The Long Way Home - Louise Penny

The Long Way Home

By Louise Penny

  • Release Date: 2014-08-26
  • Genre: British Detectives
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 1,327 Ratings

Description

A #1 New York Times Bestseller, Louise Penny's The Long Way Home is an intriguing Chief Inspector Gamache Novel.

Happily retired in the village of Three Pines, Armand Gamache, former Chief Inspector of Homicide with the Sûreté du Québec, has found a peace he'd only imagined possible. On warm summer mornings he sits on a bench holding a small book, The Balm in Gilead, in his large hands. "There is a balm in Gilead," his neighbor Clara Morrow reads from the dust jacket, "to make the wounded whole."

While Gamache doesn't talk about his wounds and his balm, Clara tells him about hers. Peter, her artist husband, has failed to come home. Failed to show up as promised on the first anniversary of their separation. She wants Gamache's help to find him. Having finally found sanctuary, Gamache feels a near revulsion at the thought of leaving Three Pines. "There's power enough in Heaven," he finishes the quote as he contemplates the quiet village, "to cure a sin-sick soul." And then he gets up. And joins her.

Together with his former second-in-command, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, and Myrna Landers, they journey deeper and deeper into Québec. And deeper and deeper into the soul of Peter Morrow. A man so desperate to recapture his fame as an artist, he would sell that soul. And may have. The journey takes them further and further from Three Pines, to the very mouth of the great St. Lawrence river. To an area so desolate, so damned, the first mariners called it the land God gave to Cain. And there they discover the terrible damage done by a sin-sick soul.

Reviews

  • The Long Way Home

    5
    By Bubbling Barb
    Louise Penny has a great way of holding your attention as she unfolds another mystery with Armand Gamache leading the way. An artist leaves a small town in Quebec. After not returning the search for Peter Morrow is lead by Gamache. There are some interesting twists along the way. I loved the way she involved an environmental problem in this story. Being from northern VT, I could relate to the area as well as the environmental impact this product has had to people.
  • Great and satisfying read

    5
    By tracy b205
    The Gamache series blends solid mysteries with well developed characters and bursts of insight and humor. Highly recommended.
  • No no no

    3
    By Ms. Vaughn
    I've enjoyed this whole series, and this one for the most part. But to drag us so long through the mire and so clearly change character's developed personalities . . . No. (Almost spoiler alert) Myrna wouldn't have let her go. Neither Gamache nor Beauvoir would have allowed that ending either. Disappointed . . .
  • the Long Way Home

    1
    By Anna Fred
    This is the first book in this series that I found boring and ridiculous. The Chief Inspector has also become boring and uninteresting. The character of Clara is annoying and very unlikable. Hopefully, if there is another book in this series, the author will return to the original tender of the mystery series.
  • The Long Way Home

    5
    By GoGo Annie
    It simply does not get old. The characters of Three Pines are like family. The insights shared are those of growth, love, community and life. A very valued treasure.
  • A Long Way Home

    5
    By Poprr
    Magnifique
  • Trite and slow

    1
    By Ali Tabassian
    An utterly disappointing book. Way too introspective with a slow drawn out plot and a whimper of a finish. I so wanted to give up on the book several time, but slumbered along hoping something interesting would happen. It didn't. The most interesting character is the pet duck.
  • Disappointing

    2
    By Royjoyboy
    I've read a couple other books by Louise Penny that I rather enjoyed. Didn't love them but rather enjoyed them. Sometimes that's enough. With this one I gave up 3/4 of the way through. Such a lot of repetitious rot. The Tenth Muse indeed. A long boring search for Peter, a character not that interesting to start with. I see this is on the best seller list and the NYT gave it a favorable review. This is good. I wish it well. I must have missed something.
  • My favorite series

    5
    By Christie0104
    Louise Penny once again beautifully captures the beauty and heartache of life through masterful storytelling. I have grown attached to her characters. I feel their pain, love their relationships with each other, and can picture exactly what their lovingly snarky comments would sound like. Definitely my favorite series.
  • The Long Way Home

    3
    By PeachLegal
    I wanted to love it, but so much more introspective than the others that it was a slog until the last 75 pages.

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