Whoever heard of a heart-breaking cozy (more or less) mystery? But that’s what this Inspector Gamache novel by Louise Penny is.

It starts out mysteriously – we’re not sure why Chief Inspector Gamache is in Montreal, but we enjoy getting to know the city. Then he tumbles into a mystery there, while the mystery surrounding the previous investigation that had gone wrong unfolds. So we end up solving a four hundred year old mystery, and learning the results of that investigation. We find out why the Chief Inspector needs to bury his dead.

It’s awful, it’s beautiful, it’s powerful, it’s haunting. All those things. What a writer she is.

A Fatal Grace, by Louise Penny, published in 2006, is the second in the series of Inspector Gamache mystery novels. This one re-introduces us to Three Pines, the village in Quebec, near both Montreal and the US border – though no one as yet has shown any interest in visiting the US, or talking about it much. Instead, readers are learning a lot about Canadians. (So maybe we’re not the center of the universe?)

We learn about the seriousness of winter that far north, about Christmastime in a small village – and about why so very many people dislike CC dePoitiers, who very much lives in her own universe, with her own book / hash of spiritual beliefs, which she just knows the world is waiting for – and which will make her suitably rich.

The murder is bizarre – at a curling match, involving just the right ingredients, invoking just the right response by the victim (who doesn’t seem much like a victim – she is viciously in control) – and resulting in CC being fried. That is, electrocuted.

Inspector Gamache and his team get to work on the physical facts and the intuitive / psychological side of the case. So many possibilities – a husband, a lover, a young daughter, lots of villagers. Excellent work throughout.

A real pleasure, on many levels. This is a great and satisfying book.

Perhaps we shouldn’t complain. After all, we have not had a real winter for several years…and 2 years ago, we had a long fall that devolved into an early spring. But really….

This is too much. We are way ahead of normal snowfall, have had the coldest weather in over 20 years – and now have days more of that deep chill coming again, following several days of snow.

This morning, all was well when I woke up. The predicted snow had not fallen, and so my breakfast with an Atlanta friend in town for a bridal shower looked great. About 10 minutes later, looking out the window – the snow was pouring down, huge flakes sticking everywhere. It was already sticking on the street and cars were slowing down.

I checked the radar – it looked like it would clear in half an hour or so. With a phone call, we arranged to meet at a closer spot, once she was out of the traffic jam on the expressway. She txtd when near – I looked out the window, there was no snow. By the time I got downstairs and out of the garage – it was pouring down again. I crossed my fingers and headed out.

While we enjoyed breakfast, no real snow – just a bit blowing off the roof of the church. So I decided to go buy salt and head to the office for a scheduled meeting. I headed to the salt place – all clear. I buy the salt, and while it’s being loaded in the car – here comes the blizzard conditions again.

I just surrendered and came home, powering up the driveway fast, with 150 pounds of salt in the trunk. Later, two kids came up with an offer to shovel – so I hired them to do the whole drive, the porch and steps and the neighbors’ piece. Somehow both of us managed to pay them, so they had a good day.

The drive is clear now, but it’s 15 degrees outside, and snow is coming again tomorrow. This is winter with a vengeance. Not fair! But here nonetheless.

So there I was last night, in Joseph-Beth Booksellers, for the monthly meeting of our Writers Group. And I had a bit of time before our gathering, plus a coupon for half-off the second most expensive thing I would buy.

I had been going to put Doris Kearns Goodwin’s new The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft and the Golden Age of Journalism on my Christmas list for someone to buy for me.

But then I was in high finance mode, trying to figure out how to save the most money. The only other thing I was going to buy were some cans of tea, and that wouldn’t save me much. So I bought The Bully Pulpit as a present to myself, and then bought The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries I had just seen out on a table (another present for myself, but one that would take its place on the Christmas coffee table next year) – and got half off of that.

So that all made me happy! In addition to which, 2 of the tea canisters were tea from Downton Abbey, and Christmas present for friends. Good all around.

Almost as soon as my new cleaning person hit the door during the summer, I started adding on an hour for her to clean out a closet, drawers or cabinet every time. Then she organizes the stuff, and puts it on the bed in the guest room.

Just today, I finished choosing, organizing and putting away all the office supplies from the little cabinet here in the office. I’ve left a stack I don’t need, for Rebecca to choose from – or I’ll put what she leaves in the Freestore bag in the garage.

Just a couple more spaces for her to organize: the bathroom closet, and the gift closet in the office. Amazing how much better everything feels – and now, it’ll all be done before Christmas!

Plus – she makes all her own green cleaning products. Terrific!