A World of Curiosities

A Novel

De: Louise Penny

Narrado por: Robert Bathurst

"Robert Bathurst performs this 18th Inspector Gamache mystery with the assurance of one who knows the village of Three Pines and its (mostly) gentle residents well....fans are in for a treat."—AudioFile Magazine (Earphones Award Winner)

"Robert Bathurst's narration is calm, collected, and earnest, reflecting the blend of emotion and professionalism that Gamache embodies as an investigator. It's perfect for listeners seeking both captivating intrigue and insightful reflection."—BookPage

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache returns in the eighteenth book in #1 New York Times bestseller Louise Penny's beloved series.

It’s spring and Three Pines is reemerging after the harsh winter. But not everything buried should come alive again. Not everything lying dormant should reemerge.

But something has.

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.

But to what end?

Gamache and Beauvoir’s memories of that tragic case, the one that first brought them together, come rushing back. Did their mother’s murder hurt them beyond repair? Have those terrible wounds, buried for decades, festered and are now about to erupt?

As Chief Inspector Gamache works to uncover answers, his alarm grows when a letter written by a long dead stone mason is discovered. In it the man describes his terror when bricking up an attic room somewhere in the village. Every word of the 160-year-old letter is filled with dread. When the room is found, the villagers decide to open it up.

As the bricks are removed, Gamache, Beauvoir and the villagers discover a world of curiosities. But the head of homicide soon realizes there’s more in that room than meets the eye. There are puzzles within puzzles, and hidden messages warning of mayhem and revenge.

In unsealing that room, an old enemy is released into their world. Into their lives. And into the very heart of Armand Gamache’s home.

A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books.

©2022 Louise Penny (P)2022 Macmillan Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

2022, Barnes and Noble Best New Books of the Year, Long-listed

2022, Washington Post Best Books of the Year, Long-listed

2022, The Guardian (UK) Best Books of the Year, Long-listed

2022, Library Journal Best Books of the Year, Long-listed

“Virtuoso… blends nuanced characterization with nail-biting suspense…This tale of forgiveness and redemption will resonate with many. ” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Brilliant and Deep

Throughly researched. Wonderfully written. My new favorite line is “that the kids were running around “just one jellybean from Lord of the Flies.”

AWOC

This may be my favorite of the series so far. Great story with a lot of twists and turns. I do have to warn listeners that there are a lot of flashbacks and it is not clear when it's happening. It was a bit confusing at the beginning of the book.

Love to get more background on Gamache & Beauvoir

This fall, I have reread the entire Inspector Gamache series so I was prepared for this new book. cannot think of another series that has kept my interest after 18 books. Inevitably with a series so long, there has to be an exploration of the characters in ways that will not entirely make sense of the timeline until this point. We previously know that Gamache got Beauvoir from his exile as an officer in charge of evidence lockup because no one wanted to work with him. A World of Curiosities explores that first case together and fills in the back story. Of course, new characters are introduced in ways that do not entirely fit in, but new characters must keep being introduced to the series to keep it fresh.

One of my minor frustrations with the series is that the Three Pines and the surrounding community expand and contract to fit the storyline. Again the community expands, and the history of Three Pines is explored. I appreciate most of this because it brings depth to the series to thicken the characters and setting. I want to say having finished the book about a week ago, I did enjoy the book, and I might go ahead and reread it before the end of the year.

On the positive side, this book explores Gamache’s weaknesses and resists making him too much of a perfect hero. I also appreciate how Penny uses real people and events to ground the series and provide ideas for the mysteries. In this case, the mass shooting at the start of Gamache’s career was an actual event. Likewise, the Paston Treasure painting, which is a significant part of The World of Curiosities, is also real. There are other real people referenced that I won’t detail for fear of giving away part of the story.

On the negative side, this book needs a content warning. Child sexual abuse and a ritualized serial killer are discussed in the book. I do not like reading about either of those two types of crime. It is one of the reasons I’m not too fond of the Robert Galbreath series, even if I like the main characters, because the crimes are stomach-churning.

Secondly and more problematic, I think, for this book and for maybe a sign of weakness in the series, this book, in particular, attempts to use the idea of being able to “see evil” in people as a theme.

"Gamache looked deep into Claude Boisfranc’s eyes and saw … nothing. Well, he didn’t see a monster, a lunatic. He did see anger, but that was not uncommon for a cop."

If something is clear from the history of crime, crime fiction, and even Christian theology, evil can’t be seen. Satan was supposed to be the most beautiful of all angels. Abusers are often likable and good-looking. I don’t understand how this can be a theme within the book at this point in the series, even if Penny is trying to subvert it. The fact that it is Gamache who discusses looking at people to see evil does not fit the character.

But in the end, this book expands our understanding of Gamache’s history, how Beauvoir came to work for Gamache, and how dealing with individual evil is part of pushing back against the systems of evil in the world.

Gripping!

This book has the most wonderful narrator. The story is so detailed and cleverly put together. Really intriguing.

Perfection

Once again Louise Penny kept me spellbound. Robert Bathhurst is an excellent reader which increases the joy in the storytelling.

Wow!

Louise Penny never fails to amaze! Her ability to brilliantly incorporate so much wisdom regarding the complexity of human nature into a murder mystery is nothing short of astonishing.
The quality of the audible reader/reading is
Excellent.

Curiously Compelling

As always, Louise Penny puts together disparate elements into a coherent whole and Robert Bathurst reads all the characters convincingly to life. It's hard to stop listening.

Excellent!

This is an excellent story. It is exciting. Compelling, unpredictable. It’s well read by Robert Bathurst.

The best Inspector Gamache yet!

Twisty, haunting. The same characters in the same village we’ve come to know and love. Louise Penny didn’t disappoint!

Brilliantly done - as always

I have been waiting for another one of this series and I was not disappointed. Penny is a fabulous storyteller. Well done!