*** SELECTED AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE GUARDIAN ***

'Electrifying drama ... the bodies pile up, the intensity and horror are reminiscent of Thomas Harris at his finest. Gamache is a fascinatingly complex protagonist' BOOK OF THE MONTH, THE TIMES

It's spring and Three Pines is reemerging after the harsh winter. But not everything buried should come alive again. Not everything lying dormant should reemerge.

But something has.

As the villagers prepare for a special celebration, Armand Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir find themselves increasingly worried. A young man and woman have reappeared in the Surete du Quebec investigators' lives after many years. The two were young children when their troubled mother was murdered, leaving them damaged, shattered. Now they've arrived in the village of Three Pines.

But to what end?

Gamache and Beauvoir's memories of that tragic case, the one that first brought them together, come rushing back. Did their mother's murder hurt them beyond repair? Have those terrible wounds, buried for decades, festered and are now about to erupt?

As Chief Inspector Gamache works to uncover answers, his alarm grows when a letter written by a long dead stone mason is discovered. In it the man describes his terror when bricking up an attic room somewhere in the village. Every word of the 160-year-old letter is filled with dread. When the room is found, the villagers decide to open it up.

As the bricks are removed, Gamache, Beauvoir and the villagers discover a world of curiosities. But the head of homicide soon realizes there's more in that room than meets the eye. There are puzzles within puzzles, and hidden messages warning of mayhem and revenge.

In unsealing that room, an old enemy is released into their world. Into their lives. And into the very heart of Armand Gamache's home.

'Penny delves into the nature of evil, sensitively exploring the impact of the dreadful events she describes while bringing a warmth and humanity to her disparate cast of characters that, unusually for a crime novel, leaves you feeling better about the world once you've finished' BOOK OF THE MONTH, OBSERVER

'Bestseller Penny's virtuoso 18th novel featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Quebec Surete ... blends nuanced characterization with nail-biting suspense ...This tale of forgiveness and redemption will resonate with many' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

'This is a hugely satisfying mystery of course, but more than that, it's a chilling morality tale. Nobody does evil quite as scarily as Louise Penny' ANN CLEEVES

FURTHER PRAISE FOR LOUISE PENNY AND THE INSPECTOR GAMACHE SERIES:

'Enthralling ... With beautifully drawn characters, this is crime writing of the highest order' DAILY MAIL
'Louise Penny is one of the greatest crime writers of our times' DENISE MINA
'Louise Penny twists and turns the plot expertly tripping the reader up just at the moment you think you might have solved the mystery' DAILY EXPRESS
'No one does atmospheric quite like Louise Penny' ELLY GRIFFITHS