Review : Dead Cold by Louise Penny

Posted by Kay on May 23, 2013 2:19 am in 4 stars reads | 6 comments

Dead Cold by Louise Penny (U.S. title : A Fatal Grace)
Pages : 408
Genre : Mystery
Series : Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, book 2
My Rating : 4/5

What it’s about :

My Thoughts :

In 2011 I experienced something that always gives me an uncontrollable eyeroll when I read about it in YA and romance novels : insta-love. Except that my insta-love wasn’t for someone, but for a book : Still Life, the first novel in Louise Penny’s Armand Gamache series, which charmed me with great characters and a setting that was incredibly familiar to me. I started collecting the books without reading them, afraid they would either disappoint me or be so good they wouldn’t last me long. And so, it’s a year and a half later that I finally pushed myself to read the second book.

While Dead Cold wasn’t exactly as good as Still Life, it was fairly close. I love Armand Gamache’s attitude: he has a secret and a past, but he doesn’t act all broody and mysterious and tortured about it. He seems to have a wonderful relationship with his wife, which means he isn’t eyeing in a sexual manner every woman that crosses his path – something I have seen too many times in detective stories. He’s also quite good at deciphering people, which I always enjoy.

I was surprised, at first, not to hear anything about Yvette Nichols. Had they really gotten rid of her for good? Wouldn’t she have her redemption story? And then, she was back. And she is one of these characters that I just don’t get; I had no idea whether she was good or bad, playing everyone or trying to get forgiveness. She is complex, and the few last chapters certainly confirmed that.

Where the book revealed its flaws, in my opinion, was in the main story. I had a few guesses from the start on who the guilty one was, and my main guess was right on the money. I didn’t feel too bright for it though; the clues were a bit too obvious, and the hints not as subtle as I would have liked them to be.

This being said, I still very much enjoyed the book. Once again, the cast of characters was numerous and original, and gave me that small village ambiance I do enjoy so much. It was fun to meet again people from the first book, but also to meet a few more. Some of them play a huge part in the story, and their secrets contributed greatly to the twists of it.

With its cozy atmosphere and complex intrigue, Dead Cold was almost exactly what I had hoped it would be! While I do wish the story had had a bit more punch, there is no doubt in my mind I will be reading the next books. And it’s even better now that I have gotten my mother hooked on their French translation, too!

Series Reading Order :

1. Still Life
2. Dead Cold (U.S. title : A Fatal Grace)
3. The Cruellest Month
4. A Rule Against Murder
5. The Brutal Telling
6. Bury Your Dead
7. A Trick of the Light
8. The Beautiful Mystery
9. How the Light Gets In (coming in 2013)