The Nature of the Beast

Locations
Call Number: Mystery / Penny, Louise, Adult Book / Fiction / Mystery / General / Penny, Louise
On Shelf At: Downtown Library

"Hardly a day goes by when nine year old Laurent Lepage doesn't cry wolf. From alien invasions, to walking trees, to winged beasts in the woods, to dinosaurs spotted in the village of Three Pines, his tales are so extraordinary no one can possibly believe him. Including Armand and Reine-Marie Gamache, who now live in the little Quebec village. But when the boy disappears, the villagers are faced with the possibility that one of his tall tales might have been true. And so begins a frantic search for the boy and the truth. What they uncover deep in the forest sets off a sequence of events that leads to murder, leads to an old crime, leads to an old betrayal. Leads right to the door of an old poet. And now it is now, writes Ruth Zardo. And the dark thing is here. A monster once visited Three Pines. And put down deep roots. And now, Ruth knows, it is back. Armand Gamache, the former head of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec, must face the possibility that, in not believing the boy, he himself played a terrible part in what happens next"-- provided by publisher.

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

kind of unbelievable submitted by 21621031390949 on August 29, 2017, 10:26pm I had a hard time believing/getting engaged with this story. I love Penny's Gamache series, but this one - with the REALLY BIG GUN - just seemed flat.

Implausible submitted by rholtz on August 30, 2019, 8:13am Implausible premise, lacking in charm of previous novels, nasty malevolence lurking in the background throughout, unresolved plot lines, weak resolution. By far the least satisfying of Penny's novels I have read. Not recommended

jumped the shark submitted by camelsamba on July 1, 2021, 11:01pm The Fleming subplot really "jumped the shark" as they say. Just too unbelievable. There is an author's note at the end to provide some context for it, but that did not make up for the bitter taste. Feel free to skip this one.