Looking through my past reviews of the Inspector Gamache series (the ones I have written – I have a large chunk missing that I will reread someday), I realised that there was a book in the series that I actually rated four stars. Which is surprising to me now, because every new book I read seems to just get better and better, especially after How the Light Gets In.
The Nature of the Beast starts off with the boy who cried wolf. Laurent Lepage comes to Gamache with tales of a huge gun that has a monster on it. Naturally, no one believes him, especially since he comes up with a fantastical story nearly every day. But when Laurent goes missing and then is found dead, Gamache realises that the boy may have been on to something. Although no longer with the Surete, Gamache cannot help but get involved in the case and in the process of investigating, uncovers a decades-old mystery with apocalyptic implications.
Like I all-but-wrote at the start, I loved this. It’s just as good as The Long Way Home and How the Light Gets In. I really think that post-Surete Gamache is at a whole new level – I remember the first few books as being good, but I don’t think I’ve been devouring them like I have the previous three (including this one). Although it’s almost 400 pages long, I finished it in half a day because I really had to know what happened.
Most of the familiar characters are here – Gamache, Jean Guy, and even Lacoste (now head of the Surete). There’s a mention of agent Nichol, although she sadly does not get any page time. And there’s even what looks to be a promising new character – Adam Cohen. I can’t remember if he’s been mentioned before, but he plays a role here and I’m interested in seeing if he appears in any of the later books. And of course, the residents of Three Pines are here. Since the mystery is now back at Three Pines, where it began, they all have considerable page time. Plus, it feels like we’re hearkening back to the beginnings of the series, but with the characters having built up their personalities and their relationships.
And since Jean Guy, Lacoste, and many other members of the Surete are in the book, the discussion of What Will Gamache Do Next is a little louder. The book doesn’t offer many hints either way, but while I think Gamache won’t go back to the Surete, I don’t think he’s ready to fully embrace retirement. Solving mysteries is in his blood by now.
As with The Long Way Home, the language in this book is lovely and a little bit chilling (not a surprise given the subject matter). Ruth is here, so you get quite a bit of poetry from her and others. Speaking of Ruth, we find out a little bit more about her past. She’s always been moving away from the “cranky old poet” stereotype, but I think knowing more about her and some of the choices she made really helped to make her more realistic.
This was another fantastic book in the Inspector Gamache series. There are a few loose threads that were left dangling and I’m hoping that they will be carried on in later books; my only concern is that the threads will not be tied up well, but after reading the previous novels, I’m not too worried.