A World of Curiosities: 18 (Chief Inspector Gamache Novel)

Product Information

Harriet looked in the mirror, her toothbrush hanging out of her mouth. It was the first of June and she’d forgotten to say, rabbit, rabbit, rabbit.

Rogers, Shelagh (24 March 2023). "Louise Penny's A World of Curiosities reveals Chief Inspector Armand Gamache's origins". CBC's The Next Chapter (radio program).When Chief Inspector Armand Gamache first had Jean-Guy Beauvoir in his sights, Jean-Guy was a green, arrogant young man although Armand could see something in him that he wanted to nurture. The first case they worked together was a horrific one - the abuse of two young children and the death of their mother. Now, all those years later, those two young people were in Three Pines and Armand was uneasy. But it was when a long hidden room was discovered, one that had been hidden for one hundred and fifty years, that events in the lives of the Three Pines villagers, as well as Armand, Jean-Guy and the Surete du Quebec investigators, changed. The head of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec had been called away from Sunday breakfast with his young family. He’d flown hours northeast from his home in Montréal to the shores of this godforsaken lake to kneel beside the body that now bobbed in near-freezing waters. She was shoved half ashore by the gray waves that were growing increasingly insistent by the minute. William’s travels brought the world home, and Oxnead’s transformation was so dramatic and complete that Knyvett did not know if he would escape without undergoing some kind of transformation himself. In a separate plot thread, Gamache is called upon to solve the mystery of a secret room discovered in the attic of the village bookstore. Inside, the villagers discover a long lost copy of a “grimoire” an old book thought to have been used by witches to summon demons. Nearby is a huge painting.

Armand and Ren-Marie are a model loving couple, and their family is by now a model, too. Goodness, kindness, prevails, and as things seem to get worse in the world (and in the books), Gamache’s insistent ethical messages get all the more insistent. “Cosies” were the way the early books were described; even Penny said the murders in the books were sort of incidental to her characters and their world. Despite the ravioli and eclairs, this is no cozy mystery. More nuanced with every development, riding a theme of forgiveness, past and present colliding, it’s a full symphony piece with choir—think Beethoven’s ninth. There is so much I love about Louise Penny's mystery series. There is usually Art woven into the story in one form or another. There are great complicated characters and there is always Gamache, a brave man in a brave country. You might think one would get tired of it but Penny pulls it off once again. This book was not a heavy mystery but was too dark to call it a cosy. As in most Penny's it is more about relationships and good vs evil, where good wins out against great odds. The greatest strength of this book is the plotting. I read a lot of mysteries, including the classics of the genre. I can confidently say this is the best-plotted mystery I have ever read. I won’t go into specifics to avoid spoilers, but I will say that I could not put this down, and the “reveal” was the experience that I always look for in a mystery and rarely find.I’m not alone in loving Louise Penny’s Armand Gamache books. I’ve loved all but one (and that one I liked), so the bar was understandably high here. The thing is that this book didn’t just meet the bar. It blew the bar out of the water. Never has this reviewer written such a long synopsis. Never has Penny written such a book where this long a synopsis was needed. This is not a bad thing.

Virtuoso… blends nuanced characterization with nail-biting suspense…This tale of forgiveness and redemption will resonate with many.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Excerpt

This is not a feel good read. I’d stay away if you are not into psycho murder thrillers that also lectures you about social problems where there is not yet consensus. He heard a snort of derision behind him and ignored it, continuing to stare into the worried eyes of the dead woman at his feet.