Minotaur Books
The Beautiful Mystery: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel
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The brilliant novel in the New York Times bestselling series by Louise Penny, one of the most acclaimed crime writers of our time.
No outsiders are ever admitted to the monastery of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups, hidden deep in the wilderness of Quebec, where two dozen cloistered monks live in peace and prayer. They grow vegetables, they tend chickens, they make chocolate. And they sing. Ironically, for a community that has taken a vow of silence, the monks have become world-famous for their glorious voices, raised in ancient chants whose effect on both singer and listener is so profound it is known as "the beautiful mystery."
But when the renowned choir director is murdered, the lock on the monastery's massive wooden door is drawn back to admit Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir of the Sûreté du Québec. There they discover disquiet beneath the silence, discord in the apparent harmony. One of the brothers, in this life of prayer and contemplation, has been contemplating murder. As the peace of the monastery crumbles, Gamache is forced to confront some of his own demons, as well as those roaming the remote corridors. Before finding the killer, before restoring peace, the Chief must first consider the divine, the human, and the cracks in between.
The Beautiful Mystery is the winner of the 2012 Agatha Award for best novel, the 2013 Anthony Award for best novel and the 2013 Macavity Award for best novel.
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Book Details
ISBN:
9781250031129
EAN:
1250031125
Binding:
Paperback
Pages:
400
Authors:
Louise Penny
Publisher:
Minotaur Books
Published Date: 2013-02-07
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I enjoyed this one a lot during the final hundred and fifty pages. I missed our dear friends in Three Pines but also loved the setting of this one.
I have enjoyed all seven in the series, but this one captured me on so many levels. The extensive research needed to present this book is obvious. As a lifelong Catholic, I was amazed at the many details I didn't know about the history of monasteries and the monks who keep them alive for so long.Kudos to Louise Penny for her wonderful writing.
I thought the book moved slowly. I had trouble picking up where I left off. It was a lot of the same, kinda boring. I enjoyed hearing about the plainchant. Is there really such a thing as plainchant?
I had some trouble with this one. I went from thinking of giving it up halfway because I was afraid of the outcome. Then i would try to rush through some chapters to see what was going to happen. I would stop for a while, then I would get up my courage and keep going. This happened a few times. Even kept me awake one night worrying about what would hapoen. The end was so much worse than anything I imagined. At the end I was sad and mad! I am glad I followed it through, but hope that things will get better in the next book or two. I almost gave up the whole series.It was very well written as all these books are. I learned a bit about Gregorian Chant and even listened to a few from the Benedictines. I never knew exactly what it was and thanks to the excellent research in this book, i know some history. The books are fiction, but the author does amazing research into the historical details. It really lures the reader in and one gets to know the characters so well. Its like you want to step in and help.I am carefully moving on to the next book in the series hoping that there is a good outcome for the characters. This book was not set in Three Pines and the quirky folks from Three Pines were not in this book at all. I missed them. Hope they are back in the next book!Thanks for the good read....(I think)
I am a huge fan of the Armand Gamache series, but I prefer the ones set in three Pines. The Beautiful Mystery begins by delving deeper into the lives of Gamache, Beauvoir, and Armand’s daughter, Annie. I like when the over arching storyline continues to move forward in each installment.The setting of The Beautiful Mystery is absolutely breathtaking. I love the solitude and isolation of the small wooded island. I loved the juxtaposition of the head of the Sûreté and the head of the abbey. Just when you think the tension is at its breaking point, the hound of the Lord shows up!Things really take off from there. There are many themes that are explored, including finding healing/peace, accepting our human weakness, escaping or dealing with the past, division among followers, and the power of silence. The Beautiful Mystery ponders, “the Divine, the human, and the cracks in between.”I am a lover of all music and have listened to Gregorian Chants throughout my life, so I enjoyed this aspect of the book. I greatly enjoyed Umberto Echo’s The Name of the Rose, so I greatly enjoyed a murder mystery set Inside the closed walls of a religious order. If that type of story appeals to you, or a good “everyone’s a suspect” in a locked room mystery (my favorite is the movie Clue), I highly recommend this book.
