A Better Man- A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel (2019)

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Catastrophic spring flooding, blistering attacks in the media, and a mysterious disappearance greet Chief Inspector Armand Gamache as he returns to the Sûreté du Québec in the latest novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author Louise Penny. It’s Gamache’s first day back as head of the homicide department, a job he temporarily shares with his previous second-in-command, Jean-Guy Beauvoir. Flood waters are rising across the province. In the middle of the turmoil a father approaches Gamache, pleading for help in finding his daughter. As crisis piles upon crisis, Gamache tries to hold off the encroaching chaos, and realizes the search for Vivienne Godin should be abandoned. But with a daughter of his own, he finds himself developing a profound, and perhaps unwise, empathy for her distraught father. Increasingly hounded by the question, how would you feel …, he resumes the search. As the rivers rise, and the social media onslaught against Gamache becomes crueler, a body is discovered. And in the tumult, mistakes are made. In the next novel in this “constantly surprising series that deepens and darkens as it evolves” ( New York Times Book Review ), Gamache must face a horrific possibility, and a burning question. What would you do if your child’s killer walked free? Review Advance Praise for A Better Man "With an uncompromising eye, Penny explores the depths of human emotion, both horrifying and sublime. Her love for her characters and for the mystical village of Three Pines is apparent on every page." — Publishers Weekly, starred review "The appeal of this series and especially of Gamache himself has always been Penny's ability to show her hero moving from the tangible, brutal facts of murder to the emotions within, the stories in the blood. There are multiple stories, often contradictory, to be found in the many-tentacled web of human tragedy and suffering that Gamache teases to the surface in this moving exploration of ties that both bind and destroy." — Booklist, starred review “This title brings several character arcs to a close while resetting others to make this psychological mystery serve both as a beginning for new readers and a satisfying continuation for series fans. Gamache is an explorer of the human psyche, and the care he takes with the victims, their friends and family, as well as his own allows this series and his character continually to surprise, delight, and enthrall.” — Library Journal (starred review) Praise for Kingdom of the Blind INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A December 2018 Indie Next Pick One of Kirkus Reviews' Best of 2018 Picks BookPage Best of the Year 2018 A LibraryReads Pick for November 2018 A LibraryReads Hall of Fame Winner Washington Post's 10 Books to Read This November One of PopSugar’s Best Fall Books to Curl Up With One of Publishers Weekly Booksellers' Favorite 25 Titles of the Year in 2018 “A captivating, wintry whodunit.” — PEOPLE "A constantly surprising series that deepens and darkens as it evolves." —Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review “A spellbinder . . . another outstanding Gamache adventure… ingenious . . . what more could a mystery reader – or any reader for that matter – want?”—Maureen Corrigan, Washington Post “Penny pulls together an insightful plot that weaves in family feuds, clandestine investigations, undercover cops and a loving look at Three Pines.” —Oline Cogdill, South Florida Sun Sentinel “Louise Penny’s novels are unique for how seamlessly they straddle the line between charmingly small-town mysteries and big-city police procedurals . . . It’s not to be missed!” — BookPage (Top Pick) “It’s hard to see how Louise Penny can raise the stakes any further for her iconic, fatherly good guy, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, but somehow in each book she does.” — News & Observer “ Brain-teasing puzzles, life-and-death stakes and lots of Three Pines, a magical place where the warmth in the villagers’ hearts thaws the ice on their eyelashes.”— St. Louis Post Dispatch