History, mystery, and beyond

By Ande Jacobson

Bury Your Dead is the sixth book in Louise Penny’s Chief Inspector Armand Gamache (of the Sûreté du Québec) series, first released in 2010. This time, there are three separate, yet strangely related cases at hand. One is a case that happened between books and has caused Armand’s team serious harm. The details in the aftermath seep out throughout the book, bringing to light more of Armand’s and Jean-Guy’s inner fears and strengths. One is the case from the previous book, The Brutal Telling. Armand, never satisfied with the outcome of their last Three Pines murder asks Jean-Guy to return to Three Pines to re-investigate quietly to see what they might have missed. The third and primary case is a new mystery that brings into question aspects of Canadian history. Penny did a great deal of research for the main story this time delving much deeper into her nation’s history and various assumptions about the clashes between the Francophones and Anglophones who live side-by-side in Québec.

The cast of characters expands this time given the three cases at hand, although for the events in Three Pines, readers already know the players, even the ones introduced in the last book. They include:

Clara and Peter Morrow: Artists who have lived in Three Pines for years and know most of the comings and goings.
Olivier Brulé: The owner of the Bistro, partner of Gabri Dubeau who runs the B&B, and currently an inmate after being convicted of murder in the last book.
Myrna Landers: Owner of the new and used bookshop in Three Pines, retired psychologist, and general good neighbor.
Ruth Zardo: Eccentric poet and village curmudgeon.
Marc, Dominique, Carole, and Dr. Vincent Gilbert: A family with way too many secrets, owners of the new spa and inn at the old Hadley estate, and introduced to Three Pines in the previous book.
Old Mundin, The Wife, and their son Charlie: A young family in Three Pines with a sorded history that starts to come to light in the current book.
Roar, Hanna, and Havoc Parra: A Czech immigrant family that settled in Three Pines for a new life.

Various members of the Sûreté du Québec include:

Armand Gamache: Chief Inspector of the Homicide team in the Sûreté du Québec.
Jean-Guy Beauvoir: Inspector and Armand’s second in command.
Paul Morin: First introduced in the previous book, a young agent who suffers a tragic incident in Bury Your Dead.
Yvette Nichol: An agent on Armand’s team who was first introduced at the beginning of the series. She has a sordid past, but she’s still able albeit banished to a position she resents despite being very good at it.
Isabelle Lacoste: An able agent on Armand’s team.
Sylvain Francoeur: The current Chief Superintendent of the Sûreté du Québec.
Thérèse Brunel: Superintendent of the Sûreté du Québec, a former student of Armand’s and now his friend and superior.

The new case in Québec City’s cast expands significantly:

Émile Comeau: Armand’s friend and mentor.
Porter Wilson: Chairman of the board for the Literary and Historical Society (Lit and His for short).
Elizabeth MacWhirter: The head librarian at the Lit and His, and a member of the board.
Stuart Blake: Mr. Blake, the oldest Lit and His board member.
Winnie: A librarian at the Lit and His.
Inspector Langlois: An inspector with the Québec City police.
Augustin Renaud: An eccentric, amateur archeologist, historian, and the victim of a vicious murder in the basement of the Lit and His.
Tom Hancock: The local minister and member of the Lit and His board of directors.
Ken Haslam: A member of the Lit and His board, and the oldest and unlikeliest rowing team member on the Reverend Mr. Hancock’s team.

Armand and Jean-Guy are still recovering from their ordeal in a factory melee that left one of Gamache’s team dead and several others seriously wounded, and they deal with their demons throughout the book. Armand and his wife Reine-Marie visit Armand’s dear friend and mentor in Québec City, stay for some time to rest, recover, and just try to relax. Unfortunately, wherever Armand goes, cases tend to follow. After spending a significant amount of time in the Lit and His researching a pet project of his own, the murder of Augustin Renaud occurs in the basement there. While not officially involved in the case, both the local constabulary and the head librarian seek Armand’s help, both for his language proficiency and his well-known investigative skills. Québec City, inside the walled portion where the Lit and His stands, houses an old Anglo community. The Lit and His houses much of their local history and claims to ownership of the province. At first Armand declines their invitations, but eventually he gets sucked into the case and begins to do what he does best despite his wounds from the factory disaster.

Penny spends more time with inner thoughts on this one as Armand was not only seriously injured in the factory melee, his confidence and world outlook were also deeply wounded. The same was true for Jean-Guy, although he spends the bulk of the book back in Three Pines per Armand’s request to quietly reinvestigate and possibly correct a grave miscarriage of justice if there was one. The twists and turns are many, and the cases intertwine in unexpected ways. While the old saying that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger is rather trite, sometimes there is some wisdom in that. The disastrous melee that sidelined Armand and Jean-Guy for a time made them better people in the end. While Armand had always been able to see the humanity in others, even in potential suspects, Jean-Guy had always been more resistant to that idea. His off-the-books re-investigation forces him to see people in new ways that would never have previously occurred to him, no doubt part of the reason for Armand giving him that assignment.

As always secrets are revealed along the way. Relationships are stretched, and sometimes that stretching brings understanding and greater awareness of the effects of seemingly innocuous incidents. How Penny weaves the stories together this time is artful and fascinating reading. The history she imparts is also enjoyably educational. A large portion of her readership is outside of Canada, so much of this history is not immediately familiar, yet it is relatable.

She resolves all three cases involved with a flourish satisfying even the most inquisitive reader.

References:
Bury Your Dead, by Louise Penny
https://www.gamacheseries.com/books/the-brutal-telling/
https://agoodreedreview.com/2023/03/27/book-still-life/
https://agoodreedreview.com/2023/05/19/a-most-ungraceful-exit/
https://agoodreedreview.com/2023/06/16/book-the-cruelest-month/
https://agoodreedreview.com/2023/07/14/book-a-rule-against-murder/
https://agoodreedreview.com/2025/01/27/book-the-brutal-telling/