The Nature of the Beast

In the idyllic, yet sometimes unsettling, village of Three Pines, nine-year-old Laurent Lepage is infamous for his wild tales – from monstrous beasts to alien invasions. His constant 'crying wolf' leaves the villagers, including former Sûreté du Québec Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his wife Reine-Marie, disinclined to believe him. However, when Laurent mysteriously vanishes, the community is plunged into a frantic search, grappling with the chilling possibility that one of his fantastical stories might hold a kernel of truth. What they unearth deep within the forest is far more sinister than any fairy tale: a hidden past, a devastating secret, and an ancient evil that has taken root in Three Pines. This discovery ignites a chain of events leading to murder, unearthing an old crime, and exposing a profound betrayal that stretches back decades, ultimately pointing to the door of the village's eccentric poet, Ruth Zardo. Gamache, haunted by his own dismissal of Laurent’s warnings, must confront the 'dark thing' that has returned, forcing him to reckon with the potential of his own culpability in the unfolding tragedy.