This is the eighth book in the very good Inspector Armand Gamache series. He is Chief Inspector, Homicide, Surete du Quebec Province. Gamache is a likable, complex, thoughtful man, devoted to his family and his team and revered throughout the department, the city of Montreal and indeed the entire province. The biggest problem in his life is his boss, with whom he shares a total mutual dislike.
His writ runs far and wide and, so far, none of the novels have been placed in Montreal. They are all out in the country and the settings often provide some interesting and fabulous learning experiences. Here the scene of the crime is a four hundred year old monastery far out in the Canadian woods. There are but twenty-four apparently devout men at Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups, but one is now dead and one a killer. The fascinating background story is that the monks have recently become world-famous because of a release of a cd showcasing their extraordinary skills performing Gregorian chants. A reader of this novel will learn all they need to know about chants and the neumes that guide the singers. And to top things off, there is even a visitor from Rome - from the modern day Office of the Inquisition.
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