Great Reckoning (Penny) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
Despite the theme of defiled innocence that makes this such a mournful story, the immense charm of the Gamache series survives in the magical setting and feisty residents of Three Pines…. Like most of the yarns we've heard about Three Pines, this one honors the town elders and respects the rituals of their quiet existence. But in a broader sense, the novel reaches beyond the living to become the saddest kind of ghost story, a lament for all "the phantom life that might have been."
Marilyn Stasio - New York Times Book Review


There’s a bit of Nancy Drew in Louise Penny’s masterful A Great Reckoning....but Penny, as ever, has something more ambitious in store.... As always in the Gamache series, the main narrative branches into more complicated patterns until all questions are resolved in a spectacular climax that cross cuts between story lines. The chief moral question that permeates the many subplots of A Great Reckoning is the vexing one of what elders owe to the young under their care.
Mureen Corrigan - Washington Post


(Starred review.) [L]yrical.... This complex novel deals with universal themes of compassion, weakness in the face of temptation, forgiveness, and the danger of falling into despair and cynicism over apparently insurmountable evils.
Publishers Weekly


(Starred review.) While this book may stand alone, fans of the series will enjoy revisiting old friends. Gamache remains admirable yet human.... This riveting read, with characters of incredible depth who only add to the strength of the plot, will keep readers guessing until the last page. —Terry Lucas, Shelter Island P.L., NY
Library Journal


(Starred review.) A compelling mystery and a rich human drama in which no character is either entirely good or evil, and each is capable of inspiring empathy.
Booklist


(Starred review.) Within a police force, some members must be trained in the science, and art, of solving murders. But does this training create people highly capable of committing them?.... A chilling story that's also filled with hope—a beloved Penny trademark.
Kirkus Reviews