The Nature Of The Beast, Penney - C

                                                Last year, I commented on the 10th book in the Armand Gamache series and mused that I might be throwing in the towel. I obviously haven't, but really do think it's time. The series is a national treasure in Canada, and for good reason. It is well-written, thoughtful, and involves varying and intriguing plots. The chief is such an interesting individual that he has merited his own television series. Here, a young boy discovers deep in the primal forest a massive canon covered by camouflage, completely hidden and with a very, very scary etching on its base. The why, how and meaning of a heretofore theoretical Supergun just outside of Three Pines is the backstory to two deaths. How a backwater village, with a population of perhaps a thousand, without internet and cell phone service can have as many murders per capita as Kabul, Afghanistan is a concern for me. Nonetheless, the author mixes a distinctive brew involving mad scientists, a crazed serial killer, international arms dealers, a hippie war criminal, the Canadian intelligence service and ends up with what I can't help but characterize as a mish-mash.