Easter in Three Pines is a time of church services, egg hunts and seances to raise the dead. 
 
A group of friends trudges up to the Old Hadley House, the horror on the hill, to finally rid it of the evil spirits that have so obviously plagued it, and the village, for decades.  But instead of freeing a spirit, they create a new one.  One of their numbers dies of fright.  Or was it murder?  Enter Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his team from the Surete du Quebec.  As they peel back the layers of flilth and artiface that have covered the haunted old home, they discover the evil isn't confined there.  Some evil is guiding the actions of one of the seemingly kindly villagers.
 
But Gamache has a horror all his own to confront.  A very personal demon is about to strike.
 
Easter in Three Pines.  A time of rebirth, when nature comes alive.  But something very unpleasant has also come alive.  And it become clear - for there to be a rebirth, there first must be a death.  

Winter in Three Pines and the sleepy village is carpeted in snow. It's a time of peace and goodwill - until a scream pierces the biting air. There's been a murder.

Local police are baffled. A spectator at the annual Boxing Day curling match has been fatally electrocuted. Despite the large crowd, there are no witnesses and - apparently - no clues.

Called in to head the investigation, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache unravels the dead woman's past and discovers a history of secrets and enemies. But Gamache has enemies of his own. Frozen out of decision-making at the highest level of the Surete du Quebec, Gamache finds there are few he can trust. As a bitter wind blows into Three Pines, something even more chilling is sneaking up behind him...

DEAD COLD launched May 2007 in the US, under the title A FATAL GRACE.



The Ottawa Citizen, Mike Gillespie
Penny writes like a modern-day Agatha Christie, with a little Dylan Thomas thrown in for good measure. Her characters leap from the page, her plotting is sublime, the atmosphere she builds in a bitter Quebec winter in Dead Cold, completely chilling.



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As the early morning mist clears on Thanksgiving Sunday, the homes of Three Pines come to life - all except one…

To locals, the village is a safe haven. So they are bewildered when a well-loved member of the community is found lying dead in the maple woods. Surely it was an accident - a hunter's arrow gone astray. Who could want Jane Neal dead?

In a long and distinguished career with the Sûreté du Quebec, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache has learned to look for snakes in Eden. Gamache knows something dark is lurking behind the white picket fences, and if he watches closely enough, Three Pines will begin to give up its secrets…

Winner of the New Blood Dagger in Britain and the Arthur Ellis Award in Canada for best first crime novel. As well as the Dilys award, for the book the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association most enjoyed selling in 2006. STILL LIFE was also named one of the Kirkus Reviews Top Ten mysteries of 2006.

Runner-up for the CWA Debut Dagger Award, 2004
'The Canadian Louise Penny was Very Highly Commended for her entry STILL LIFE, which missed taking the Debut Dagger by only a whisker.'

First in a crime/mystery series featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache