Canadian author Louise Penny is one of Auntie M’s favorite writers. From the first in her series, STILL LIFE, Penny has captured readers across the world and continues to do so.  Auntie M finds Penny’s combination of wry humor, authentic settings, and very realistic character depictions to be compelling. She also happens to be a VERY nice lady! Just read her blog, and you will immediately capture the essence of this gentle and caring person, of the love she has for her husband and pets and home, and of the warmth with which she shares herself with her readers.

Penny has gone on with the series, winning multiple accolades and awards along with way, as she delights us with the fictional village of Three Pines, with its eccentric occupants, and the wonderful and very human Inspector Gamache. Now Penny has won the Anthony Award for Best Novel for THE BRUTAL TELLING, and Auntie M would like to send her very hearty congratulations.

If you haven’t discovered this wonderful novelist yet, start with STILL LIVE and follow the series through its growth and development.  Inspector Gamache is the linchpin in the series, providing the point around which all of the other characters spin. His humanity and intelligence aside, Gamache and his wife Reine-Marie are people you would enjoy having as your neighbors.

Penny’s newest, BURY YOUR DEAD, is destined to win the author yet more prizes. This time Inspector Gamache is trying to heal, mentally and physically, after a very disturbing incident that is skillfully retold in flashbacks. Recuperating at the Quebec City home of his mentor, Gamache unwillingly becomes involved in a murder investigation at the English Library of Literature and History. At the same time, he reopens the investigation that so startled readers with its ending in THE BRUTAL TELLING. It would be difficult to describe more of the plot without giving it away, so this writer will just emphasize your need to run out and read this newest offering from a writer at the height of her powers.