Overall, I really enjoyed the third addition in Louise Penny’s series, The Cruelest month. The residents from Three Pines such as Olivier, Gabri, Peter, and Clara provide great characters that the reader can relate to and enjoy. The best part about these books is Sergeant Gamache. The cool, calm, and collected detective always knows what to do and is also a character in which Louise describes so vividly that I have a distinct picture of him in my head. The concept of this novel was somewhat interesting as it dealt with supernatural things, which I am not extremely familiar with.
In certain ways I found the whole supernatural aspect interesting but I did not really like it. The fact that some of it was hard to believe was not very appealing to me. I can take such things in doses but I would have enjoyed a more realistic murder mystery novel over one such as this. The whole tree’s having feelings part really didn’t do it for me and just added to my overall frustration.
“Peter Morrow knew the old Hadley house was wicked. It stole things. Like lives. And friends. Souls and faith. It had stolen his best friend, Ben Hadley. And the monstrosity on the hill gave back only sorrow.”
This descriptive passage appeals to me because of the writing style. Louise Penny is able to shows the reader how much one of the characters disliked this house. Peter Morrow was quite frightened of this place, and his fear is conveyed through this passage.
“He suddenly felt something grab him. From behind. It reached forward and right into him and took hold. Peter grasped at the pain, the searing, scalding pain of it. Tears came to his eyes as he was overcome by this wraith that had threatened all his life. That he’d hidden from as a child, that he’d run from and buried and denied. It had stalked him and finally found him. Here, in his beloved wife’s studio. Standing in front of this creation of hers the terrible monster had found him.
And devoured him.”
This passage appeals to me because it is somewhat of a mystery. A deep, and possibly evil force inside of him grabs the usually mild mannered Peter Morrow, as it breaks him down. This passage was in the first 5 chapters of the novel and the apparent foreshadowing allows the reader to be intrigued enough to continue reading.
