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A perfectly appropriate title!

I am not sure why Clara's relationship with her husband, Peter, has been kept as one of the final moments of this series. While Three Pines are back in the picture, my honest impression was that the author ran out of steam. The tedious, extremely slow moving plot, encompassing the inner-workings of the art world, was presented more like a never-ending travel journal of a group of friends, promoting tourism in Canada. It lost me within the first ten chapters of the book. I couldn't help but jump-read most of the next chapters, which, for a devoted series-reader, were filled with never-ending repeats, repeats, repeats.

The author introduces the theme of the book as follows:

"And, as always, I have been inspired by the setting, by the history and geography and nature of Québec. And, specifically, by memories of my travels along the glorious St. Lawrence River. By the haunting coastline of the Lower North Shore. And the villages and villagers there. I have traveled a lot in my life, as a journalist and as a private person, but I have never, ever met kindness so profound, and integrity so deep, as I did in kitchens and porches and front rooms along that coast.

...I won’t discuss the themes here, or the reasons I wrote this book in this way, but I do want to mention a few influences, including Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Homer’s Odyssey. And the remarkable Marilynne Robinson’s book Gilead. As well as the old spiritual “Balm in Gilead.�"

Armand Gamache, former Chief Inspector of Homicide with the Sûreté du Québec, and his wife were happily retired in Three Pines, battling his own past.

"…Armand Gamache had sat on the bench and watched the same people do the same thing. The village had the rhythm, the cadence, of a piece of music. Perhaps that’s what Henri heard. The music of Three Pines. It was like a hum, a hymn, a comforting ritual."

He is trying to find healing in a book that his dad left behind when the latter passed away.

(From the blurb)"On warm summer mornings he sits on a bench holding a small book, The Balm in Gilead, in his large hands. "There is a balm in Gilead," his neighbor Clara Morrow reads from the dust jacket, "to make the wounded whole.""

Armand struggled to read passed the bookmark his dad has left in the book. It was as though he could not leave his father behind and therefor could not pass the bookmark.

Clara was concerned about her husband who left the previous year as part of their agreement to a trial separation, and did not return on the decided anniversary date to discuss the future of their marriage. She calls in Armand's help. They leave on a journey to follow Pete's trail and become entwined with the dark side of the art world.

(From the blurb):"Together with his former second-in-command, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, and Myrna Landers, they journey deeper and deeper into Québec. And deeper and deeper into the soul of Peter Morrow. A man so desperate to recapture his fame as an artist, he would sell that soul. And may have. The journey takes them further and further from Three Pines, to the very mouth of the great St. Lawrence river. To an area so desolate, so damned, the first mariners called it The land God gave to Cain. And there they discover the terrible damage done by a sin-sick soul."

I might be wrong, but my impression was that the book centered around the journey of every human being to find the muse in their lives and conclude with inner peace after a long battle with the demons and mistakes of the past. A philosophical journey becomes the focus of the tale. Chapters and chapters and chapters filled with it. And right at the end, as a sort of consolation, a murder is hastily thrown in and solved on the spot, to guarantee the murder mystery readers a thrill.

The story is atmospheric, dramatic (in the last few chapters), and filled with the results of vigorous research into the art world with the philosophies surrounding it. The endless discussions simply just did not capture me! A confession: I was bored to death! Peter's journey to find himself, becomes Gamache's inner journey to find peace. Like with all the other books in the series, there is a dual purpose and multi-layered plot to vanish into.

Well, now for the last book, no.11. I am going to make it my last book anyway. The ninth book in the series, How The Light Gets In, was definitely my favorite so far to conclude this entertaining, informative, thrilling series. The eight book, The Beautiful Mystery, was the highlight of the series, for me, at least.

However, Louise Penny remains my all-time favorite murder mystery author. This series explored more than just the life of Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. The reader experiences the full spectrum of humanity in all its ups and downs. What a journey for us all, and how colorful our memories will be. It was indeed a long way home!

I am still in love with Three Pines. The ending was sad, but beautiful. We have come full circle through lyrical prose.