Book 12 Her stories get better with each book.KIRKUS REVIEWWithin a police force, some members must be trained in the science, and art, of solving murders. But does this training create people highly capable of committing them?In Penny?s 12th Gamache novel, the former chief inspector takes up a new post. He?s not back to active investigating¥not after finally having the chance to heal in the Qu?b?cois village of Three Pines. But he can?t pass up the chance to complete his yearslong fight to end corruption within the S?ret?. By taking the job as commander of the S?ret? Academy, he can clean the rot from its wealthiest sourceÂ¥the impressionable minds of cadet trainees. But Gamache makes a questionable decision in choosing to fight fire with fire. He decides to keep the most corrupt staff member, Serge ?the Duke? Leduc, the former No. 2 of the Academy. Gamache?s choices verge on madness when he announces he will also bring on Michel Br?beufÂ¥the original domino to fall within the S?ret?Â¥as an example of how corruption can ruin you. In his lessons, Gamache invites his cadets to internalize these mottos: ?Don't trust everything you think?Â¥words for bettering their minds and investigative skillsÂ¥as well as ?a man's foes shall be they of his own household,? from Matthew 10:36Â¥words of warning for what they may face ahead. These lessons become all too relevant when the Duke is found murdered and it?s clear the murderer is one of them. And then a copy of an old map is found at the crime scene, the same map Gamache is using as an exercise with four cadets he has brought under his wing and into his home (one lost soul in particular, freshman Amelia Choquet). Gamache is forced to accept that Leduc?s grip on the Academy is stronger and more suffocating than he thought possible. Is the household he has vowed to protect more unsafe than ever before? Young, learning minds are precious things, and Penny is here to make us aware of the evil out there, eager for a chance to moldÂ¥and poisonÂ¥them.A chilling story that's also filled with hopeÂ¥a beloved Penny trademark.

(2016) Again one of her best in this series. Gamache has taken over the Surete's academy only to be confronted with the murder of one of his force's enemies in the halls of the school. We do learn a lot of back story to him and the town of Three Pines. Very good. Murderer was Michel Brebeuf who feared exposure from Leduc. KIRKUS REVIEWWithin a police force, some members must be trained in the science, and art, of solving murders. But does this training create people highly capable of committing them?In Penny's 12th Gamache novel, the former chief inspector takes up a new post. He's not back to active investigating¥not after finally having the chance to heal in the Qu?b?cois village of Three Pines. But he can't pass up the chance to complete his yearslong fight to end corruption within the S?ret?. By taking the job as commander of the S?ret? Academy, he can clean the rot from its wealthiest sourceÂ¥the impressionable minds of cadet trainees. But Gamache makes a questionable decision in choosing to fight fire with fire. He decides to keep the most corrupt staff member, Serge ?the Duke? Leduc, the former No. 2 of the Academy. Gamache's choices verge on madness when he announces he will also bring on Michel Br?beufÂ¥the original domino to fall within the S?ret?Â¥as an example of how corruption can ruin you. In his lessons, Gamache invites his cadets to internalize these mottos: ?Don't trust everything you think?Â¥words for bettering their minds and investigative skillsÂ¥as well as ?a man's foes shall be they of his own household,? from Matthew 10:36Â¥words of warning for what they may face ahead. These lessons become all too relevant when the Duke is found murdered and it's clear the murderer is one of them. And then a copy of an old map is found at the crime scene, the same map Gamache is using as an exercise with four cadets he has brought under his wing and into his home (one lost soul in particular, freshman Amelia Choquet). Gamache is forced to accept that Leduc's grip on the Academy is stronger and more suffocating than he thought possible. Is the household he has vowed to protect more unsafe than ever before? Young, learning minds are precious things, and Penny is here to make us aware of the evil out there, eager for a chance to moldÂ¥and poisonÂ¥them.A chilling story that's also filled with hopeÂ¥a beloved Penny trademark.Pub Date: Aug. 30th, 2016ISBN: 978-1-250-02213-4Page count: 400ppPublisher: MinotaurReview Posted Online: June 1st, 2016Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15th, 2016

Interesting plot, good combination of old and new characters. Highly recommended. ( )

This one feels a bit more balanced, at least at the beginning, but there are some cheap tropes here. Not in a cozy golden age way, in a plot-engulfing foreshadow way. With red herrings dropped in characters' thoughts that are really unworthy of the work put into building these characters into complex people. ( )

I've been reading these books in order and this is the 12 in the series. In my opinion, this is the best so far. The pace was steady and the plot was tight, almost entirely focusing on the crime. While reading, as I'm sure many did while reading this book, I thought Gamache had lost his head with some of situations that he set up. He appeared to be fully conscious that he might be letting loose the "dogs of war", and at the same time jeopardizing the lives of his family, friends, and colleagues. As usual, Louise Penny didn't enlighten us as to what was going on in Gamache's head, so when the motive for the crime was revealed, it blew me away. I must remember to expect the unexpected with this author. After retiring from the Surete, Gamache has been retired and living with his wife Renn-Marie in their beloved Three Pines. Knowing that his work is not done, he accepts the position of Commander of the Surete Training College where he knows he must go in order to continue his search for corruption in the Surete is somehow at that Organization. It's a very dangerous place this college, and the Assistant Dean is at the heart of the corruption, and Gamache has to prove it. At the same time Gamache and his Three Pines friends have found an old map that had been hidden in the wall of the Bistro, and this hand-drawn map is also seen in the stained glass window of the chapel in Three Pines. The window depicts three young men heading off to fight in WWI, and that map is actually in the stained glass window, and in the pocket of one these men. The two mysteries converge and it becomes apparent that the old map is of great significance to Three Pines and to the murder at the College. I loved the intricacies of this novel, and I just couldn't put it down. I listened to it on audiobook, and found that a wonderful way to enjoy this book. I can't wait to read the next book in the series. ( )