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A World of Curiosities: A Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery, NOW A MAJOR TV SERIES CALLED THREE PINES

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The writing was typical Penny, lots of lyrical sections, poems, dialogue, cliffhangers. But the flow in this one was up and down. It started off very strong and then it just started to drag, especially towards the end. Well I enjoyed this one too, but.... it just contained too much. I think the editor should have suggested leaving out the two children and just going for the super crazy yet incredibly smart killer. Or vice versa. Either would do. Both was overkill. (pun - sorry). This situation sets the stage for what ends up being the main conflict in the novel. A secret room is found in Harriet’s aunt’s attic, with a huge, seemingly-historical painting that was actually painted recently and which seems to contain clues to some impending doom for Gamache. This room, the painting, and the murder case they begin to unravel through it has great potential that ultimately peters out. It doesn’t end up being a red herring so much as just a big old billboard advertising a murder plan. The Sam and Fiona conflict also gets wrapped into this convoluted murder plan that veers into unrealistic and overwrought. 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 I found the book so well written as usual, but so tough becaus eof the child abuse part. Yes, if the author had been somebody other than Penny, I would have DNFed it.

Electrifying drama … the bodies pile up, the intensity and horror are reminiscent of Thomas Harris at his finest. Gamache is a fascinatingly complex protagonist’ BOOK OF THE MONTH, THE TIMES Finding the room is the easy part. What’s inside it is utterly confounding. At first glance it appears to be a huge painting, a real-life work from the 17th century known as “The Paston Treasure” — but that painting, though its origins and painter are mysteries, is in fact housed in a museum in England. 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. I’m always a little surprised to hear Louise Penny’s mysteries featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache referred to as “cozies.” Perhaps those readers are responding to the charming Quebec town of Three Pines that’s home to Gamache and his wife, Reine-Marie, a postcard-worthy hamlet with a population of quirky but lovable characters.A World of Curiosities is a fiction book written by Canadian author and former journalist Louise Penny. It is the 18th novel in a series of mystery novels featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. [1] It was published by Minotaur Books [2] as a sequel to Penny's 2021 book The Madness of Crowds. [3] So, it’s a lot, yeah, in a relatively short space. An elaborate, complicated (and/or bloated) plot, where Penny takes on the notion of “evil,” which she knows exists, and “insanity” and “lunatics” that have to be faced. 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. I enjoyed seeing the darker sides of Gamache. No human is a saint, we're all sinners. And not in any religious sense, we are by nature petty, jealous and vengeful - it's just that we contain this in different measures and some have so many more virtuous traits that their darker streaks rarely show. But they are there.

I have dispatcht this chimicall embassador to let thee knowe that I am passing well, but what I shall returne home I am a little doubtfull. One while we are Italians, Another while Tur’ks, by & by Egiptians, & eftsoones merry Greeks, but all very well and handsome . . . I might spend another week and not see all the rarityes. Indeed heer is a world of curiosityes & some very rich ones, as cabinets & Juells.” 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. There are a few other things that I think are worth critiquing, and be warned, spoilers are coming! 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. Culley, Joanne (2023-03-11). "Otonabee Ward: Books can help us get through the last days of a Peterborough winter". The Peterborough Examiner . Retrieved 2023-03-26.

Book review

For Penny, the novel is a narrative tour de force, drawing brilliantly on some dark moments in Québec history and leading Gamache and the residents of Three Pines to a hard-won, thoroughly unsentimental recognition that forgiveness is our most powerful magic.” — Booklist (starred review)

The attic copy of the Paston painting is subtly altered with sinister additions, and Gamache is certain it's the work of his sworn enemy, serial killer John Fleming. Gamache believes the painting is a death threat from Fleming, but the killer's been incarcerated for years. Three Pines is indeed a cozy haven. But Gamache knows monsters lurk beyond it, and sometimes come right in.

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it begins in the past, with recollections of the murder of a prostitute and drug addict whose two children were discovered to be victims of sexual abuse. The case has haunted Gamache and his second in command Jean Guy Beauvoir for many years. 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. It’s hard not to have favorite characters. One may be the brilliant and fascinating character of Amelia Choquet with her complex history. She is described by Myrna as—"If Ruth and a trash compactor had a child,…” Her use of three particular lines at the end of the book is incredibly powerful. As the villagers prepare for a special celebration, Armand Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir find themselves increasingly worried. A young man and woman have reappeared in the Sûreté du Québec investigators’ lives after many years. The two were young children when their troubled mother was murdered, leaving them damaged, shattered. Now they’ve arrived in the village of Three Pines. Fortunately, I have never had anything as horrendous as the actions in this novel to forgive. I have a tendency to hold onto something and gnaw on it for quite a while until I finally am ready to stop and begin moving forward. I find as I am getting older (and hopefully wiser) this time is shortening. Giving forgiveness, including to myself, allows me to grow and continue on my path in a meaningful way instead of stagnating.

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