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

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Louise Penny succumbs to the Woke culture. There is little character development, almost no humor, the award winning style of her other books is entirely missing. The usual murder intertwined with Three Pines life and a social problem is abandoned. Now she spends her time arguing for gun control, better support for emotionally damaged children and other social problems in a manner that makes one think she is shaking her finger at you. This story is about pedophilia, of course supported by corrupt police and a killer the tortures his victims before decapitating them. In this book Chief Inspector Gamache is more human than ever before. Maybe the author has finally realized that her main character was a little too saintly in his goodness and forgiving nature. In this book, he's taken in an orphan, Fiona. However, Fiona is a recently released child offender, and she has a brother Sam, that Gamache cannot stand. Think of that huh, he finally meets a person he really hates! A copy of a painting, the original of which is in England: The Paston Treasure, (yes, it’s a real painting) at Norwich Castle Museum, depicts objects from the collections of a local landed family. The Pastons established one of the most extensive cabinets of rarities and curiosities in seventeenth-century England—it boasted no fewer than six hundred decorative art objects, including shell cups, crystal vessels, a pair of crocodiles, gemstones, musical instruments, and paintings. Some guy (not revealed until later) makes a copy of this painting and has contemporary images superimposed on some of the original objects and hides it in a sealed room in a house in Three Pines. The only fly in the ointment for Gamache is that Fiona's brother Sam, whom Gamache dislikes and distrusts, is coming to town for a visit.

When the investigators inform Clothilde's children, Fiona (14) and Sam (10), the kids behave oddly. Afterwards the detectives learn the Arsenault home was so abusive the siblings might never recover. The detectives also sense something 'off' about the youngsters, with Gamache thinking Sam is a sociopath and Beauvoir believing the same about Fiona. Simply outstanding… Penny’s gift for intelligent and transcendent storytelling delivers light, bringing themes of forgiveness and redemption to society’s darker moments.” — Christian Science Monitor

Penny delves into the nature of evil, sensitively exploring the impact of the dreadful events she describes while bringing a warmth and humanity to her disparate cast of characters that, unusually for a crime novel, leaves you feeling better about the world once you’ve finished.” —The Guardian There are few authors I have discovered over the years who can write so fluidly and enticingly about Canada than Louie Penny. She knows her stuff and keeps the reader in the middle of each story. Strong writing and powerful plots are complemented by characters who evolve and devolve simultaneously, but never to the point of disappearing completely. While Three Pines may be a lovely destination, it is anything but boring with Louise Penny’s pen.

The most richly accomplished of the brothers’ pairings to date—and given Connelly’s high standards, that’s saying a lot. The objects were collected by Sir Robert and Sir William who made acquisitions on a long journey travelling through Europe and on to Cairo and Jerusalem. The collection consisted of over 200 objects and included many natural curiosities made into decorative art objects, such as mounted seashells and ostrich eggs. The painting was unknown for centuries, and before it was donated to the Norwich Castle Museum in 1947, its last owner warned that it was "very faded, of no artistic value, only curious from an archaeological point of view." [4] It is now on display, with the strombus shell in an enamelled mount, as part of the Norwich Castle Museum Collection. In addition to an excellent mystery, Penny explores sexual abuse of children, misogyny, and gun crimes while holding me in the safety and comfort of Three Pines and the familiar cast of characters. This is the 18th title in the series featuring Armand Gamache, head of the Sûreté du Québec, and his friends and neighbours in the small village of Three Pines. It has all the features we’ve come to expect and love: the camaraderie of the inhabitants of Three Pines; the Chief’s intuitive understanding of human nature and an intricately woven, emotionally nuanced plot. Time passes and Gamache and his wife, Reine-Marie, have looked out for Fiona. She is graduating now with a degree in engineering. But Sam has always made Gamache uncomfortable. His cold stares reach into the inner workings of Gamache. Not much unsettles Gamache in life, but this young man does.The world is fueled by an inner desire to see experiences as a means to fulfillment. But just which side of the dark/light road leads us to that end?

A World of Curiosities is the 18th in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series, and it was breathtaking! How does author Louise Penny keep finding these ideas, the plots, the brilliant writing that turns into a book like this? The world of curiosities that Armand and Jean-Guy turned up, setting a huge puzzle which needed to be solved, was excellent. Highly recommended. There are a few other things that I think are worth critiquing, and be warned, spoilers are coming!In remembrance of the murdered female engineers and the recognition of the resilience of the survivors, Gamache and Reine-Marie attend the latest ceremony where Fiona herself graduates, she has been supported by Gamache through the years and lives in his home. He is unsettled and disturbed when Sam attends and is planning to stay at Three Pines, the troubling Sam is one of only two people who have been able to get inside his head, the other is imprisoned psychopath and monstrous serial killer, John Fleming. A strange historical letter written by a long dead stone mason leads to the discovery of a hidden walled in attic that is opened up by the villagers, within it is a long sought after grimoire and a odd version of the famous painting, The Paston Treasure, with its world of curiosities. The painting has a multitude of worrying hidden messages and puzzles that alarm and alert Gamache to an old foe intent on destroying everything and everyone Gamache holds dear.