Abstract: The picturesque village of Three Pines is a safe haven to its residents - no one can remember the last time they needed a policeman. So when the body of a well-loved local woman is discovered on Thanksgiving Sunday, lying spread-eagled in the maple woods, the community is shocked. There must have been an accident - a hunter's arrow gone astray. No one could want Jane Neal dead. In a long and distinguished career with the SvretT du Quebec, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache has learned to look for snakes in Eden. And as he sets about his investigation, he realises the small community is not quite as harmonious as it first appears. Something dark is lurking behind the white picket fences, and if Gamache watches closely enough, Three Pines will begin to give up its secrets...