreal style magazine had described him as a 'hot' photographer, and CC always went for the best.

Clara’s joy at the Christmas windows is disrupted by a filthy pile of blankets that turns out to be a beggar throwing up. By that time, Still Life had won many awards (including the Anthony, Arthur Ellis, Barry, Dilys, and New Blood Dagger) for Best First Novel, but not the Agatha; and we didn’t want to jinx anything by expecting her to win Best Novel for A Fatal Grace. I also love the way Louise focuses on the power of words, from the literal handwriting on more than one wall, to the hidden meanings of names like Mother, Elle, and Crie (what kind of parents would name a child that? The method was complicated, and how the inspector begins to pull the threads that become real clues is masterful.Her underarms bulged and flopped and the rolls of her waist made the skintight dress look like a melting strawberry ice cream.