the hangman

the hangman
armand gamache #0
louise penny
grass roots press
published 2011

On a cold November morning, a jogger runs through the woods in the peaceful Quebec village of Three Pines. On his run, he finds a dead man hanging from a tree. The dead man was a guest at the local Inn & Spa. He might have been looking for peace and quiet, but something else found him. Something horrible. Did the man take his own life? Or was he murdered? Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is called to the crime scene. As Gamache follows the trail of clues, he opens a door into the past. And he learns the true reason why the man came to Three Pines.

I pride myself on following the clues in the books I read to their logical conclusion and for the second time Penny's killer took me by surprised.  To my credit this was a shorter story so there wasn't a lot of story to go on, but still while I was reading I was questioning things and for some reason the killer's true identity alluded me!

I love her writing.  I love Three Pines.  Armand is a wonderful character and his supporting cast are just as delightful.  The only thing I didn't love is the cover art.  All of her other books have gorgeous covers and this one, while it fits the story it was kind of out of place.  The story itself was too short to really get into, but a fun time filler.