‘Bury Your Dead’ by Louise Penny (Inspector Gamache, Three Pines Mystery #6)

“Not everything buried is actually dead. For many, the past is alive.”

My plan was to read the Inspector Gamache crime series in order but I had to jump to #6 instead of #3 because of a book club assignment. I don’t think it really matters to read them out of order. The others will just feel like flashbacks when I get to them. I loved the Agatha Christie style living room assembly at the end, actually there are two in this novel running simultaneously. All of the suspects are gathered in one room together, one of them is the culprit and they are about to discover who it is. Cue the scary music.

As always it was fun to enjoy the benefits of a series–knowing the characters and the setting before you even start! Penny writes literary crime, this one also eloquently dealing with themes of tragic guilt, learning to live with your history, and finding a way to heal through the grief–to ‘bury your dead.’ Not sure if burying your dead emotionally is possible and perhaps even undesirable, but at any rate that is where the title comes from. This instalment is set in Quebec City as well as Three Pines, and the old city gave the novel a wonderful historically atmospheric feel. And there were some mouth watering descriptions of food–the Inspector likes his flaky croissants and bowl of coffee!  Fun fact: if you spend time in Quebec City and have read this book, you should take advantage of the Bury Your Dead Tour. Yes, there really is such a thing! Apparently it visits the places where the novel took place. My neighbour is going on the tour this week, and I am wondering how she finds it!

I loved Gamache’s four sentences that lead to wisdom:
I am sorry.   I was wrong.  I need help.  I don’t know.
Our world might be a better place if we all used these words more often.