Search This Blog
April Reviews Link-Up
May Reviews Link-Up
June Reviews Link-Up
July Reviews Link-Up
August Reviews Link-Up
September Reviews Link-Up
October Reviews Link-Up
November Reviews Link-Up
December Reviews Link-Up
2024 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama (1)
- Alaska
- Arizona (1)
- Arkansas
- California (3)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii
- Idaho (2)
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (1)
- Maryland
- Massachusetts (2)
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York (2)
- North Carolina (2)
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma (1)
- Oregon (2)
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (1)
- Utah
- Vermont (1)
- Virginia (1)
- Washington (1)
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- Washington, D.C.*
International:
- Australia (1)
- Canada (1)
- England (7)
- France (1)
- Indonesia (1)
- Ireland (1)
- Italy (1)
- Scotland (2)
- The Netherlands (1)
2024 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
Listening
Followin' with Bloglovin'
-
-
-
City Girls2 hours ago
-
-
Time Travel Thursday7 hours ago
-
-
The Blackmailed Bride8 hours ago
-
-
-
-
The Expectant Detectives By Kat Ailes12 hours ago
-
Daily Post 24 April Wednesday15 hours ago
-
-
A Letter from Italy by Rose Alexander1 day ago
-
Toxic Prey by John Sandford1 day ago
-
Final Cut by Marjorie McCown1 day ago
-
-
Falling - T.J. Newman1 day ago
-
-
-
Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth2 days ago
-
-
-
Haiku Reviews...2 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Sunday Post5 days ago
-
Reading as a retreat from reality1 week ago
-
Reading Recap March 20242 weeks ago
-
-
March Monthly Wrap-up3 weeks ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
What Happened to Summer?6 months ago
-
6/25/23 Extra Ezra10 months ago
-
-
-
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-
Grab my Button!
Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ▼ 2016 (157)
- ► 2015 (188)
- ► 2014 (133)
- ► 2013 (183)
- ► 2012 (193)
- ► 2011 (232)
- ► 2010 (257)
- ► 2009 (211)
- ► 2008 (192)
I love the cover of this one. I should try this series.
ReplyDelete