Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3848 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-05
• Released on: 2008-02-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 368 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780312947132
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
When sadistic socialite CC de Poitiers is fatally electrocuted at a Christmas curling competition in the tiny Québecois village of Three Pines, only the arcane method of the murder is a surprise in Penny's artful but overwritten sophomore effort (after her highly praised 2006 debut, Still Life). CC had cobbled together a spiritual guidance business based on eliminating emotion, but the feelings she inspired in others were anything but serene. Everyone around the cartoonish victim—from a daughter cowed by lifelong abuse to the local spiritual teacher whose business she threatens to ruin—has a motive, and the crime also links to a vagrant's recent murder as well as to the pasts of several beloved village residents. The calm but quirky Chief Insp. Armand Gamache, who arrives in Three Pines from Montreal to head the investigation, is appealing as the series' focus. Though Penny gorgeously evokes the smalltown Christmas mood, the novel is oddly steeped in holiday atmosphere for a May release, and the plot's dependence on lengthy backstory slows the momentum. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Quebec Surete Inspector Armand Gamache, who made his debut in Still Life (2006), returns in this enjoyable follow-up. An almost universally disliked, even hated, woman is murdered. Naturally, the pool of potential murderers is deep, ranging from the victim's lover to her friends (well, acquaintances) to various others in the small Canadian community of Three Pines. Gamache, a smart and likable investigator--think Columbo with an accent, or perhaps a modern-day Poirot--systematically wades his way through the pool, coming upon a few surprises along the way. Penny is a careful writer, taking time to establish character and scene, playing around with a large cast, distracting us so we won't see the final twists coming until they're upon us. This is a fine mystery in the classic Agatha Christie style, and it is sure to leave mainstream fans wanting more. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
'No mystery reader will regret the time they spend in the snowy village of Three Pines' -- Quill & Quire 20061001 'Beautifully written... With DEAD COLD, Penny has firmly established herself among the best in Canadian crime fiction' -- Calgary Herald 20061012 'Such a joy from beginning to end that it's almost impossible to put down' -- Hamilton Spectator 20061014 'Sooner or later, the whole world will discover Penny. With a unique sense of timing, patience and subtle wit, Penny is able to create a whodunit that recalls those of Agatha Christie' -- Chronicle Herald 20061018 'Dark, witty, delicious... Acast of characters both engaging and repellent, fiendish clues, clever red herrings, and an original plot in which events come together in a maelstrom of fire and ice' -- Sherbrooke Record 20061013 'The writing is superb and the descriptions of Canadian village life and its lively characters bring it all to life... A magnificent read, with full marks for inventiveness and sheer descriptive power' -- Tangled Web 20061230 'A resounding success. Plan on setting some time aside for this book - it's that good' -- Ontario Record 20070106 'Good entertainment' -- Sunday Telegraph 20061008 'A wonderful novel of mystery. It is as deeply layered as snow drifting down over snow. The cold will seep into your bones' -- Shots magazine 20061001 'Gamache has the same mellowed intelligence [as] Maigret. The setting is wonderfully done, as are the characters' -- Toronto Globe and Mail 20061015 'Chief Inspector Gamache is all set to become a popular series hero' -- Literary Review 20061101 'A very strong offering...highly-impressive world-building.Dead Cold"showcases a selection of fascinating, complex characters' -- Reviewing the Evidence 20061101 'Remarkably, Penny manages to top her outstanding debut. Gamache is destined to become one of the classic detectives' -- Kirkus 20070221 'Soulful Chief Inspector Gamache sleuths his way through...an apparently idyllic communitywhich isenjoyably defiled by a grisly crime' -- The Times 20070506

Customer Reviews

Be careful when ordering.
Readers of these excellent books need to be aware that Dead Cold and
A Fatal Grace are the same book - the first one is the British title
and the second the American title - otherwise, no difference! I made
the mistake of ordering them both.... it happens sometimes.

Excellent traditional mystery, but more
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his officers have been called back to the town of Three Pines. CC de Poitiers, an extremely unpleasant woman, has been murdered in public at the height of a curling match. Figuring out how she was killed is as much a mystery as uncovering who killed her.

Penny's books are deceptive. On one hand, they seem a simple traditional mystery, set in a small town with lots of interesting, quirky characters, lots of suspects from which to choose and good twists and turns along the way. Penny does do dialogue well and her sense of place is evocative. But then there a second layer, hard to describe, but one I find makes me occasionally stop and think while reading and stays with me long after I've closed the book. Penny is one of those I can be being on my very short list of authors to re-read. Highly recommended.

A Wonderful New Series
This is the second novel in my favorite new mystery series, and it's every bit as good as the first one. STILL LIFE introduced Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sureté de Québec, and he solved a murder in the colorful village of Three Pines, just a few miles north of the U.S. border. In this new mystery, he's back in Three Pines at Christmastime, looking for another murderer among the eccentric local population.

Every mystery series needs a good detective and a good setting, and Penny is better than most at evoking her small Canadian town and the vivid people in it. And Gamache is a memorable creation--I really hope we'll be seeing a lot more of him in the years ahead. Not since Agatha Christie's Marple and Poirot have I found such a likable crimesolver. If you enjoy good writing, fair clues and surprising solutions, you're going to love this series. Highly recommended.