When the charming, seemingly idyllic town of Three Pines is rocked by a killing during an impromptu Easter séance at a local haunted house, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is confronted by a web of baffling questions as he searches for a killer. By the author of A Fatal Grace. Reprint. 50,000 first printing. - (Baker & Taylor)

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sãuretâe du Quâebec is called to investigate the death of a villager at an Easter sâeance that was held at the Old Hadley House. - (Baker & Taylor)

The Cruelest Month is the third book in Louise Penny's award winning Three Pines mystery series featuring the wise and beleaguered Inspector Armand Gamache.

"Many mystery buffs have credited Louise Penny with the revival of the type of traditional murder mystery made famous by Agatha Christie ... " -Sarah Weinman

Welcome to Three Pines, where the cruelest month is about to deliver on its threat.

It's spring in the tiny, forgotten village; buds are on the trees and the first flowers are struggling through the newly thawed earth. But not everything is meant to return to life. . .

When some villagers decide to celebrate Easter with a séance at the Old Hadley House, they are hoping to rid the town of its evil---until one of their party dies of fright. Was this a natural death, or was the victim somehow helped along?

Brilliant, compassionate Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec is called to investigate, in a case that will force him to face his own ghosts as well as those of a seemingly idyllic town where relationships are far more dangerous than they seem.

Kirkus Reviews

Four statements lead to wisdom, but not before mischief and revenge come into play.The slumberous Quebecois village of Three Pines is about to have its hackles raised. In the spirit of good fun, the owner of the local B&B has arranged for a visiting Hungarian psychic to conduct a séance. She turns out not to be Hungarian and the séance is a dud. Undaunted, the participants plan a sequel at the deserted old Hadley house on the hill, where one of their number is evidently scared to death. How, why and whodunit will fall to Chief Inspector Armand Gamache (A Fatal Grace, 2007, etc.) to discover, his task complicated by the villagers' tendencies to conceal secrets and his own cadre of officers' to work against him in payback for his role in bringing charges against a superior. A mother will disappoint a daughter. A husband will taunt a wife. And a golden girl too good at everything for her own good will wreak havoc on the village while Gamache instructs his subordinates in the path to wisdom: learning to say I don't know, I'm sorry, I was wrong, I need help.Perhaps the deftest talent to arrive since Minette Walters, Penny produces what many have tried but few have mastered: a psychologically acute cozy. If you don't give your heart to Gamache, you may have no heart to give. Copyright Kirkus 2008 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.