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"Miss Jane Neal met her maker in the early morning mist of Thanksgiving Sunday." The body of the 76-year-old woman was found in the woods near her home in the Eastern Townships village of Three Pines, southeast of Montreal. Armand Gamache, a chief inspector and head of the homicide division of the Surete du Quebec (formerly the QPP or Quebec Provincial Police), is dispatched with his team to investigate. Claire Morrow, a 36-year-old artist is devastated by the news. Jane was her best friend and confidante. Even her husband, Peter, a successful artist, cannot comfort her. She cannot understand who would kill the retired schoolteacher, a woman who had no enemies. Olivier and Gabri own the cafe in town. They are a gay couple who are accepted as friends by the other residents. Not only do they have a wonderful restaurant, well patronized by the townsfolk, the space is also decorated with local antiques. Each item has a price tag on it and is for sale. Jane had been friendly with everyone. No one had a bad word to say about her, yet someone killed her. Another elderly lady had died, apparently of natural causes, two weeks earlier. This seemed like too much of a coincidence . . . two senior citizens dying in a tiny village within such a short time. This first novel portrays small-town Quebec very well. We watch as Gamache works with his team and tries to teach a rookie how to conduct an investigation. We learn about the history of this part of the province, and how the French and the English are getting along. If there is a weak spot in the book, it is the use of non-Quebecois names for the Francophone characters. One expects St Croix (my mother-in-law's maiden name), Pelletier, Trudeau, Cote, Gagnon or Tremblay, not Gamache, Brule, or Beauvoir. The author is a Canadian who was a broadcaster for the CBC. She should have known better. That said, I think this is a laudable first effort and I would like to spend more time with the residents of Three Pines.
Reviewed by Barbara Franchi, May 2006
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