Louise Penny

Sometime last year or a year before that, I was called for jury duty. I was thrilled, in six decades I had never been called and I was excited at the prospect of being part of a “jury of your peers”. I have known others that have been called three or four times, it is just the luck of the draw I suppose.

While we were waiting to be admitted, I was talking to several people about this and that, more to hear my own voice rather than hear what they had to say for themselves. Just as the doors opened, a woman grabbed my arm and said “You’re a talker, and you are sitting with me. It is going to be boring enough without anyone to talk to.” I agreed and had no problem being used in such a fashion.

I arrived at the courthouse at the appointed time and we were all (200 of us) herded into the large court. There we were given instructions on what to expect and how the system would go about selecting us. We were also told what the case was and just how long it was expected to last.

 Six months! Six months? I was expecting a week or two, not months. I have a life, well, not a real exciting one, but it is a life after all and six months would put a pretty big hole in my routine. Shit!

While they went about the selection process, my new friend and I talked, read and looked at people trying to decide if we would rather be dead than have that asshole as jury foreman. There were some people that I would chew my arm off before asking their opinion on anything, I found out that this was the first day of her retirement and if she were selected her winter plans would go down the drain. I laughed of course and reassured her that all of those plans could be put off for a year. She said something not lady like and pretty nasty.

She was sure that she wouldn’t be selected because lawyers don’t want anyone that is too smart on the jury. She was a professor at the university and told me the only thing lawyers hated worse than smart people were teachers. They asked too many questions. She didn’t get selected and I hope that she managed to have a fantastic winter skiing and not going into work.

 

While we were sitting staring off into space, I noticed the book she was reading was by Louise Penny. It was an Inspector Gamache mystery, the tenth book in the series. I didn’t know that at the time, I just wrote the title down for future reference. I figured that if a Professor of Literature was reading it then perhaps it might be worth a look. It took me well over a year to read it, but I was thrilled with it. Lucky for me there are twelve books in the series and with any luck more will be written by the time I finish the ones I have. I am rationing the reading of these books to one a month because they are so very good and I want them to last. They make you laugh and think. Well, they make me laugh and think.

If you haven’t red one of Louise Penny’s books, treat yourself they are wonderful.