A Trick of the Light

A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny, 339 pgs.

Do people really change? When Lillian Dyson, an old friend-turned-foe, turns up murdered in Three Pines, that is the question on everyone's mind. As Chief Inspector Armand Gamache investigates Lillian's connections to artists and alcoholics, he wonders not only about the murderer, but also the victim. He observes many changes in the people around him, but are they really different, or is it just a facade? And if people can change, who is to say that it's always for the better?

With this seventh book in the Three Pines series, Louise Penny returns to what she does best--writing a character-driven, thought-provoking, thrilling-yet-cozy mystery. Where previous books included many overlapping story lines, this one is more simple and focused on the question above. The relationship between Gamache and his second-in-command, Inspector Beauvoir, is a highlight of this whole series, and it really shines through here--without taking away from the main mystery. Overall, this is one of the strongest books in the series thus far.