A Great Reckoning is the 12th episode in the Armand Gamache/Three Pines series. These books are set in rural Quebec, in an area known as the Eastern Townships, southeast of Montreal and just north of Vermont. For many years, Armand Gamache led homicide investigations for the Surete du Quebec, the provincial police force. The Surete's main office is based in Montreal, and Gamache dealt with crimes that took place in or around the remote village of Three Pines. Two books ago, he retired from the Surete, and he and his wife, Reine-Marie, moved to Three Pines. But this doesn't mean that Gamache lost interest in helping people in need, or in puzzling out the details of mysterious disappearances or deaths. It doesn't mean that he lost interest in the Surete.

Now we learn that Gamache has taken on a new position: commander of the Surete Academy. The past corruption of both the police force and its school have largely been eliminated. This is Gamache's chance to make sure that it doesn't rise up again. He is now in charge of the rules, the curriculum, the teachers and even which student applicants to accept. He makes some controversial decisions regarding the individuals admitted into this closed community. You know Armand: he likes to give people second and even third chances, until they prove themselves totally unworthy. He likes to keep his friends close, and his enemies closer. We'll see how these choices work out. But of course, he also makes sure that his son-in-law, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, can continue as his second in command. No Armand Gamache operation is complete and "normal" without Jean-Guy.

The story begins in wintry January. Three Pines residents are rummaging through an old box of papers at the bistro when they come upon an odd map of the village. It's got some interesting but strange drawings on it. No one quite understands it. Who drew it, and what was its purpose? Gamache eventually decides to challenge a group of four Surete cadets to investigate the map as a special assignment. He gives each one a copy to work with.

Then a murder happens at the academy. And one of the student's maps is found in the living quarters of the victim. Suddenly what were two separate storylines merge into one. Whose map is it? Why is it there? And who is the killer who is lurking within the halls of the academy?

By now, we all want Gamache to succeed at any endeavor that he undertakes. But maybe he's not cut out for this role. Maybe the rot in the Surete runs too deep. Maybe Goodness won't be able to overtake Evil this time, darn it all. We have to keep reading to find out. Oh, that Louise Penny! She sure knows how to capture our attention and to keep us in our seats.