Ponder: Bury Your Dead

Bury Your Dead ©2010 is the sixth book in the Chief Investigator Armande Gamache series by Louise Penny. This book had an interesting feature; it had three mysteries being investigated simultaneously. The three plots address: 

• a re-investigation of a previously closed murder case
• a hostage search and rescue operation
• the investigation of a third murder case involving Quebec history and archeological digs
  
  

The book opens with action-packed SWAT team maneuvers. This first story captured my interest immediately as the culmination, not the beginning, of this storyline. Chief Inspector Gamache's level-headed actions and demeanor in this time of crisis is phenomenal, showing a side of him beyond the cerebral, discerning, deliberate, unhurried inspector. 

The second story addressed the re-opening of a closed murder case in Three Pines, one from Penny's fifth novel The Brutal Telling. I have come to know well and become deeply invested in the cast of Three Pine residents from previous novels, so this story instantly gripped me as well. To divulge more would be a spoiler for those who have not read the fifth book The Brutal Telling.

The third plot was the primary plot of Bury Your Dead and is described succinctly on the back cover. It is rich in Quebec history and Canadian military battles, and assumes a minimal knowledge of Samuel de Champlain, father of Quebec. Although the author supplies some bare bones facts, I felt I would have enjoyed this strand more had I had some background knowledge of my own. My ignorance of Canadian history is non-negligible, so reading this book did give me greater insight into the friction between the English and the French in Quebec.

To enlighten the next reader here are a few facts about the Canadian hero from Wikipedia:

Samuel de Champlain was a French colonist, navigator, cartographer, draftsman, soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnologist, diplomat, and chronicler. He made between 21 and 29 trips across the Atlantic Ocean, and founded Quebec, and New France, on 3 July 1608. An important figure in Canadian history, Champlain created the first accurate coastal map during his explorations, and founded various colonial settlements.... Samuel de Champlain was temporarily buried in the church while a standalone chapel was built to hold his remains in the upper part of the city. Unfortunately, this small building, along with many others, was destroyed by a large fire in 1640. Though immediately rebuilt, no traces of it exist anymore: his exact burial site is still unknown, despite much research since about 1850, including several archaeological digs in the city.

I also checked out a children's book from the library after I'd read  Bury Your Dead and while writing this post. In simple terms, it gave me a much better appreciation of why the location of Samuel de Champlain's grave was of such interest, forming an ongoing mystery on yet another plane in this novel. The illustrations of Quebec in 1758, fifty years after the French colonists arrived there, were also to be appreciated.

One sensation strongly stressed throughout this third storyline is the absolute frigid temperature in Quebec. I wonder if this is to pay homage to the Champlain's colonizing Quebec in 1608 where less than 30% of the first settlers survived the winter. It is no wonder all the book covers have a similar theme of extreme cold.

 

Bury Your Dead uses a writing technique similar to dual timelines. Why do I say similar to dual and not use the word equivalent to three? Oddly enough, upon research, I learned that there is no such word! There is singular, dual, and quadral but the closest for a three equivalent is trial or treble. Trial in the United States has a more legal connotation and treble mean three identical items not three distinct but parallel items. Numeric accuracy set aside for now, a discussion I found on dual timelines postulated that to work well, an author should do the following:

1. Make both timelines equally interesting.
2. Balance the timelines.
3. Avoid “filler” scenes.
4. Double-check plot points.
5. Avoid confusing transitions.
6. Tighten timelines within the third act.

Louise Penny wrote admirably, meeting points two through six but falling short in making all timelines equally interesting for me, because I am not a history buff. In retrospect I mildly regret that I had not read the Wikipedia background information on Champlain beforehand. Unfortunately, this third timeline was the main one. For this reason, and this reason alone, I dropped my star rating down from five to four; even though I positively ate up the first two plots. As I researched the Champlain angle afterwards, I grew more and more appreciative of the intricacies in Louise Penny's plot. Comparatively here is how I have rated her other books along; the trailing dates are links to my review of each:

1. ★★★★☆ Still Life by Louise Penny ©2005 (2/28/20)
2. ★★★☆☆ A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny ©2006 (8/30/20)
3. ★★★★★ The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny ©2007 (10/16/20)
4. ★★★★★ A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny ©2008 (11/24/20)
5. ★★★★★ The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny ©2009 (12/23/20)
6. ★★★★☆ Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny ©2010 (this post)

My goal to read Louise Penny's murder mysteries in order has been repeatedly thwarted by the long wait list for her books at my local library. Louise Penny must be popular with a lot of folks other than me. I have checked sources other than the library, and neither Amazon nor eBay offer any decent prices on her books. Even bargain bundles are not inexpensive. When A Trick of the Light (#7) became available to check out of the library, buying #6 would enable me to move forward. I caved and bought Bury Your Dead (#6) from Amazon. After my long wait, I dove into Bury Your Dead book, finishing it within a couple days, Quebec City history and all. I will donate it to the library with a note that they need more copies of this book. I have also completed A Trick of the Light, but that is a topic for another review. 

I would still like to have read all seventeen of Louise Penny's novels by the end of 2021. One book a month is not too much to ask... right?