A World of Curiosities
A Novel
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4.5 • 353 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Agatha Award Winner for Best Contemporary Novel
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.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
While investigating several deaths in the quaint town of Three Pines, Louise Penny’s charming, razor-sharp hero Chief Inspector Armand Gamache unearths a famous 17th-century painting in a bricked-up attic. But this is no typical piece of art—it’s packed with hidden messages relating to the community’s dark history and its potentially deadly future. This thrilling story jumps between the past and present, amping up the suspense with powerful themes of misogyny, deceit, forgiveness, and even a hint of the supernatural. Through it all, a web of emotionally complex characters keeps you glued to the page. Even if you’re new to Penny’s long-running Gamache series, this mystery is sure to charm you.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bestseller Penny's virtuoso 18th novel featuring Chief Insp. Armand Gamache of the Québec Sûreté (after 2021's The Madness of Crowds) blends nuanced characterization with nail-biting suspense. Siblings Fiona and Sam Arsenault return to Three Pines more than a decade after Gamache investigated the bludgeoning murder of their mother, Clotilde. His inquiry revealed that Clotilde had prostituted her children, then 13 and 10, at the time of the killing. During the case, he met his future number two and son-in-law, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, who came to a different conclusion than his own. Gamache stayed involved in Fiona's life, even aiding her graduate studies in engineering. The Arsenaults' arrival coincides with several murders, which seem connected to an unusual painting found concealed in a hidden room in Three Pines. It first appears to be a duplicate of The Paston Treasure, a cryptic 17th-century assemblage of items known as A World of Curiosities, but anachronistic elements, such as a digital watch, have been added. Penny adds crucial details about Gamache's backstory and satisfactorily resolves a plotline tease from earlier in the series. This tale of forgiveness and redemption will resonate with many.
Customer Reviews
Best Book yet ….
Absolutely one of the best books I’ve read. Louise Penny does it again. I love the series, the characters are like old friends. Having John Fleming show up again wrote for a brilliant read.
Tout un suspense!
J’ai tout simplement a-do-ré! J’avais peine à déposer le livre tellement j’avais hâte de voir ce qui allait se passer. Je le recommence à l’instant pour le savourer davantage! Merci Mme Penny!