The Nature of the Beast is the 11th episode in the Armand Gamache/Three Pines series. These books are set in rural Quebec, in an area known as the Eastern Townships, which lie 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. He recently retired from the Surete, and he and his wife, Reine-Marie, moved to Three Pines. But this doesn't mean that Gamache has lost interest in helping people in need, or in puzzling out the details of mysterious disappearances or deaths.

Everyone in Three Pines knows 9-year-old Laurent Lepage. This kid has quite a vivid imagination. He's constantly playing in the woods with a carved stick that serves either as a sword or a gun. He's constantly claiming to see all sorts of fantastic sights during his outings. The villagers have grown to dismiss him and his wild rantings. He's the stereotypical boy who cries "Wolf!"

But when Laurent has a bicycle accident and dies from his injuries, the searchers find something real that the boy had warned them about. What really happened to Laurent? What is this monstrous thing in the woods that he found? And why is it here in Three Pines?

Familiar Surete officers are assigned to this case. Chief Inspector Isabelle Lacoste leads the investigation, with Jean-Guy Beauvoir as her second-in-command. They also call on academic and national defense authorities for more assistance with the discovery. And naturally, they continue to let Gamache know what's going on. Even though he's retired, he's still involved.

In the meantime, the Three Pines residents are scheduled to put on a play called She Sat Down & Wept, written by John Fleming -- a name from Gamache's past. Once again, we realize that he had a life before me met him. This memory is disturbing enough that he feels he has to pay attention to it and to voice his concerns to others. Will the play go on? A second murder pretty much assures us that it won't.

At the same time, Therese Brunel, Gamache's old friend and former Surete colleague, has offered him a promotion if he'll return to the force -- as the superintendent of Homicide and Serious Crimes. The department's past corruption has been erased, and this would be a chance to make sure that it doesn't rise up again. Will Gamache accept the position? (Will Reine-Marie let him?)

Once again, Louise Penny shows her expert technique of establishing disparate storylines and then finding ways to weave them together. And again, I recommend that when you reach the last 60 pages, you stop to visit the bathroom and the kitchen one last time. Because you won't want to leave your seat again until the end.

Coming back to Three Pines is like coming home again and being given a chance to catch up on all the news. It is an honor to be allowed into the conversations and lives of these people. The Nature of the Beast is admittedly not one of my favorite installments in this mystery series, but it still makes for an intense read. And we gain more insights into the lives of the people we have grown fond of. Fictional though they may be.