A year after Armand Gamache, Chief Inspector of the Sûcreté du Québec, first comes to tiny, idyllic Three Pines, he returns to investigate a second murder.  This time, it's domestic goddess wannabe Cecilia "CC" de Poitiers whose life has come to an unfortunate end.  Not that anyone in Three Pines will be mourning her demise.  Cold and cruel, the woman had few fans in the small town.  Still, the case is perplexing, mostly because of the very public way in which CC died.  Electrocuted at a town curling match, she was surrounded by people—none of whom have the faintest idea what happened.  Anyone could have killed her; suspects and motives abound.  But, who actually did the deed?  How?  And why?

Undaunted by the puzzling mystery he's taxed with solving, Gamache is delighted to be back in Three Pines.  The village feels like home, its residents like friends.  The chief inspector's team, which includes Gamache's loyal right-hand man, Jean-Guy Beauvoir; the young, but capable Isabelle Lacoste; proud, prickly Yvette Nichol; and over-eager local agent Robert Lemieux; is not quite as enthusiastic.  Learning to work together despite clashing personalities, hidden agendas, and flagrant prejudices might be the team's biggest challenge.  Still, Gamache is determined to bring them together, using their combined skills to help him catch a killer.

When a homeless woman in Quebec is murdered right before Christmas, Gamache is shocked to find the crime is connected to CC's death.  As his case becomes more and more complicated, the chief inspector must dig deeper and deeper to find out what really happened to CC de Poitiers.  Deception barrages him from all directions—even from within his own team—making the case ever more baffling.  Will the complications be enough to ruin Gamache's almost perfect solve record?  Or will he find CC's murderer before anyone else ends up dead?

Like our hero, I found myself eager to return to Three Pines, a charming place I'd come to love from reading Still Life, the debut novel in Louise Penny's appealing Armand Gamache series.  The second installment, A Fatal Grace, brought the setting back to vivid, gratifying life.  As much as I love the backdrop of these books, though, it's the characters that keep me coming back to Penny's books.  With their individual quirks, her warm-hearted cast is always intriguing, always entertaining.  The chief inspector provides a breath of fresh air with his "old world charm ... a courtesy and manner that spoke of a time past" (54) that makes him stand out from the usual leads in crime fiction.  A Fatal Grace also boasts a twisty plot that kept me unsure of the killer's identity until the very end of the novel.  All these things combined made this second Gamache book as enjoyable as the first.  As Three Pines is quickly becoming one of my favorite places to visit, you better believe I'll be back for more and more and more ... I just can't get enough of this enthralling series.

(Readalikes:  Other books in the Armand Gamache series, including Still Life; The Cruellest Month; The Murder Stone; The Brutal Telling; Bury Your Dead; The Hangman; A Trick of the Light; The Beautiful Mystery; How the Light Gets In; The Long Way Home; and The Nature of the Beast)

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Because I had such a good time coming up with a list for today's Top Ten Tuesday prompt, I'm going to go ahead and sign up for the 2016 Debut Author Challenge hosted by ThatArtsyReaderGirl.com.  Who cares if I'm totally failing all of my 2015 challenges?  We're talking about a new year here, right?  Right.  So here are the 12 books I'm planning to read:

1.  Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman
2.  This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp
3.  The Mystery of Hollow Places by Rebecca Podos
4.  Paper Wishes by Lois Sepahban
5.  Into the Dim by Janet B. Taylor
6.  Shallow Graves by Kali Wallace
7.  The Smell of Other People's Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock
8.  The Casquette Girls by Alys Arden
9.  Thief of Lies by Brenda Drake
10.  Please Don't Tell by Laura Tims
11.  Where Futures End by Parker Peevyhouse
12.  The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig

I'm excited to read all these fabulous-looking debuts.  Anyone else doing the challenge?  

It's been a little while since I did a Top Ten Tuesday post, but this week's topic intrigued me.  I always love to discover great new writers and 2016 appears to be a good year for them.  So many awesome-looking debut books release next year that I had a really hard time limiting myself to a list of just ten.  I did, though, and I'm excited to share them with you.  I'm anxious to see what you came up with as well.  So, please, leave me a comment on this post—I'll happily return the favor on your blog!

If you want to join in the TTT fun, be sure to click on over to The Broke and the Bookish.  Everything you need to know about this fabulous weekly meme is on their wonderful site.

Ready for my Top Ten 2016 Debut Novels I'm Looking Forward To list?  Hold on tight, 'cause here we go ... (can you tell I spent Thanksgiving weekend on rides at Disneyland/California Adventure?)

1.  The Blood Rose Rebellion by Rosalyn N. Eves—I've loved Rosalyn ever since she told me she was "star-struck" by serving on a book awards judging panel with me :)  She writes excellent book reviews on her blog.  I'm sure her debut novel, a magical YA story set in an alternate Victorian England, will be amazing as well.  Coming Fall 2016 from Knopf.


2.  Paper Wishes by Lois Sepahban—I love me a well-written middle grade historical novel.  This one, about a Japanese-American girl whose family is relocated to an internment camp during WWII, sounds like a good one.  Coming January 5, 2016, from Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.


3.  This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp—Considering how many school shootings have occurred lately, this YA novel examines a frightening and timely trend.  It sounds like an intense, thought-provoking read.  Coming January 5, 2016, from Sourcebooks.

Coincidentally enough, I got an email from Sourcebooks yesterday about a fun pre-order promotion its running to celebrate the book's release.  Check out the Rafflecopter widget below if you're interested:

  a Rafflecopter giveaway


4.  Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman—Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!  This is a much-anticipated YA novel about a young Blackbeard.  Looks like a great read for any Pirates of the Caribbean fan.  Coming February 9, 2016, from Simon Pulse.


5.  The Mystery of Hollow Places by Rebecca Podos—This YA tale centers around the daughter of a forensic scientist who has to use the knowledge she's gleaned from her father to track him down when he goes missing.  Sounds compelling.  Coming January 26, 2016, from Balzer & Bray.


6.  Where Futures End by Parker Peevyhouse—This time-crossing YA adventure novel sounds fascinating to me.  Coming February 9, 2016, from Kathy Dawson Books.


7.  Shallow Graves by Kali Wallace—You've probably heard the buzz about this debut, a YA novel concerning a teenage girl who wakes up in a shallow grave one year after her death.  Somehow, she's alive again, but her world has definitely changed ... Coming January 26, 2016, from Katherine Tegen Books.

8.  In Another Life by Julie Christine Johnson—This adult novel about a recent widow who returns to France to rebuild her life and becomes entangled in an ancient mystery sounds like a good one.  Coming February 2, 2016, from Sourcebooks Landmark.


9.  Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly—This WWII novel about three women whose lives intersect at a notorious female-only concentration camp looks fascinating.  Coming April 5, 2016, from Ballantine Books.


10.  The Smell of Other People's Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock—Truth is, I would probably read this one based on the title alone!  Its premise also sounds interesting.  The story concerns three teenagers living in Alaska in 1970 and the ways in which they save each other.  Coming February 23, 2016, from Wendy Lamb Books.

So, there you go, ten debut novels of 2016 that I'm excited about reading.  What do you think of my list?  What's on yours?  Do we have any picks in common?  I can't wait to hop around the book blogosphere and see which titles you're stoked about.  Happy Top Ten Tuesday!

Felix Brewer, an extravagant show-off who makes his dough off several businesses (some legal, some not), is facing prison time when he vanishes into thin air.  His disappearance shocks his wife and two daughters, throwing their comfortable lives of luxury into a wild tailspin.  The three Brewers have no idea what has happened to their husband and father, but what about his 23-year-old mistress, Julie Saxony?  Does she know more about Felix's whereabouts than she's letting on?

Julie's disappearance—exactly a decade later—seems to indicate that she's finally flown off to meet up with her man.  Until her remains are discovered in Leakin Park almost 20 years after she went missing.  Maybe she knew where Felix was, maybe she didn't.  Whatever secrets Julie harbored, they went with her to the grave.

Intrigued by the very cold case, retired Baltimore police detective Sandy Sanchez decides to investigate Julie's murder.  As he digs into her colored past, he discovers an alarming web of lies, many of which center on one person: Felix Brewer.  What really happened to the enigmatic fugitive?  Did Julie Saxony die because of her connection to him?  Or was her death unrelated?  As Sandy untangles the threads of deceit that bind five women to Felix, he will discover some very shocking truths about one of Baltimore's greatest unsolved mysteries.

After I'm Gone, a mystery by Laura Lippman, was inspired by the real, unsolved case of Julius Salsbury, a Baltimore bookie who vanished instead of facing a possible 15-year sentence in federal prison.  As colorful as his true-life counterpart, Felix Brewer makes for an alluring central character.  The mystery of his disappearance is intriguing enough, but After I'm Gone focuses less on Felix's case, more on the characters and their relationships with one another.  All of Lippman's story people are complex, flawed and captivating in their own ways, making their individual tales just as interesting as Felix's.  The story's slow, steady build-up creates plenty of tension, forging a plot that's as exciting as it is compelling.  With enough twists to keep me reading, I found After I'm Gone quite riveting indeed.  Overall, I enjoyed it.

(Readalikes:  Hm, I can't really think of anything.  Can you?)

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