It defies all logic that the sixteenth book in a series could be crafted so beautifully. But I remain utterly in love and touched by these characters, this writing, and a great story well told. When I describe these books to other people, I often say I love them because of the wonderful characters in Three Pines, all the comfort food descriptions, and the lovable wise Armand Gamache. This book only had one of the three and and it still worked! It felt fresh, it was complex, no cookie cutter plots here. Thank you, Louise Penny!