The Nature of the beast, by Louise Penny

The tiny village of Three Pines in rural Quebec is so obscure that it doesn’t appear on maps.  The Internet does not reach there, and GPS doesn’t work. Then how did two agents from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service arrive so quickly to help investigate the death of a young boy and the discovery of a giant weapon of mass destruction hidden deep in the woods?  That’s only one of many conundrums that former Chief Inspector Gamache, retired to the village, and his former team must answer.  The intrusion of global politics into this quiet milieu seemed a bit out of place to me, though I enjoyed the book, as I always do when in this magical place.  Imagine my surprise to learn that the existence of such a weapon was based on actual events.  Truth really is stranger than fiction.  The novel is full of Penny’s wonderful characters and descriptions of their frailties and strengths.  I loved this bit about Gamache’s wife, Reine-Marie:  "When upset, Reine-Marie like to chop, to measure, to stir. To follow a recipe. Everything in order.  No guessing, no surprises….She was four courses upset and considering an amuse-bouche.”  376 pp.