Ponder: A Great Reckoning

Louise Penny's twelfth book in her Chief Inspector Armand Gamache murder mystery series, A Great Reckoning ©2016, was more a study in characters rather than a travelogue of places for her settings. Although I learned a lot from the various places visited in Penny's tenth book The Long Way Home I much more enjoy exploring people, rather than places. Since she is so excellent in creating, developing, and portraying characters, this book, which reflected Penny's particular talent, was consequently excellent and hugely enjoyable for me. The murder, takes place in the Sûreté Academy, the school in which cadets are trained for service in the Sûreté du Québec. Four young characters are introduced, two seniors and two freshman. Several professors, each unique and inscrutable, enter the character mix. There is corruption in the Sûreté Academy and former Chief Investigator Gamache assumes the role of Commander Gamache to clean up the academy. 

However, a great setting is not absent from the mix nor is it restricted to only the academy. Penny's technique in this novel is a clever way to expand the setting without resorting to a travelogue as in the tenth book The Long way Home. An ancient map is found within the walls of the bistro in the village of Three Pines. This map plays a role in ferreting out the killer. There is a discussion about cartography that enlightened me to consider how difficult making a map could be without today's modern technology allowing aerial views. A map is an early example of man taking something three dimensional and representing it in two dimensions, like topography maps or naval charts for example.

One of Gamache's first tasks in his role as Commander is to appoint his new staff and take control of those old staff that must be disciplined or fired. His exchange with the corrupt former commander, who ruled by brute punishments and fear, is riveting. Here is the closing scene at the end of Chapter 3 from their interaction.

 "You will not be my second-in-command, of course, but you will continue as full professor teaching crime prevention and community relations. I'd like your course outline by the end of the week."
Serge Leduc sat there, unable to move or speak, long after Commander Gamache's footsteps had stopped echoing down the hall. And in the silence Leduc realized what Gamache had exuded. It wasn't force. It was power.

In Chapter 14 Commander Gamache  speaks to the body of cadets about the murder that took place within the living quarters of the academy.

"Be careful. This is a time of menace. There's a murderer among us. Almost certainly in this room"...."It's too easy to feed the anger. Too cowardly to stoke the hate. You must look inside yourself and decide who you are and who you want to be. Character is not created in times like these. It's revealed."

A theory is postulated and defended that geography and history are inexplicable intertwined; the former even dictating the latter. Cities flourish near rivers. Accessible locations become crossroads where different ideas and arts are born and nourished. I disliked the subject of history in my high school years, finding it boring. It would have been so much more interesting had someone placed it in context as in Chapter 27 in which there is a discussion between one of the academy students and a manager of toponymie for the region near the village of Three Pines.

"A place's history is decided by its geography. Is the terrain mountainous? If so, it's harder to invade. The people are more independent, but also isolated. Is it surrounded by water? If so it's probably more cosmopolitan –" ... "But easier to conquer, like Venice" ...  "Venice gave up trying to defend herself and decided to open her doors to all comers. As a result it became a hub of commerce, of knowledge and art and music. Because if its position geographically, it became a gateway. Geography decides if you're the invader or the invaded."

One of the aspects of Penny's works that I enjoy is her little nuggets of food for thought. Like the previously cited force/power juxtaposition and history/geography relation, she also introduces a comparison of law and justice. The motto of the Suréte is Service, Integrity, Justice. Even so, because Gamache is the head of the academy where the murder occurs, he requests that a neutral party be involved to monitor that the investigation is carried out without bias. This neutral party is Paul Gélinas from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The RCMP motto is Maintain le Droit. Defend the Law. As pondered in Chapter 26,

Paul Gélinas had never been completely comfortable with that [motto]. He knew that law was not always the same as justice. But it had the advantage of being fairly clear. Whereas justice could be fluid, situational. A matter of interpretation. And perception.

The book opens with an impressive marvel of Canadian scenery, Percé Rock. Although very little of the action occurs there, it's symbolism ties in with the theme of corruption.

Percé Rock (French: Rocher Percé, meaning "pierced rock") is a huge sheer rock formation in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence on the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula in Québec, Canada, off Percé Bay. Percé Rock appears from a distance like a ship under sail. It is one of the world's largest natural arches located in water and is considered a geologically and historically rich natural icon of Quebec. It is a major attraction in the Gaspésie region.

As is my custom, I enjoyed yet another of Louise Penny's books... complex characters, varied intricate settings, clues to collect, many tidbits and turns of a phrase to rouse the brain cells, and again as always, another revelation of some information about Canada. Besides, how can you resist a mystery with a "treasure map"?   ★★★★★ Great! Read it!