Kingdom of the Blind: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel

I loved this book and I have been gobbling up this series I think for two months. This book however really touched me many times over, it is my favorite so far.

The book arrived promptly in excellent condition.

This story is a rough one to read, mainly because the reader will have so many doubts. An awful lot of ugly police policy in the story, but then again, that's how real life is today, isn't it? I read this book in one day, could not put it down. The characters continue to present themselves, always evolving, as the story unfolds. Miss Penny has captured the feelings most of us have in reading this series, mainly that we are blessed to have met in Three Pines! The series continues to amaze me, with one book being better than the last, if that's possible!

This Gamache story had me guessing up to the last line. Lots of twists and turns. Much change in relationships-power and greed as well as love and loyalty. I recommend Kingdom of the Blind.

Good story albeit convoluted. About halfway through I thought it was done, but it turned out there were several threads still unraveling from previous books. There was a lot happening in this one and at times it seemed crammed together awkwardly. However the story saved it. Complicated, but compelling.

Thank you for continuing to write the Inspector Gamache series. They are very well written with many twists and turns. Looking forward to the next book in the series.Thanks for another great read.

I enjoyed reading this book very much. Many of the characters are well-known to us, but new ones are added, usually associated with the crime. There are many plot twists that keep the story fresh. I like the way the author shares with us what Chief Inspector Gamache is thinking and how his thinking evolves. We also get a view of his family life which makes him a very real person. I will read more in this series, as well as go back for other books I've missed.

There were two major story lines in this book. Both complicated and interesting. Kept me wondering and guessing. Highly recommend this series and spending time in Three Pines. I was thinking how wonderful some of the food sounds. The author has provided a small cookbook you can download for free with some of the recipes.

Another in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series, in which his position is in jeopardy because of what he has allowed to escape. Ditto his second-in-command, Jean-Guy, who is also Inspector Gamache's son-in-law.But what is going to be solved first? That problem or one which is set in place when a house falls down and the body of someone other than the people who had gathered there is found in the debris?Complications abound with both fraudulent actions, and hundreds of millions of dollars and WWII-related family conspiracies wind around and around the characters as Armand seeks answers and in so doing, also rescues a tiny child.

In this 14th book in the 'Chief Inspector Armand Gamache' series, the Canadian cop becomes the executor of a will and investigates a murderThis was my least favorite so far in the series. The story was predictable and felt longer than necessary. I figured everything out earlier on. The beginning of this book was strong. Louise Penny's strengths is her beginnings as a he sucks you right into the story and the characters.However this time the familiarity of the characters and the scenery got in the way. there was a scene with our familiar cast of characters, in their familiar setting, and I thought to myself..."I've read this before." It's getting redundant, and that's a bad thing. Dialogue feels recycled, character reactions feel recycled, even the twists/big reveals are things we've seen before (Gamache has a big secret...yeah, we know. HE ALWAYS HAS A BIG SECRET).The plot here felt disjointed, and at times I wondered if we were ever getting back to the other story line of the narcotics that went onto the streets after GH. The "twist" for this story line was obvious and the ending was rushed and a bit too clean for me.But I must mention that in no way does Louise Penny's writing lack. Her prose is beautiful and I still would love to reside in a town similar to Three Pines. Having said all that, it comes down to this: If Louise Penny were to write another Armand Gamache book I would read it. In. A. Heartbeat.

“In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king." Erasamus AdagiaChief Inspector Gamache receives a curious letter from a notary asking him to a meeting in an abandoned farm house near 3 Pines. His curiosity is piqued when he learns that his friend Myrna, the local book store owner and a retired psychologist, has received the same invitation. Another young man, Benedict is also in attendance. They have all been named “Liquidators” of the will of a now deceased woman, Bertha Baumgartner a/k/a "the Baroness”, whom no one seems to have known.None of the deceased's 3 adult children are listed as a Liquidator, although each will receive an equal share of the estate. However, there is one small glitch… it seems that the deceased does not actually own the money or the property. Rather, it has become a part of family lore, passed on from generation to generation on both sides of years of a family battle, Baumgartners vs Kinderoth. "You can’t erase the past. It’s trapped in there with you. But you can make peace with it. If you don’t,’ he said, ‘you’ll be at perpetual war.’”Shortly after the announcement of the named Liquidators, the family farmhouse collapses and the eldest child, Anthony, is found dead inside. Is an intra-family battle taking place as well?The books in this series are terrific and they keep getting better and better. For maximum enjoyment I recommend reading them in order. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I am commenting more on Louise penny and her wonderful series. While on a cruise last fall, my wife and I met a couple briefly. The conversation turned to books and the man mentioned this series and suggested we try it. A few months later, looking for something to read, I asked my wife if she could remember the author mentioned on the cruise by people to whom we are extremely grateful even if we have no idea of their name - just the folks from Minnesota. Of course neither of us could recall anything other than woman, Quebec and a Chief Inspector. With that I was able to figure out it was Louise Penny and the great Gamache series. I promptly ordered book one and in short order had read all the books up to and including Kingdom of the Blind. My wife, who generally sticks to romance novels and usually for short periods at a rime, devoured them as well. This latest is, like all the others, a great read, full of characters you know and care about. The village is exquisitely drawn, the mysteries intriguing, masterfully thought out and leaving you ready to pick up the next one. A spoiler alert - I was greatly relieved to read that Isabel Lacoste is still alive and recovering. She is one of the many great characters Penny has provided. She has quickly joined the ranks of my favorite writers. I think most who give this series a chance will become a Three Pines fan quickly.

5 starsThis is another remarkable entry into the Chief Superintendent Armand Gamache, Chief Inspector Jean-Guy Beauvior, Detective Isabelle LaCoste and the gang from Three Pines series.This story runs on two differing lines, one of a mysterious will and the other an heroic attempt to stop a highly dangerous drug from reaching the streets of Montreal.When Armand and Myrna (a bookshop owner), of Three Pines and a young man named Benedict from Montreal receive letters in the mail naming them the (executors) of a will they are surprised. None of the three people knew the woman. The will itself is rather odd, too. It mentions a fortune, houses overseas and other rather odd bequests. But the woman named Mrs. Baumgartner who calls herself “the Baroness” who was in reality a cleaning lady in Three Pines believes what she is saying in the will. Is she a little confused? Perhaps downright deranged?At the same time, Armand is called into the office while he is on suspension for letting a large amount of drugs get by him in the last book. One of his proteges has been caught with an amount of drugs in her locker at work. A former junkie and a prostitute herself she is fired as a result. But there turns out to be for more to this story of which the reader is not yet aware.As Armand, his wife and the Three Pines gang try to track down Mrs. Baumgartner's history to check the accuracy of her assertions in her will, Armand gets to know Benedict better and likes the young man.When a body shows up in a collapsed house, the ruling is murder. Armand and Jean-Guy meet with the relatives. Coincidentally, they are the surviving children of Mrs. Baumgartner.This is a very good book. It is well written and plotted as are all of Ms. Penny's novels. I really like the way she inserts philosophical observations in her stories. Her grasp of psychology is accurate and written very nicely into her books. Her main characters are always self-aware and questioning their motives and the subsequent actions that spring from those motives. Very well done!! I can't wait to read the next in this series. I am a Louise Penny addict for sure!

I have been a Louise Penny fan for some time now. This latest tale had one of her better plots and character developments. This time, Chief of the Quebec Surete, Armand Gamache, revisits the main focus of the just previous storyline that dealt with the current reality of super-drugs, now hitting the streets of America and Canada. Parallel to this plot is a murder that delves into family money and sibling feuds.As Three Pines is slammed with a blizzard, Gamache, Myrna landers and a new, interesting character are faced with the task to sort out the will of a deceased local woman, even though they can't fathom why they were chosen to do so. Soon a murder is committed, amid the ruins of the dead woman's home. Thus, Armand Gamache thrust into another local mystery and drama. Fortunately, some old and new characters make the calmer plot interludes very entertaining.Meanwhile, back in Montreal, the inspector is still being investigated for his past failings, in allowing deadly drugs to enter the province, although most of contraband was confiscated, albeit at the cost of severely injuring his second on command. Provincial politics want him out and they try to enlist the help of his son-in-law and fellow police colleague. To make matters worse, an unexpected, former character hits the streets to rescue the missing drugs, as well as their own and Gamache's careers and personal reputations.At the end of this book, there is an interesting shuffling of characters that have been loyal colleagues and friends of the Gamaches. It makes one wonder what direction Ms. Penny will now take the crime series.This book is gritty, sometimes creepy, and keeps the reader on their toes, wondering "Who dun it?". If you liked other Penny crimes novels about the clever, strong and erstwhile Gamache, this book will not disappoint.

Crime fiction is about correcting wrongs. A violation of a social code has occurred, or is occurring; and the protagonist's role is to correct the violations of the code and return the social order to "normal". In the 15 books in the "Three Pines" series, Chief Inspector Gamache is a senior law enforcement officer in the Surete du Quebec, the provincial police department. He investigates crimes (murders, mostly) against the state.Three Pines is a small village in Quebec; so remote and small that it does not usually appear on maps. It is populated by a core group of characters, each interesting in his or her own right, dealing with personal challenges. Early novels have dealt variously with an artist with marriage problems, a retired African-Canadian psychologist, a poet whose insistence on speaking truth alienates nearly everyone, a gay couple that runs the local bistro. Over the course of the series, different books have highlighted local folks, while the Chief Inspector and his team focused on larger crimes.I disagree with reviewers that advise readers that Kingdom of the Blind can be read as a stand-alone novel. It just isn't. Little description is spent on illustrating the complicated social relationships between the members of the Three Pines community in this book, and I imagine a new reader wondering what the Hell the duck is all about. Without understanding the history of these people, then Three Pines is reduced to simply an address rather than the sanctuary it has become for its residents.In Kingdom of the Blind, Inspector Gamache has been suspended as head of the Surete because he allowed large amounts of fentanyl to pass through state security in order to close down a powerful drug cartel. He has waited for months to learn what, if any, punishment he will face; but, despite his suspension, he is still allowed to assist in the investigation of crimes. Much depends on whether the illicit drugs Gamache let through the border can be recovered before it reaches the drug-addicted community that it will wreak havoc upon.At the same time, Gamache and Myrna, his neighbor in Three Pines, have been appointed as two of three executors of the will of a recently deceased person that neither knew. To complicate matters, shortly after their appointment, one of the heirs of the deceased woman is found dead; murdered, in the family home. Solving the murder, and getting to the truth of this complicated family's history is an important subplot in the novel.Ms. Penny seems to me to be a student of ethics, highly aware of the irony of structures, both governmental and personal, charged with enforcing an ethical system while violating their own ethical system. Reading her books, for me, is always a valuable, if sometimes painful, reminder that we can all do better. I hope she will continue to write about Inspector Gamache and Three Pines, because I think she has more to say.

Louise Penny writes beautifully. This book is the 14th in her series featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and a large cast of well-developed continuing characters. The characters are so well developed that you really must read the series in order so that you will have the joy of knowing these people. You will not fully appreciate who they are if you do not know how they got here, the sorrows they carry, the scars they bear, and love they know. This book picks up very closely after the end of Glass Houses. Inspector Gamache has been suspended for the unorthodox and high risk actions that he took to collapse a drug trafficking ring in that book which left a large cache of deadly drugs missing. There are two main plots in this book. The first plotline involves those drugs and the second involves a mystery beginning with Armand, Myrna, and another person being named as co-executors of a near stranger’s will. The story lines are very different, but they are skillfully woven together to make a complex, not confusing, novel. There are twists and turns as secrets are uncovered and clues deciphered. Louise Penny has established her own subgenre as literary mysteries. From the title, to the internal references, there are ties to literature and the Bible that help define the characters and add a great deal to the story and the atmosphere. Her books are ones that we pre-order and anticipate. They have a strong sense of place in Three Pines and Montreal Canada. Even as she deals with contemporary plots, credible threats, and violence, most of her continuing characters are infused with kindness, integrity, and decency. All written with the resonance of truth and without a trace of sappiness.

KINGDOM OF THE BLIND is Louise Penny’s new novel in her Armand Gamache series.Armand Gamache (the former Head of Homicide; the current Chief Superintendent of the Surete du Quebec - on suspension), Myrna Landers (owner of Three Pines Bookshop) and Benedict Pouliot arrive at an abandoned, derelict house in the countryside. They have all received a ‘summons’ from a notary stating that they are liquidators/executors of a will left by a Bertha Baumgartner. A mystery, in that none of the three people - Armand, Myrna, and Benedict - say they know or have heard of said B Baumgartner.While the mysterious will is an opening plot point, there are other mysteries that follow.The plot details are so detailed. And the characters are all so painstakingly drawn. But the real power of a Louise Penny book is in the written word.Reading this book is my own personal, perfect moment of Zen.I noted several passages but two that stand out for me are:Armand is speaking with Isabelle Lacoste and says, “What I was going to say is that my mentor had this theory that our lives are like an aboriginal longhouse.” “He said that if we thought we could compartmentalize things, we were deluding ourselves. Everyone we meet, every word we speak, every action taken or not taken lives in our longhouse. With us. Always. Never to be expelled or locked away.”Armand Gamache’s code of conduct. Four steps which lead to wisdom. “I don’t know. I need help. I was wrong. I’m sorry.”Ms. Penny’s acknowledgements will bring tears to your eyes.

Armand Gamache, former head of the Surete du Quebec, receives a letter from a notary, asking him to come to a farmhouse about 20 minutes from Gamache’s village of Three Pines. Once there, he discovers that Myrna Landers, owner of the bookstore in the village, has received the same letter. As has a young man from Montreal, a building contractor. The notary explains that they have been asked to be executors of a will of a woman known as “the Baroness.”The Baroness has left millions in capital and real estate to her three children. The problem is that the Baroness was a cleaning lady, who had not amassed anything close to the sizeable fortune cited in the will. Her three adult children have heard the stories – a family feud buried under longstanding litigation that goes back to 19th century Vienna and has somehow survived the collapse of the Habsburg Empire and the confiscation by the Nazis. The litigation is still ongoing, but is there any fortune left?Then the Baroness’s oldest son is found dead. What at first appears to be an accident turns out to be murder, and Gamache and his son-in-law (and chief of homicide) Jean-Guy Beauvoir find themselves investigating financial management firms, old Austrian wills, and what looks to be a very contemporary case of fraud.Gamache has another issue on his hands. A dead form of fentanyl is about to hit the streets of Montreal. It is the drug supply that Gamache has allowed into the country in the previous novel, Glass Houses, to break up a huge drug supply ring. But some of the drugs disappeared, and the Surete is undertaking an internal investigation of Gamache with the end of destroying him. Gamache has to find the drugs before a disaster of death hits the streets.“Kingdom of the Blind” by Canadian mystery writer Louise Penny is the 14th in the Armand Gamache series, and it maintains Penny’s consistently high quality of work. The reader is hooked into the story from the outset, and the story just won’t let go.Penny is a master of characterization. She helps us crawl inside her characters’ heads, and it is from there that we watch each new development unfold. And the regular cast of characters from Three Pines make their contributions to the story (and the case being investigated), especially crazy poet Ruth Zardo, artist Clara Morrow, and Ruth’s duck Rosa. At the center of the drug case is Amelia Choquet, the former prostitute and all-around bad girl that Gamache recruited for the police academy and who’s been dismissed (and almost arrested) for drug possession.And it wouldn’t be a Gamache novel without snow. A lot of snow.“Kingdom of the Blind” has a kind of valedictory feel to it. Penny explains in an afterword that she didn’t think she would write another Gamache novel after the death of her husband. The way the novel ends, it could be the last, if Penny so decides.Or perhaps not. We hope.

As I have written many times before, I read every new Gamache book within a week of its publication. Some I have loved, some I have liked, a couple I didn’t like or love. But I read them because they take me back home—to my home town of Montreal, to the Eastern Townships that were my magical playground every summer of my childhood. I understand Penny’s nuances, her references to the brutal Quebec winter, the gorgeous food, the quirky way we Quebecois of looking at life in its glory and its murk.In this book she continues her story of the brutality of opioids begun in her last book. It was difficult to read about the dark underbelly of Montreal, of its downtown, Ste. Catherine Street. Montreal comes across as very dark in this book, both its mean streets but also its more wealthy, financial part. I don’t want to think of my wonderful city, of the downtown that was always so special to me, as harboring such destitution and such smugness. Although of course it does.Some of the plot is a bit too pat, to my mind, she’s tied up things too neatly, too fast after a long build-up. And there are a couple of small side stories that I wish were expanded on more—the little girl in the red hat being mone. And the alternate storyline to the drugs, about a long-held feud between two Viennese Jewish families chasing wealth, is a bit, “odd.” The intersection of characters, and the mystery that begins the book, is quite convoluted. But I liked it because, to my mind, it lent itself quite well to the police procedural part of the book. And of course for those of us familiar with the Gamache series, the life that revolves around Three Pines is always convoluted.So my annual trip to Quebec is over. Instead of the biting cold of a Quebec winter, I gaze out to the sunshine and mildness of an Arizona winter. Thank you Louise. It’s been a wonderful Christmas gift.

I wrote a 1 star review earlier saying I received a copy with 2 chapters missing and no one was doing anything about it.I am happy to report I was wrong. I received a complete copy of the book a few day later but it makes me wonder how many received the publisher run-off with 2 chapters missing.Now Amazon wants me to review and I shall do my best.First thing is that it gets 4 stars and not the usual five I give a Louis Penny Gamache series book. I enjoyed it immensely but it felt as if she never quite....got...enough...steam....to.....keep....going. Her pace was laboured, in other words. The characters, although aptly drawn, didn't exude their usual level of spirit. What happened, I wondered?When I read Acknowledgements at the back of the book, I found out. What happened is that her husband had died.From what she says, his presence in her life and in her art was much to lose. In that case, I congratulate her for having finished the book whatsoever. (I don't know what I'd do if my husband died. I'd be too busy having fun. JOKE....maybe:-)Otherwise, except missing some "zip", it's a very good book in the series and touches on the opioid crises in both Canada and the U. In the magnificent Montreal, is the the gritty, filthy inner core of Montreal where the disenfranchised hang out. It is so graphically portrayed that I thought she must have gone there to explore the area.One technicality puzzled me. Can't remember the book, but one of the early ones had the team of detectives and support staff in the village tracking down a killer. They had to hard-wire all their computers since there was no wifi available . This was because the surrounding mountainous terrain blocked signals.And yet, in "Kingdom of the Blind" people are using their cell phones at will in the village. Pardon me if this is a "duh" moment, but wouldn't those same mountains block cell signals? And if the village is that remote and hardly anyone knows it's there, why would there be a cell tower nearby? Montreal's a little far away for them to be able to catch a signal, especially in mountainous terrain. In fact, it would be impossible.Perhaps Penny's next book should be written to explain the mystery of a cell phone signal in this area.One