Glass Houses
A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel
-
-
4.5 • 1.4K Ratings
-
-
- $12.99
Publisher Description
An instant New York Times Bestseller and August 2017 LibraryReads pick!
“Penny’s absorbing, intricately plotted 13th Gamache novel proves she only gets better at pursuing dark truths with compassion and grace.” —PEOPLE
“Louise Penny wrote the book on escapist mysteries.” —The New York Times Book Review
“You won't want Louise Penny's latest to end….Any plot summary of Penny’s novels inevitably falls short of conveying the dark magic of this series.... It takes nerve and skill — as well as heart — to write mysteries like this. ‘Glass Houses,’ along with many of the other Gamache books, is so compelling that, for the space of reading it, you may well feel that much of what’s going on in the world outside the novel is ‘just noise.’” —Maureen Corrigan, The Washington Post
When a mysterious figure appears in Three Pines one cold November day, Armand Gamache and the rest of the villagers are at first curious. Then wary. Through rain and sleet, the figure stands unmoving, staring ahead.
From the moment its shadow falls over the village, Gamache, now Chief Superintendent of the Sûreté du Québec, suspects the creature has deep roots and a dark purpose. Yet he does nothing. What can he do? Only watch and wait. And hope his mounting fears are not realized.
But when the figure vanishes overnight and a body is discovered, it falls to Gamache to discover if a debt has been paid or levied.
Months later, on a steamy July day as the trial for the accused begins in Montréal, Chief Superintendent Gamache continues to struggle with actions he set in motion that bitter November, from which there is no going back. More than the accused is on trial. Gamache’s own conscience is standing in judgment.
In Glass Houses, her latest utterly gripping book, number-one New York Times bestselling author Louise Penny shatters the conventions of the crime novel to explore what Gandhi called the court of conscience. A court that supersedes all others.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Louise Penny knows how to craft a gut-churning mystery that positions the human psyche as a central theme. This pageturner features her beloved and flawed hero Armand Gamache, chief inspector for the Quebec provincial police, whose investigations into drug trafficking and corruption dovetail with the appearance—and murder—of a strange robed figure in his tiny town. As Gamache testifies at the killer’s trial, Penny inches us ever closer to the truth, keeping the intrigue high with her handling of the complexities of guilt, conscience, and justice.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bestseller Penny's taut 13th novel featuring Chief Supt. Armand Gamache of the S ret du Qu bec (after 2016's A Great Reckoning) opens at a murder trial in a Montreal courtroom. Judge Maureen Corriveau, who's trying her first homicide case, suspects that something is wrong with Gamache's testimony and the conduct of the Chief Crown Prosecutor. As for Gamache, who was the arresting officer in the case, he "knew perfectly well who the murderer was. He was just a little afraid that something would go wrong. And a particularly cunning killer would go free." Flash back to the recent past, when an ominous costumed figure starts to appear regularly on the green of Gamache's home town of Three Pines. The subsequent discovery by Gamache's wife of the murder victim in the local church leads to the unearthing of some disturbing, long-buried secrets that affect the entire community. The familiar, sometimes eccentric, denizens of Three Pines and Gamache's loyal investigative team help propel the plot to an exciting, high-stakes climax.
Customer Reviews
Read in one sitting during Hurricane Irma
This book was fantastic beyond belief. I have always enjoyed Ms Penny's novels but the capture of the impact of the opioids trade was monumental.
Worth the wait
I waited for this with such anticipation and hard as I tried to stretch it out I could not - I ate it all in one glorious gulp. One caveat - you can't skim this one. It requires real focus to keep the timeline straight and the characters in line. Little things mean a lot. A great read.
A wondrous addition to the series
I read hundreds of books each year and enjoy or are at least interested in most of them. Louise Penny's books, however, have drawn me into the tiny town in Quebec and never released me. Most of the characters have flaws, but their essential goodness shines through. This book was wondrous, but I suggest that you start with the first in the series.