Book Review of
The Brutal Telling

Lynn's Review

The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny is the fifth book in the Three Pines Inspector Gamache series. It was published in 2009.

I enjoyed this mystery series enough that I bought myself a set of them for my 50th birthday. My goal is to read two or three a year to make the series last. 

I have heard that the series gets better after the first few books, and I would agree. I loved the writing in The Brutal Telling. Her descriptions of the characters and places in the book are so well down. You feel like you are there in Three Pines.

She also always keeps me guessing. I never quite figured out the murder until the end. I love how she makes you think. 

I will say that this book was odd in a few places and felt a bit unrealistic to me. That being said I can see why people say that this series gets better and better. 

The Brutal Telling is set in late summer/early fall. I usually like to read books like this in season, but book six is set in the winter and, I wanted to read it before winter was over. So I read The Brutal Telling out of season to read Bury Your Dead in season.