When an intricate old map is found stuffed into the walls of the bistro in Three Pines, it at first seems no more than a curiosity. But the closer the villagers look, the stranger it becomes.
Given to Armand Gamache as a gift the first day of his new job, the map eventually leads him to shattering secrets. To an old friend and older adversary. It leads the former Chief of Homicide for the Sûreté du Québec to places even he is afraid to go. But must.
And there he finds four young cadets in the Sûreté academy, and a dead professor. And, with the body, a copy of the old, odd map.
Everywhere Gamache turns, he sees Amelia Choquet, one of the cadets. Tattooed and pierced. Guarded and angry. Amelia is more likely to be found on the other side of a police line-up. And yet she is in the academy. A protégée of the murdered professor.
The focus of the investigation soon turns to Gamache himself and his mysterious relationship with Amelia, and his possible involvement in the crime. The frantic search for answers takes the investigators back to Three Pines and a stained glass window with its own horrific secrets.
For both Amelia Choquet and Armand Gamache, the time has come for a great reckoning.
#1 New York Times bestselling author Louise Penny pulls back the layers to reveal a brilliant and emotionally powerful truth in her latest spellbinding audiobook.
"Robert Bathurst puts his own indelible stamp on Chief Inspector Armand Gamache in Louise Penny's twelfth Three Pines puzzle. ...If you haven't listened to this series, start at once. You'll love your stay in Three Pines." - AudioFile Magazine
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"I enjoy Louise Penny's Chief Inspector Gamache novels so much I have trouble putting them down. But that only means I finish them faster and will run out soon.This is the best in the series so far, and I am slowly beginning to accept the new narrator, whom I disliked very much in the last book, his first. The usual characters of Three Pines have been so well-developed, and continue to hold my heart. Ruth and Rosa are still my favorites. Looking forward to the next book in the series."
— christi (5 out of 5 stars)
“Robert Bathurst puts his own indelible stamp on Chief Inspector Armand Gamache…His Gamache is a bit brusque, but Bathurst also allows his softer, gentler side to show…His delivery of Ruth, the resident poet-curmudgeon, is priceless…Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile“Superb.”
— People“Transcends the mystery genre.”
— AARP, The Magazine“Penny writes with grace and intelligence about complex people struggling with complex emotions.”
— New York Times Book Review“Deep and grand and altogether extraordinary.”
— Washington Post“Luminous prose, complex but uncluttered plots, and profound compassion.”
— Seattle Times“Succeeds on every level.”
— St. Louis Post-Dispatch“This riveting read, with characters of incredible depth who only add to the strength of the plot, will keep readers guessing until the last page.”
— Library Journal (starred review)“Fans of Penny’s Inspector Gamache series will be pleased with this tale…Penny again taps into her talent for rich character building, giving us a range of emotions, motives, struggles, and failures.”
— RT Book Reviews“If you haven't listened to this series, start at once. You'll love your stay in Three Pines.
— AudioFile, Earphones Awards WinnerThis book engages the listener immediately and might be Penny’s best one yet...The narration is dramatic and voiced. [Robert] Bathurst has clearly found a comfort level with the characters that is obvious from the many different voices he utilizes to reflect each one’s idiosyncrasies. Reading at a good pace and tempo, the complex story unfolds and eventually all the mysteries are resolved, including one that is revealed in the very last pages. Fans of the series will gobble this up and relish every moment." SoundCommentary.com
Bathurst is nothing short of perfect, managing the French-Canadian accents deliciously.
— St. Louis Post-DispatchBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Louise Penny is the author of the #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Toronto Globe and Mail bestselling series of Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novels. She is also coauthor with Hillary Rodham Clinton of the #1 New York Times bestselling thriller State of Terror. She has won numerous awards, including eight Agatha Awards and a CWA Dagger, and was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Novel. In 2017, she received the Order of Canada for her contributions to Canadian culture.
Robert Bathurst, an Earphones Award-winning audiobook narrator, won the prestigious Audie Award for Best Male Narrator in 2020. He is an English actor who played David Marsden in five seasons of the series Cold Feet and the title role in My Dad’s the Prime Minister. In addition to his other television credits—which include The Stepfather, White Teeth, The Safe House, Goodbye, Mr. Steadman, and Hornblower—he has also appeared many times on stage in such productions as The Three Sisters, Hedda Gabler, and Alarms and Excursions.