The Beautiful Mystery

A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel

By: Louise Penny

Narrated by: Ralph Cosham

Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Nominee, Mystery, 2013

The brilliant new novel in the New York Times best-selling 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.

©2012 Three Pines Creations, Inc. (P)2012 Macmillan Audio

Monks, Music and Murder

The unlikely murder of a monk at a little known monastery hidden deep within the wilderness of Quebec, takes Inspector Gamache and Beauvoir into a centuries old world . . . very different than their usual setting of Three Pines, the two find themselves in a mysterious, secretive place, where silence is of great value . . . faith rules the hearts . . . or does it? And above all, the reverence for ancient Gregorian chants rivals even the love of God . . . even though this tale is a departure from Three Pines, it is absolutely mesmerizing . . . and gives us a deeper look inside Gamache and Beauvoir, and the demons they continue to face following the shooting in the warehouse, which left them both irreparably damaged . . . the momentum is building, too, within the Sûreté du Québec to bring Inspector Gamache and his team down permanently . . . with the leaked video of the warehouse shooting continually being used to manipulate the injured . . . the battle between good and evil, peace and turmoil is very well depicted in The Beautiful Mystery . . . the setting of the monastery, its hidden passages, the solace inside its walls, makes for a great setting for an extraordinary tale of the human condition . . . in life and death . . . the resolution of the monk's murder was ingenious . . . I am on to the next book . . .

pretty tired of Jean-Guy's bull

I must give Ms. Penny credit for not taking the usual route of "all is well in the end", with this book. though this book is centered on a lovely sounding, literally, monastery, that storyline becomes the background for Jean-Guy's hissy fits, and delusions. If you like the long, drawn out will he or won't he type of scenario, you will enjoy this book. i prefer a little more focus on the mystery myself, hence the 3 stars.

Loved it, it broke my heart

Inspector Gamache novels by Louise Penny are one of my go-to, comfort books. I absolutely love the narration. The combination of the excellent writing and narration weave a spell about me and it feels like I'm there in the story with the characters, living and feeling what they feel. I don't know if I would have the same love and feeling for the books if I read it versus listening to it because I do not speak or read French (my friend who read it couldn't get into like I did). But holy cow, the audible books are so very smart, intelligent, and thoroughly entertaining.

Beautiful Mystery was a tough book to finish, not because of the writing or narration, but because of what happened between Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir...it broke my heart.

beautiful

The mix of music, story, conflict, plot, and descriptive writing almost takes the reader-listener to the monastery. I especially liked the choice and background concerning the plain chant. I read this book 2x before listening to the audible version. I like both versions, actually I like all the Louise Penny books in the series.
Some years ago, I went to the local public library for some books to read. I noticed this book was about music. My wife was very active in music. I took the book out for her, originally. My wife read it and I read it. This was our first book we read in the Gamache series (slightly out of order). After reading this book, we were "hooked" on the Gamache series of books. We read them all and purchased most of them. If you like Tolkien you will like the Gamache books, too.

No French here

When the reader reads the audiobook, I would like the English interpretation of that word or phrase, the first time it is used. Since it’s audio, it’s difficult to determine the spelling to look it up.
Thanks

Enjoyable but not the best one

This book was an enjoyable inspector gamache story. Its almost a stand alone book as none of the familiar 3 pines characters are present which i missed

Not exactly gripping

At time the story gets slow, but I still wanted to see the mystery solved.

Delightfully soothing. Held my attention.

Love all the Chief Inspector Gamache novels! Please Louise keep writing them! ❤️ start with the first one and move through them all. Highly recommend this series.

Beautiful and surprising

Where does The Beautiful Mystery rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Beautiful Mystery ranks high on my list of favorite reads/listens of the past two years.

What did you like best about this story?

Beautiful Mystery left me breathless with surprise. I've read a number of Inspector Gamach stories. Louise Penny likes to pace her stories with great detail that pulls the reader though the details of most of the main characters lives. Though the Inspector is the dominating force of the series, it is the supporting characters that drive the plot. Beautiful Mystery is no exception.

In this case the Deputy (sorry, I don't have his name at the moment, I am away from the book right now) and the workings of his inner life serve to create enormous empathy towards him. The Deputy's confusion and moments of clarity create conflict and confusion for all involved.

Which character – as performed by Ralph Cosham – was your favorite?

The Deputy

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Beautfiful, Stunning

Any additional comments?

I believe that this is a book to be savored. Louise Penny is an author who insists that the reader appreciate the nuances of life. the reader who insists on a quick jolt of excitement and drama may become frustrated. This can lead to moments where the book seems to drag. One might ask, "do I really need that much detail?". However, when the book draws to a close (with a truly stunning end), most will appreciate the time the spent with each character.

Good but poor ending

Would you listen to The Beautiful Mystery again? Why?

Not really! I thought the ending was weak.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Not what I expected... Tended to fade out.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Added more mystery to the last third and ended with a twist.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

NO

Any additional comments?

The story was interesting and the setting fascinating. Characters were good but one was really unnecessary.