(Minotaur Books)
The new Louise Penny mystery — what better way to enjoy your holiday leisure time? In this 14th Chief Inspector Gamache novel, set amidst a magical Canadian winter storm, Penny intricately wends together two stories, constructed of secrets not told and enemies close at hand. Stemming from incidents that occurred the previous summer, chief of the Sûreté du Québec, Armand Gamache has been suspended and his son-in-law, Jean-Guy Beauvoir is acting chief. Beauvoir is facing pressure to save himself thus paving the way for all blame to fall squarely on Gamanche for the load of a most fatal type of opioids gone missing in that previous case. Gamanche is desperate to stop those drugs from hitting the streets of Montreal, and the lengths he will go to and the sacrifices he will demand from his people are taking a huge toll on him. In this harsh climate, Armand receives notice that he, as well as two other seemingly unrelated persons, are named as liquidators in an elderly woman’s will. A subsequent disaster leads the team to serious financial wrongdoing and a possible motive for murder. Faithful Louise Penny’s readers will appreciate the presence of the colorful Three Pines regulars, as they gather at the bistro for coq au vin and salted caramel and fig ice cream, while another intriguing mystery plays out.
— Reviewed by Jenny Lyons of The Vermont Book Shop in Middlebury.
 
12 More Merry Mysteries  
The Vanishing Box, by Elly Griffiths
An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good, by Helene Tursten
The Quiet Side of Passion, by Alexander McCall Smith
Island of the Mad, by Laurie R. King
Bury the Lead, by Archer Mayor
The Feral Detective, by Jonathan Lethem
Stay Hidden, by Paul Doiron
A Casualty of War: A Bess Crawford Mystery, by Charles Todd
A Borrowing of Bones, by Paula Munier
The Shadows We Hide, by Allen Eskens
Dark Tide Rising: A William Monk Novel, by Anne Perry 
A Siege of Bitterns: A Birder Murder Mystery, by Steve Burrows