Tag: Three Pines

A World of Curiosities by Louis Penny (Literary Mystery)

Number 18 in the extremely (and understandably) popular Inspector Gamache from Louise Penny. An absolute page turner; I read it in just a couple of sittings (was preparing to host a party — had to take some breaks to cook and clean!).

In addition to the actual who-done-it or who-is-about-to-do-it plot line, I found it full of scenarios that triggered thought about when to trust your instincts and how even well-trained professionals can be subject to bias and manipulation. Also — despite Gamache’s overwhelming kindness and ability to see potential in people who have been tossed aside by the rest of humanity — the book appears to admit to some people being beyond redemption, broken to the point of no return, even hinting at some genetic predisposition to “badness.”

As always, the book is full of interesting arcana — literary references, historical notes, and art commentary, including a full description of an enormous (and unfortunately fictional as I would love to see it) painting called “A World of Curiosities.”

I can definitely pick a few holes of the “why wouldn’t he have thought of that” variety, but why bother? Completely gripping.

The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny (Mystery / Literary fiction)

Plot: 4.5/5 Characters: 4/5 Writing: 4.5/5

Chief Inspector Gamache is asked to provide security for a statistics lecturer at an abruptly scheduled speaking engagement between Christmas and New Years. But this isn’t just any lecturer. Abigail Robinson is drawing large crowds with her message of a simple solution to all the misery and pending economic collapse threatening the post-Covid world. It is a simple message (clothed in psuedo-compassionate language): just kill all of the weak and defective people soaking up the majority of the world’s resources.

The topic is masterfully handled. There is an attempt on Robinson’s life at the lecture, and later there is an actual murder to solve, but the backdrop of the plot is the way an unpopular message can be skillfully turned into a popular delusion. The “delusion” (I believe) is that the proposal would be a mercy and a kindness to everyone, including those who are to be euthanized. The philosophical discussion takes place throughout the book as different characters struggle with the concepts of burden, empathy, and fear in their own personal lives. Robinson is friendly, soft spoken and earnest. She knows how to paint the terrifying picture and then soothe it with easy solutions, tempering the calls for murder with the promise of compassion and pity and “all will be well.”

As always, Penny’s crime fiction is impossible to put down. Her writing is on a par with good literary fiction, her plots twisted and surprising, and of course it’s difficult to not be in love with all the characters we’ve come to know throughout the previous 16 books (an interesting new character is introduced — an “Asshole Saint” in the form of a curt woman from the Sudan who is up for the Nobel Peace Prize).

There have been a few recent Penny books that I haven’t loved, but this isn’t one of them. I’m already waiting for number 18 …