The Cruelest Month
- Published
- 1 May 2007
- Pages
- 320
- ISBN-13
- 9781410407160
- Type
- novel
About this book
The Cruelest Month (2007) is the third Gamache novel, continuing Louise Penny's slow-build approach -- readers are often advised to stick with the series through these early entries, since the consensus is it shifts into another gear around book 5. It runs 320 pages, between A Fatal Grace and A Rule Against Murder.
Key facts about The Cruelest Month
The Cruelest Month is a novel by Louise Penny. Readers have had it since 1 May 2007. It runs to 320 pages.
Our list holds 3 editions of The Cruelest Month. Since each edition has its own ISBN, search for 9781410407160 to find the main one.
The Cruelest Month is book 3 of 20 in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series. The series has 20 published books. However, the series starts with Still Life (2005). The Black Wolf is the latest book in the series with a full release date, out on 28 October 2025.
That series sits on our mystery shelf. Meanwhile, The Last Mandarin is the latest published Louise Penny book on file, from 12 May 2026.
About Louise Penny
Louise Penny is a Canadian author best known for the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series, a long-running literary mystery series set largely in the fictional Quebec village of Three Pines, where a tight-knit cast of eccentric locals recurs across cases investigated by the thoughtful, morally grounded Sûreté du Québec inspector Gamache. See every Louise Penny book in order.
Its place in Chief Inspector Armand Gamache
The Cruelest Month is book 3 in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series. It follows A Fatal Grace. It is followed by A Rule Against Murder. See the full Chief Inspector Armand Gamache reading order.
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surete du Quebec is the rarest thing in crime fiction: a genuinely good man. Courtly, patient, fluent in poetry and human weakness, he teaches his agents four sentences that lead to wisdom — I was wrong. I'm sorry. I don't know. I need help. — and solves murders not by trickery but by listening until people reveal themselves. His cases keep returning him to Three Pines, a village south of Montreal that appears on no map, where croissants and cafe au lait at Olivier's bistro…
Editions
- edition · unknown publisher · — · ISBN 9781433233791
- edition · unknown publisher · — · ISBN 9780312573508
- edition · unknown publisher · — · ISBN 9781427272362