It is April in the quaint village of Three Pines and the residents are preparing for their annual tradition of hiding wooden Easter eggs for the children to find and exchange for candy–a twist brought about because of a previous incident with bears. When an out of town guest, a practicing Wiccan, arrives at the local B&B she discovers that she has been tapped to hold a seance for the locals on Good Friday. Initially put off she rallies only to find that the inn holds no ghosts. But she knows where the ghosts are, for even she, a stranger, can sense the presence of evil from the old Hadley house, a known house of malevolence in the village of Three Pines. So the group schedules a repeat at the Hadley house in the dark of Easter Sunday evening. Despite their loathing of the place several villagers vow to attend the seance, knowing it will be an effort to overcome their palpable terror, and though all of the participants are frightened, in the end only one will be scared to death.
If there is murder in the Eastern townships, the steady presence of the Surete du Quebec’s Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his investigative team are soon to follow. But for Armand Gamache, a return to Three Pines will bring up his own ghosts. For he is haunted by an incident in his past, a decision that nearly brought the Surete to its knees and has forever tainted the Chief Inspector. With enemies sensed but unknown making their final moves to take him down once and for all, and a Judas in the ranks, Armand Gamache will have to keep his own demons at bay while seeking to expose the spirit of a murderer.
