Search This Blog








2023 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama (1)
- Alaska
- Arizona (1)
- Arkansas
- California (4)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut (1)
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas (1)
- Kentucky
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (1)
- Maryland (1)
- Massachusetts (1)
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York (2)
- North Carolina (1)
- North Dakota
- Ohio (1)
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina (1)
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont (2)
- Virginia
- Washington (2)
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- Washington, D.C.*
International:
- Australia (2)
- Canada (2)
- England (4)
- France (1)
- Ireland (1)
- Scotland (1)
- South Korea (1)
- The Netherlands (1)
-Vietnam (1)





2023 Build Your Library Reading Challenge







Tuesday, August 09, 2016
Simple Yet Compelling Novella Fulfills Its Purpose and Entertains at the Same Time
11:14 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
(Note: Although this review will not contain spoilers for The Hangman, it may inadvertently reveal plot surprises from earlier Armand Gamache mysteries. As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.)
"'There's a killer in every village. In every home. In every heart,' Gamache said. 'All anyone needs is the right reason.'"
Three Pines is a peaceful hamlet hidden in the countryside between Quebec and the U.S. border. It's a place where friends meet in the cozy bistro, out-of-towners relax at the spa on the hill, and broken people from all over the globe come to mend. Violence seems incongruous with the town's warmth and beauty. And yet, the village has become a magnet for murder. Just ask Armand Gamache, Chief Inspector of the Sûrete du Québec—Three Pines has practically become his second home.
The head of homicide is summoned to town once again when a jogger discovers a body hanging from a tree in the woods. Although the dead man was staying at the spa, he was doing so under an assumed name. Who was this "Arthur Ellis"? What was he doing in Three Pines? Did he come to the village to commit suicide or was he murdered? Armand Gamache will soon find out.
Although The Hangman features Louise Penny's iconic detective, the author says the novella isn't really part of the Armand Gamache series. Written as part of a literacy campaign to supply emergent adult readers with material suitable to their reading level, the story is, according to Penny, "Very clear, very simple. Not really the most complex plot or style, for obvious reasons." By publication date (2010), the novella fits in between Bury Your Dead and A Trick of the Light. Despite its shorter, simpler form, I found The Hangman both compelling and surprising. Naturally, it lacks the fullness of a longer Gamache mystery, which made it a less pleasurable (for me, anyway) read than Penny's thicker tomes. Still, I appreciate that The Hangman achieves the purpose for which it was created. I'm not an emergent reader, but I still enjoyed the read.
(Readalikes: Other books in the Armand Gamache series, including Still Life; A Fatal Grace; The Cruelest Month; A Rule Against Murder; The Brutal Telling; Bury Your Dead; A Trick of the Light; The Beautiful Mystery; How the Light Gets In; The Long Way Home; The Nature of the Beast; and A Great Reckoning)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for language (no F-bombs) and violence
To the FTC, with love: I bought a copy of The Hangman from Amazon with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger. Ha ha.)
1 comment:
Comments make me feel special, so go crazy! Just keep it clean and civil. Feel free to speak your mind (I always do), but be aware that I will delete any offensive comments.
P.S.: Don't panic if your comment doesn't show up right away. I have to approve each one before it posts to prevent spam. It's annoying, but it works!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(Atom)




Reading
Murder Off the Books by Tamara Berry

Listening
Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country in the World by Sarah Smarsh



Followin' with Bloglovin'



-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
If You Like L. M. Montgomery…4 hours ago
-
-
-
-
The Best Mistake9 hours ago
-
-
-
Kampfner, John "Why the Germans Do it Better"23 hours ago
-
-
-
Isn’t It Romantic?1 day ago
-
-
-
Audio book: Pet1 day ago
-
Song of the Week1 day ago
-
-
A Mansion for Murder by Frances Brody1 day ago
-
Haiku reviews...2 days ago
-
-
-
FO Friday: Flax Light, Baby3 days ago
-
-
-
-
When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole6 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
Book Blogger Hop #62 weeks ago
-
-
-
-
-
Books Read in 20232 months ago
-
-
Nonfiction November 2022: New to My TBR3 months ago
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?5 months ago
-
-
HEARTS OF BRIARWALL by Krista Jensen7 months ago
-
-
-
-

Grab my Button!



Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ▼ 2016 (157)
- ► 2015 (188)
I love the cover of this one. I should try this series.
ReplyDelete