A Fatal Grace

Welcome to winter in Three Pines, a charming community in Quebec, where someone is getting ready to commit murder as the locals get ready for a typical rural Christmas.

Nobody was fond of CC de Poitiers. Not her shy husband, not her cowardly boyfriend, not her pitiful kid, and most definitely not any of the Three Pines locals. Even in her last moments, CC de Poitiers was able to enrage everyone.

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec soon discovers he is dealing with someone quite special after being called in to conduct an investigation. While watching the yearly curling competition, CC de Poitiers was electrocuted in the middle of a frozen lake in front of the whole hamlet. However, nobody noticed anything. Who could have been clever enough to succeed, or crazy enough to attempt such a gruesome form of murder?

Gamache uncovers the deadly truths long hidden behind the bucolic exterior of village life with his characteristic bravery and compassion. The residents of Three Pines are aware that a Quebec winter may be lethal as well as breathtakingly beautiful, so they know better than to divulge too much personal information. But Gamache is starting to see other threats. A colder wind is bearing down on the settlement, and it's going to be even more deadly for Gamache.