First Read

After all the hoopla of the New Year died down I still couldn’t go to sleep without reading a few pages. Aside from the fact that I always have to read (even if it’s one page) before going to sleep, I really wanted to jump into a new mystery.

My first read of the year is the fourth book in the Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny, A Rule Against Murder. I had recently finished the third book and I normally don’t read series books back-to-back but I happened to find this one at the library and had to pick it up.

This one starts a bit different from the others in the series as the setting isn’t the quaint village of Three Pines so I’m a bit curious how things will turn out. I’ve grown to like some of the characters from the series so will they make an appearance in this book?

Anyway, the book starts out with Inspector Gamache celebrating his anniversary at a luxurious inn not far from Three Pines but I guess murder will soon intrude on his peaceful time.

“He laughed at himself. Seeing things not there, hearing words unspoken. He’d come to the Manoir Bellechasse to turn that off, to relax and not look for the stain on the carpet, the knife in the bush, or the back. To stop noticing the malevolent inflections that rode into polite conversation on the backs of reasonable words. And the feelings flattened and folded and turned into something else, like emotional origami. Made to look pretty, but disguising something not at all attractive.”

If you enjoy mysteries a bit more on the cozy side but with a fantastic main character, seriously, I wish I could work with Gamache he’s that cool, then give this series a try.

I’m off to continue with my book and then this weekend I’m planning to go check out what treats I can find at Half Price Books. Have a great weekend and hope your reading year has started off with some good reads!