The Cruelest Month

If you can get past the unlikelihood of three murders occurring in such a tiny Canadian village in as many years, this third Inspector Gamache installment in the Three Pines series by Louise Penny  is most satisfying. Gamache and his team are called in to solve a bizarre death --as with the two earlier mysteries, this one is connected with the old Hadley House which overlooks the village. It has fallen into disrepair after the murder of the last owner, and as Easter approaches, the villagers decide to try and exorcise the evil spirits of the place through a seance. Except that one of the seance participants is apparently frightened to death--literally . Or perhaps someone helped her along. The subplot about a colleague at the Surete maneuvering behind the scenes to fully and finally discredit Gamache is brought to a head as slanderous stories about Gamache's family appear in the press. The provocative Agent Nichol remains for almost  the entire book a question mark, although Lemieux reveals his true colors early on. The real traitor, who Gamache had called a friend all his life, realizes too late that his jealousy has destroyed one of the few things that ever brought him happiness, his friendship with Gamache.  Throughout, Gamache remains a truly human being with fears and failings, but with his integrity and compassion always intact. Would that we could all grow up to be as kind, as steady, as insightful as this man.

A diversion--Tell No One

Not sure who turned me on to this movie, and I don't usually talk about movies here, but this one was so good that I can't resist. I recognized Kristin Scott Thomas as a co-star, but given that it's a French film (with sub-titles) it's no surprise that my pedestrian experience does not include having seen the lead (Francois Cluzet) or knowing the director (Guillame Canet). It was suspenseful, action filled and tightly plotted. The cinematography was great. A physician whose wife was murdered 8 years ago has come under renewed suspicion from the police when two dead bodies are discovered on land near the old crime scene. Even though it seemed he couldn't and wouldn't have killed his wife, certain facts of the crime just don't add up. And now too many facts are starting to point to him as the killer of not only his wife, but the two dead bodies and a new murder where the evidence is found in his apartment. Altogether too tidy for at least one policeman's taste. The parallel story is that the doctor has received a video via e-mail showing his wife alive and well and 8 years olders accompanied by the admonistion, "tell no one, they are watching." Riveting and absolutely recommended.