What readers think of Bury Your Dead, plus links to write your own review.

Louise Penny's incredible 20-book (and counting?) series of Chief Inspector Gamache mystery novels are a reader's delight, and I think this may be the best one yet. I say that having read just six of them because THEY MUST BE READ IN ORDER, so I reserve the right to change my mind later.

If you haven't yet discovered Louise Penny, go get "Still Life," the first in the series. Now. You're welcome.

This book is so riveting and compelling (yes, dinner will be late and so will your bedtime) because it's really three unconnected mysteries in one book:
1. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his closest colleagues lost one of their own in a most horrific way, and all of them are still recovering from the physical gunshot wounds and the haunting, nightmarish emotional scars that aren't as easily healed. Gamache has retreated for rest to the home of his aging mentor, Émile Comeau, in Québec City during the time of the Winter Carnival. He spends much of his days with his dog, Henri, in the Literary and Historical Society, an old library specializing in English language books in the middle of a French-speaking city. And haunting him the whole time…he knows mistakes were made.

2. While he is walking the frozen and icy streets of Old Montreal, Gamache is pulled onto a murder case. An amateur archeologist named Augustin Renaud spent a lifetime on a crazed and singular mission to find the unknown burial site of Samuel de Champlain, who founded Québec in 1608. Now Renaud has been found murdered and partially buried in the root cellar of the Lit and His Society. Who did it?

3. You'll recall in "The Brutal Telling," the fifth in the series, an upstanding citizen of Three Pines (whom I will not name so as not to give any spoilers) was convicted of murder. Now Gamache is having second thoughts about this case, and has sent Inspector Jean-Guy Beauvoir to Three Pines. Beauvoir is to tell everyone he is on a vacation, but the real purpose is to do some undercover investigating just to be sure of the person's guilt. Gamache, who led the investigation is thinking an innocent human being is in prison…he knows mistakes were made.

And then: There is a stunning, astounding, and perfect plot twist I never saw coming.

As with all of Louise Penny's novels, this is a literary murder mystery. It's so much more than plot, plot, plot. The characters are vibrant and bold, there are fascinating literary asides and historical information, and her trademark words of wisdom for living a good life are scattered throughout. And don't forget the food! Every meal is a wordy, mouthwatering delight.

Each of Louise Penny's book is a delight to read, but this one is especially outstanding.

Fun fact: If you look up Samuel de Champlain in Wikipedia, you'll see this note in the "Death and Burial" section of his entry: The search for Champlain's remains supplies a key plot-line in the crime writer Louise Penny's 2010 novel, "Bury Your Dead."

"Bury Your Dead" grabbed me from the very beginning and kept me involved until the end. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, as he tries to recover from a previous incident, takes the reader on a tour of Old Quebec. Along the way, the reader learns about the tensions between the French and English residents of Quebec. Multiple story lines keep the reader involved in the story. This was my first book by Louise Penny, but it will not be my last.

Author Louise Penny has hit a new high with "Bury Your Dead." Always strong with character development, in this book she also proves to be a skillful storyteller, with an intricate plot that comes together beautifully at the end. The author artfully manages to pack an emotional punch in a story where all the characters and their foibles are already well known to the audience. Any devoted reader of Agatha Christie, indeed any reader of mystery books, will likely find "Bury Your Dead" to be an affecting, but satisfying, novel.

In Louise Penny's "Bury Your Dead", two homicides are solved and Inspector Armand Gamache struggles to recover physically and mentally from a terrorist attack that leaves him near death and with much guilt and despair over the loss of fellow officers.

As usual Penny's characters are well-drawn, complicated, and fascinating people, and we revisit the small village of Three Pines as well as Quebec City Penny's books are never disappointing and she continues to produce sophisticated, compelling fiction.

Does it get any better than this? I don't think so. We get to see a more personal side of Gamache and visit some old friends and some new. A touching and interesting story. Louise Penney just gets better! Please keep writing Louise. I was totally involved from beginning to end and I hadn't read the previous book! I highly recommend this book and Quebec City and Three Pines and the whole series!

Quite good and as involved as Nesting Dolls...3 mysteries within a mystery, just like walled Quebec City itself...as is mentioned in the book. Good pacing & character development and very atmospheric. Recommend this to all readers...mystery lovers, travelers, and history buffs alike because you feel like you are in snowy Quebec for Carnival and learn much of its compelling history. Loved the "brave" loyal dog, Henri.

This is the first time I have ever read Louise Penny and since reading this book, I have reserved the first book in this series from my local library; loved this book! I love mystery and this book did not disappoint. One of the favorite things I like is getting involved in characters and these characters are unforgettable. There are several story lines and they are terrific. One of them refers to the previous book which I will have to read. I have told all my mystery buff friends about Louise Penny and look forward to reading her prior books in this series as well as future books. What a gem. I will definitely recommend it to my Book Club.

Louise Penny’s Three Pines novels just keep getting better. "Bury the Dead" takes readers into a darker world than any of the five earlier novels in this series while keeping many of the same quirky characters and adding some delightful new ones. But this is Chief Inspector Gamache’s novel. Gamache must come to terms with making a wrong decision that costs the life of one of his agents. Set in Quebec City during a cold Canadian winter that mirrors the coldness Gamache feels in his soul, Penny goes beyond a well-written cozy mystery to a novel that deals with how we must face the reality of our weaknesses and learn to accept them along with our successes and our strengths.

Penny’s Gamache will remind readers of Donna Leon’s Commissario Guido Brunetti. Like Leon’s novels, Penny’s depend on well-crafted characters and intricate plots rather than on violence and tough macho detectives. For such readers, "Bury Your Dead" will prove a most satisfying read.