Loving this

What made the experience of listening to The Murder Stone the most enjoyable?

I have read the previous books in the series and am enjoying hearing the Canadian characters brought to life.

Any additional comments?

Ideal for those who like a more old fashioned style of detective story rather than the taut, violent psychological thrillers so common today.

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2 people found this helpful

Still enjoying

It’s difficult to find things to say when listening to one after the other, but maybe that speaks for itself?!

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Cozy murder mystery

Cozy murder mystery with a very wholesome look on people, fathers and forgiveness and moving on. It gets dark but not without softness and manages to be interesting without being cruel. Worth a read!

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Another fantastic tale!

Ms Penny kept me guessing right to the very end of the book..... Again.
I want to move to Three Pines!

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Le livre est l'opium de l'Occident...

Any additional comments?

...and currently Louise Penny is my dealer.
What can you find to criticize about Chief Inspector Gamache? He's no Morse - brooding, rude, bibulous. He's no Poirot - rather vain, occasionally even ridiculous, given to reflecting the prejudices of his creator. He isn't even the irritating Sherlock Holmes, whose genius mitigates the many cruelties visited upon Watson as a result of his cocaine-fueled self-centredness and bizarre belief that the violin is a musical instrument. What faults does Gamache have (apart from the moustache, obviously)? After hearing at length and repeatedly of his gentleness, his unshakeable good manners, his concern for those about him, his tolerance of dissenting views, his generosity, you really long for someone to catch him alone in a wardrobe, gorging on the chocolates he doesn't want to share with anyone else, or breaking into the neighbours' house to steal their children's Christmas presents. Such a paragon should be a dull study, but Gamache for some reason is not. Apart from anything else, he's the perfect foil for the very imperfect characters surrounding him, and for his wife's knowing but gentle teasing. (If anyone deserves a chapter in "The Canterbury Tales", it's this wise and witty femme.) Perhaps he is one of those rare characters who brings out the most interesting aspects of the personality of others.
In this novel, his famed patience is tested to virtual destruction by the shenanigans of the Finney family, whose rudeness and arrogance border on sociopathic. When a murder is committed in the grounds of the beautiful country hotel where both they and the Gamaches are staying, the family engage in the kind of vicious bickering and backbiting which must have characterized the home life of Caligula. Will Gamache be thrown off the killer's scent by their distracting and hostile behaviour? Will he be overwhelmed and silenced as the skeleton is dragged from his own closet and made to dance for the entertainment of the Finneys? WIll the Canadian taxpayer be able to afford to feed and accommodate Gamache and his team, as they stuff themselves with one mouthwatering dish after another in between jumping at clues?
Normally I get irritated by conversations in books about nothing in particular -especially where they take place at a dinner table and food is being described. In this book, however, the conversations (whether on or off the subject of foul deeds) were funny and interesting. There were quite a few laugh out loud moments, when Penny's earthy sense of humour turns a simple exchange ("I've got something to show you...") into a polite version of a Benny Hill sketch.
As to the plot itself - as always, it twists and turns like Mick Jagger putting on his tights in the morning. It's a terrific read.

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7 people found this helpful

Enjoyed but, a bit convoluted

It took a while to get this finished, as there were a few more tangents than usual and the ending was not given as much attention as the side plots. Overall enjoy these characters and enjoying the series.

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A charming detective-story

The best one thus far (I've listened to the previous ones). It's a nod to classical "who did it"-stories by Agatha Christie and Simenon. I usually don't like detective stories, except for previously mentioned authors, and Peter Robinson, Im glad to have found this series.

It's funny, "the butler did it"-mentioned by Gamache himself as a joke. Poetry is quoted, and as someone who's into that stuff I must say, Louise Penny's taste in poetry is great, and in command of the classic "Chekov's gun" - you know that if she mentions a small detail it will matter to the story, so it's fun as a reader to collect those little snippets of information for later.

It's not gruesome, which I like, just a bit of high quality light-reading. I love the characters, and the only thing I was missing was that this did not take place in Three Pines, but everything can't happen there, and they were on a vaciation after all.

Feels like classic british crime, I know she's Canadian, but the feeling is there anyway.

I really like Adam Sims' reading. I've noticed some people complaining that his french is bad sometimes, but it doesnt bother me, although I agree that it’s a bit confusing when Jean is pronounced as Sean (as in male not female) in the previous book. And Louise Penny wants Gamache to have a british accent, and has mentioned it a few times, and it's a bit funny when Sims is reminded of that, he speaks in british accent for a few pages, and later returns to the french. I for one love the "french" accent with Gamache, but I suspect Louise Penny wanted him to sound british because she was afraid it would sound comic with a french accent. I don't think so, it's lovely.

Im looking forward to listening to the rest during this summer. Great company.

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Such a disappointment

Loved the earlier novels hence my disappointment. Just no redeeming features just a non-sensical plot and dull characters.

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