Books & Chocolate

I've had a lot of audiobook time the last few months, so I was able to cruise through another book in the Chief Inspector Armond Gamache series. This one took us, Inspector Gamache, and a few of the other primary characters outside of Three Pines. The new setting was a refreshing change. It was also interesting to see Peter and Clara outside of Three Pines. In previous books you could see a bit of Peter's hidden personality, but it really came through when he was around his family. And what a family! It makes me second guess any complaints I have about my own. 

One of the things I've come to appreciate about this series is the diversity of the characters. There's diversity in race, gender, age, sexuality, etc. - but there's also diversity in the make-up of the characters. They don't all have the same flaws, and there are a few that I don't typically see in some books. Also, there are some characters who are just plain assholes and they don't change and there's no apology for them. I think this one fact helps to make this series extremely relatable. In life there are assholes who are that way their entire life. It seems that most times in books these characters are forced to grow or at the very least face their flaws. It's refreshing to see some unlikeable characters without the need for justification or apology. 

As usual, there were a few plot holes for me that I just couldn't overlook. The method of murder in this book is unique, but so over the top. I could never really buy into it.