About this episode
We are so excited to journey with you to Three Pines, the fictional French-Canadian village created by Louise Penny for her Three Pines series, featuring Armand Gamache. This spin-off podcast series will tackle each of the books in the series in turn, in a spoiler-FILLED format. Be sure you've read the book before listening to the episode. As you've come to expect with all Currently Reading content, Meredith and Roxanna will follow a regular episode format, with regular segments, so you know what to expect each and every time. We love staying focused on the book, rather than conversational rabbit holes. Show notes for this series will not be time-stamped except for broad sections, but will include links to Bookshop dot org or Amazon for any books or resources referenced in the episode. 2:40 - Putting the Book Into Context A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny Publication date (2009) 4.21 rating on Goodreads Seasonal setting - Summer Book Awards: Crimewriters of Canada Award for Excellence in 2009 Critic Reviews Alternate Title: The Murder Stone Meredith's and Roxanna's encounters with the book 9:25 - The Setup 8:46 - A Deeper Exploration Setup and first paragraph Perfect prologue - sets us up for Manoir Bellechasse, but then chapter 1 goes back to Three Pines shortly An entire family of characters we as readers cannot really root for Mic drop moments Flimsy mystery, great building of suspense The pacing of the novel Quality of writing itself - last major action scene Themes: Rest, oppressive heat, paradise lost, prisons, things being unnatural, bravery in vulnerability The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny Still Life by Louise Penny Character Development - Gamache's misstep 57:08 - What Do We Need to Know? History within the book as it pertains to reality The Oddness Factor 1:07:11 - Superlatives Biggest Flaw Favorite Quote Character MVP Biggest loser Best food description 1:22:37 - Within the Series Is this book skippable? Setting the foundation 1:23:34 - SPOILERS AHEAD HERE Easter eggs to future books Next episode's read: The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny No Spoilers this episode! Support Us: Become a Bookish Friend | Grab Some Merch Shop Bookshop dot org | Shop Amazon Bookish Friends Receive: The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. December's IPL will be a yearly recap from us, so we can give our beloved Indies a break for the holidays! Trope Thursday with Kaytee and Bunmi - a behind the scenes peek into the publishing industry All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the special insights of an independent bookseller The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts Connect With Us: The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Roxanna | Kaytee The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Threads Affiliate Disclosure: All affiliate links go to Bookshop unless otherwise noted. Shopping here helps keep the lights on and benefits indie bookstores. Thanks for your support!