59 pages 1 hour read

Louise Penny

The Cruelest Month

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2007

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Chapters 27-35Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 27 Summary

Gamache, Lacoste, and Lemieux are at the crime scene again, looking for clues about the break-in. Gamache finds a Bible and puts it in his pocket. He leaves the room to search the basement and soon after, Lemieux tells Lacoste to leave if she would like. Lacoste is eager to be out of the house and readily agrees.

Hazel tells Beauvoir and Nichol about Madeleine’s cancer and how the two of them reconnected. Nichol makes a cruel joke, and when Beauvoir reprimands her, she reflects that she had been told to upset the team and is succeeding. Hazel gives them Madeleine’s ex-husband’s name and phone number but is still unable to think of anyone who might have wanted to kill her. However, she withdraws noticeably when Beauvoir mentions Monsieur Béliveau, which makes him suspicious.

Chapter 28 Summary

While Gamache approaches the basement, Lemieux finally answers his phone. Brébeuf wants an update on the case, and when he finds out that Gamache was not upset by the newspaper article, he is disappointed.

Beauvoir, Nichol, and Lacoste return to the incident room, where they discuss Hazel and Sophie and wonder if Sophie had a crush on Madeleine. Lacoste asks to speak privately with Beauvoir, and they go outside to get away from Nichol.