The reason for his firing is unknown, but presumably it had to do with his poor investment decisions. The murderer took Julia’s life in a blind moment of rage, for everything he and his family lost in one of David’s early investment failures. Hmm, I think I wanted a break from Three Pines which it was but not totally as you will see if you read this one.

Irene Finney insists that she must see her daughter—a request to which Gamache eventually relents later in the day after the Sûreté de Quebec arrive—and she sees with utter horror her first daughter, killed inexplicably by the statue of her late husband. Book Four of Louise Penny's Chief Inspector Gamache series, "A Rule Against Murder", unlike the previous books, is not set in the picturesque Quebecois village of Three Pines (although the protagonists do pay Three Pines a visit). There are too many variables left to chance and Gamache and his whiz bang team of investigators never discuss them. Penny’s Gamache series is praised for its thematic depth; set in Quebec, Canada, the series goes beyond a conventional mystery plot to probe the culture and history of Quebec.If there truly was love on one or both of the parent’s part, at least one of the children would have felt it. Gamache is forced to confront the fact that his assumption that the killer was one of the family was wrong—and almost caused the death of a child. With A Rule Against Murder , we get the summertime sensory experiences, in addition to simple everyday ones.

His head is bowed, and although he’s about to say something, whatever he’s seeing has literally turned him to stone. I did enjoy the book, but I find that after a few books many of these series become somewhat repetitive.

The chase takes him to Three Pines—into the dark corners of his own life, and finally to a harrowing climax. Located in the Equitable Building in Manhattan, Minotaur Books publishes bestselling and award-winning crime fiction ranging from thrillers and suspense to traditional mysteries. They were loved and could have had affectionate family bonds, but instead they rejected Paradise and were jealous and envious of each other. Because Penny’s novels aren’t just simple whodunnits, the plot and the heavy-handed themes and moral messages of the novel are entwined. In my experience, it’s absolutely possible that parents love their children “the best they can”, and leave the children with no clue that they are loved.

He withheld money and gifts because he realized those things were empty and meaningless; that he’d already given his family what really mattered: love and encouragement.Even after firing Martin, Pierre’s father felt guilty so he gave him a large chunk of his personal fortune to invest.

I think we need to see people in different settings than Three Pines to get a whole picture of them – I loved seeing Armand and Reine-Marie together at play in this book. Given that, I wonder if Ms Penny would welcome the opportunity in future editions of her novel to rephrase a comment that Agent Lacoste made in reference to the disparaging washroom graffiti penned by one of the male members of the Finney family, “But that’s thirty-five years ago.Peter and Clara Morrow show up at the Manoir to be at a special family reunion of Peter's horrid family. You would think that something terrible must have happened to her like to Lisbeth Salander for her to act like that. The large group also at the Manoir, and having a family reunion were not a nice bunch of people, but Armand and Reine-Marie did their best to stay out of their way.