"A Chief Inspector Gamache novel" - cover.

Christmas is approaching, and in Québec its a time of dazzling snowfalls, bright lights, and gatherings with friends in front of blazing hearths. But shadows are falling on the usually festive season for Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. Most of his best agents have left the Homicide Department, his old friend and lieutenant Jean-Guy Beauvoir hasnt spoken to him in months, and hostile forces are lining up against him. When Gamache receives a message from Myrna Landers, in the village of Three Pines, he welcomes the chance to get away from the city. Myrna's longtime friend, who was due to spend Christmas in the village, has failed to arrive. As events come to a head, Gamache is drawn ever deeper into the world of Three Pines.