just finished reading

This is so compelling! The book opens with aggressive questions at a trial and the exchange and flashbacks tell us the meat of the story. I loved how the characters talk about conscience and karma, their conversations make me want to join in. I love the village, I love the characters, I love the literary references, I love the relationshihps between all of the characters, and I love the descriptions of food! The end of this book had me in tears.

From the publisher:

When a mysterious figure appears in Three Pines one cold November day, Armand Gamache and the rest of the villagers are at first curious. Then wary. Through rain and sleet, the figure stands unmoving, staring ahead.

From the moment its shadow falls over the village, Gamache, now Chief Superintendent of the Surete du Quebec, suspects the creature has deep roots and a dark purpose. Yet he does nothing. What can he do? Only watch and wait. And hope his mounting fears are not realized.

But when the figure vanishes overnight and a body is discovered, it falls to Gamache to discover if a debt has been paid or levied.

Months later, on a steamy July day as the trial for the accused begins in Montreal, Chief Superintendent Gamache continues to struggle with actions he set in motion that bitter November, from which there is no going back. More than the accused is on trial. Gamache's own conscience is standing in judgment.