A Better Man: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel (urspr publ 2019; utgåvan 2019)

Armand Gamache is temporarily back as head of the homicide department and everything begins to happen at same time......Flood media, and a mysterious disappearance of a young girl. His fatherly instincts tell him to look for the young girl....

I’d unfortunately give this one 2.5 stars. I do so love Louise Penny’s previous books - reading this series is like visiting cozy old friends while simultaneously enjoying a clever and multi layered plot. But sadly, not so much with this one.

- I did not enjoy the writing style. Too many short choppy sentences that felt like tabloid snippets or a news twitter service.

- Three Pines and my old friends - those lovely dinner parties, the B and B pampering, and always wonderful camaraderie - almost non existent in this installment

- Over-drawn out political back stabbing and “Gamache-sux” controversy was tiresome and way too familiar a theme by now

- Clara? What the heck? All artists must have less than successful works that are not the end of the world. Perhaps the social media/ malice theme was intended to shine more here, but it didn’t work for me.

- too many options/suspects/red herrings at the end and then the final unveiling felt amateurish, somewhat unfair, and gimmicky.

I am so hopeful this installment will be a glitch in the series and it will be back on track in the next book. ( )

Always love these stories and want to start the next one right away. The twists and conflicts sometimes make me tense up, but when they resolve, it's okay. What intrigue awaits in the next one? ( )

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is back to work. Along with his case load, is concern over the rising flood waters that could wash away the small village of Three Pines, where he and his wife live. There is also the matter of his son-in-law’s last day on the force and the departure of the son-in-law and his family to their new life in Paris.

Gamache is faced with the case of a distraught father’s missing daughter. The girl is married to an abusive man and there is fear she has been killed by him. Tension runs high as Gamache deals with the missing lady and the chaotic weather as both matters are in the same area. Assistance by fellow officers turn up some interesting and incriminating information, but there are questions to the validity and notices of the possible suspects.

Gamache is also facing criticism on social media for previous actions on an earlier case that got him a nine month suspension from the Sûreté du Quèbec and removal from being Chief Superintendant of Sûreté. Gamache refuses to notice the comments, but there are his supporters who defend him and still believe in him.

There are a number of threads/story lines that run through the book and it is interesting to see how they affect each other and how they can tie together.

Penny is an author I prefer to not rush through if possible. There could be an important point I might miss. ( )

One of the most predictable stories in the series. Even when the characters started to change their minds about who was guilty and started to settle on a different wrong suspect, I thought "No, it still has to be X" and I was still right. So that was rather disappointing. The flood component as a subplot peters out pretty quickly, which was actually disappointing. The intensity of that impending disaster added a good layer of urgency to the story that quickly slipped away. Even the subplot of Clara and the New York art critic felt a bit lacklustre. Maybe the move to Paris will be beneficial for the characters, the author, and the reader! ( )