As Easter approaches in the tiny forgotten Quebec village of Three Pines, a group of villagers decide to hold a séance after a spiritualist comes to town. What starts as a lark quickly turns deadly serious when someone dies at a second séance at the Hadley House. Inspector Gamache and his trusty sidekick Jean-Guy Beauvoir must find the murderer while also finally dealing with the fallout of the Arnot case.

Three Pines must have the highest murder rate in the country the way this series is going. Sadly, the books are losing some of their charm for me. The novels are starting to feel a little predictable. Instead of building characters each novel. You keep the same core villagers and then add a new group, of which one is a victim and one is a murderer. I did like that The Cruelest Month heavily included the Arnot Case storyline that has building between books. I promised myself I would read at least the first five books, but I must say, I am quickly losing enthusiasm.