A World of Curiosities

A World of Curiosities - Penny
Audio performance by R. Bathurst
5 stars

I’m not a fan of suspense thrillers. I dislike putting that kind of contrived tension into my life. There are only two authors who currently lure me to that dark side; J.K. Rowling as Robert Galbraith and Louise Penny. Neither of these women write cozy mysteries. Their books keep me up at night. And, I’m always waiting anxiously for the next book in the series.

This book was very dark. There should be trigger warnings attached. The plot includes horrific child abuse, two psychopathic killers and a mass shooting. I think I was a bit angry with the author for putting me through so much trauma, even though I was sure it was a 5 star book as soon as I finished it. show more I needed time to recover. Maybe the book should be marketed with a bunch of sage and sweetgrass for smudging. That ritual, in the final chapter, was as much a comfort to me as it was the characters.

I was impressed with the intricate plotting of this book. Penny’s skilled use of backflash ties Beauvoir and Gamache’s first horrific case to the current day murder investigation. Reaching further back, Penny uses an actual 1989 mass shooting as a pivotal experience for a young Armand Gamache. Again, repercussions of that event are tied to the current day mystery. The discovery of a hidden room in an historic Three Pines building reveals a 17th century grimoire and a bastardized copy of a famous painting. How does she tie all of these elements together so seamlessly? And, every additional detail serves to ratchet up the tension.

Penny’s author's notes (in the text, not included in the audio) are worth reading. She identifies forgiveness as a major theme of this book. True, as far as I can remember, the struggle to forgive permeates all of the books in this series. This book also takes a familiar feminist viewpoint and isn’t shy about taking a stand on gun control. show less

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 show more 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. show less

Once again, Penny has reminded us that 'appalling people are the exception" when we see and feel ongoing evil around us.

A World of Curiosities shows how the past impacts the present and future. The murder of a woman found in a lake years ago presents Gamache with the egregious circumstances of her daughter's and son's lives. Penny weaves their story with strands of an historical Canadian tragedy, and to the bizarre discovery of a closed-off room in Myrna's home filled with oddities.

All lead to a re-awakening of anger, resentment, revenge and evil. Gamache must be hyper-vigilant to stop what has been planned for years and is headed toward Three Pines.

Penny's books are exciting but more importantly they are smart, substantial, show more literary, artistic, musical, and comforting. show less

Summary: The arrival in Three Pines of a sister and brother involved in a murder case that brought Armand and Jean Guy and the opening of a sealed room and the strange painting found within confront Gamache with two of his greatest fears.

Bricks. They are all over this story. The instrument of murder in a case that brought Armand and Jean Guy together. The means used 160 years ago to seal up a room filled with strange objects and a copy of a famous painting altered in sinister ways signifying to Gamache that an old nemesis is on the loose.

The murder case and the room summon two fears in the mind of Gamache. The murder was of a drug-addicted prostitute who prostituted her children. Jean Guy, languishing in the basement of the district show more detachment under a corrupt boss, is called on to assist Gamache. As the mother had deteriorated, the children took over, and then murdered the mother. With a brick. The older girl, Fiona Arsenault, confessed, but Gamache was never certain. There was a chilling something about her brother Sam, something deeply broken and disturbing. And while Sam bonded with Jean Guy, he hated Gamache for ending what he and his sister had.

Fiona, against Gamache’s wishes, went to prison. While there, he sponsored her when she discovered an aptitude for engineering. He and Reine Marie became mentors to her. Sam survived, first in a foster home, then in a variety of jobs, traveling about, becoming a strikingly handsome young man.

In the present, Myrna’s niece Harriet is graduating, as is Fiona and they are all present. Fiona, now out of prison is staying with the Gamaches. Only Sam shows up as well, staying at the B & B. The contempt for Gamache is still there, and all his fears and instincts are aroused, even as Sam wins Harriet’s heart. Myrna, in her previous life as a psychiatrist, had interviewed Sam. She shared Gamache’s concerns that he could be a sociopath, or worse. Jean Guy disagrees.

Converging with all this, a 160 year old letter to Billy Williams reveals the existence of a hidden room bricked up by Billy’s ancestor, a stone mason. It is connected to Myrna’s loft and could make a great extra room for Harriet. Yet the reasons for bricking up the room and why this came to Billy at this time raise suspicions. And indeed, what they find in the room is “a world of curiosities.” There is an old grimoire, a book of potions, of herbal remedies, and more, that could get a woman killed for witchcraft. There is a stature that had gone missing after a strange guest stayed at the B & B, covered with strange markings. And there is a painting, a copy of The Paston Treasure with menacing additions from the present. It is the additions that increasingly disturb Gamache, as he figures out they are meant for him.

They signal that a nemesis thought to be locked away is afoot. How did these contemporary objects get into a sealed room? Only a meticulous mind could do this, a master of disguise. But he is locked away in a high security prison. Or is he?

Two who hated Gamache. Two with access to Three Pines. Even the home of the Gamaches, endangering all he loved. They both seem to know everything about Gamache. Can he get into their heads as they have his? And can he go deeper, and walk into his fears? And will it be enough?

So much has turned on the kindness of Gamache, especially to Fiona. Early on, a mentor had cautioned him with the words of Matthew 10:36, “And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.” Yet the Gamaches make themselves vulnerable in their care for Fiona, their tendency to take in the needy. They’ve also done this for Amelia Chocquet, even as years ago, they did so with Jean Guy, who has tried to show kindness to Sam. So much turns in this story on whether this is weakness, foolishness, or strength.

We also see two ways and their fruit: the way of a deep bitterness and how this consumes, and the way of facing one’s brokenness, the admission of wrongs and the power of forgiveness. Armand is forced by the evil that threatens to look in and wrestle with these two ways in his own life.

All I will say about the ending of this book is that if you have a heart condition, you may want to seek your physician’s advice before reading it. This is Louise Penny at the top of her game. show less

I am increasingly irritated. By Louise Penny. And her stilted sentence structure. I know it's supposed to build tension and create emphasis, but I find it jarring. Especially because she is such a great storyteller, her plots and characters stand on their own, and would be eminently readable even without these literary tricks. I missed the last adventure of Gamache & Co. because I couldn't read a pandemic novel during the pandemic, and I haven't felt up to going back to it. So I am moving on, and this is a twisty tale worthy of Sherlock Holmes -- but lacking the parlor reveal scene. In this outing, forces seem to be squeezing Armand Gamache from multiple sides -- the victim/perpetrators from the case that united him with Jean-Guy show more Beauvoir, and an old case involving a psychopathic serial killer, are rearing their ugly heads, and converging to create a truly terrifying situation that may best even the keen mind and instincts of the Chief Inspector. Everyone around him seems to be in peril, and he struggles to stay ahead of the bad guys as the noose tightens, and he tries to figure out who he can trust. I was definitely speeding through the last couple of chapters, and as usual, Penny left me hanging in the climactic scene, instead revealing the final details after the characters have achieved some calm and closure. As ever, delicious food is eaten, poetry is recited, and love is felt, even as the world is unraveling. These novels are like a comfy pair of slippers -- you know how they're going to fit, even if a hole appears in your toe when you least expect it. show less

Penny does it again, bringing us into Gamache's dark world of murderers and psychopaths. She does a tremendous job of exploring Gamache's psychology and his failings while at the same time walking us through time and space with Paston's Treasure. Certainly using the painting as a key into multiple realities is brilliant. However, I was a little disappointed at how quickly I discovered the murderer and there were details that fit the narrative but were a bit sloppy (can anyone chose what name to travel under these days?). Still, I definitely enjoyed the tale and its originality.

»A tale of demons and witches, hidden rooms and unexpected saviors.
Of Fate both cruel and kind.«

“A World of Curiosities” by Louise Penny is another brilliant entry into a series that has long ensnared me with its curious mixture of crime, mystery and thriller in combination with true emotional depth. The almost mystic village of Three Pines and its cracked and sometimes broken inhabitants also plays a central role in this instalment.

Gamache no. 18 grants us insights into the past of Armand Gamache and how he came to join the homicide department of the Sûreté in the first place. Even more importantly to the story, though, we finally learn how both Armand and Jean-Guy Beauvoir first met each other which is enticing on its own. show more

Around this old case of murder and corruption, the story in this book evolves as the victims of the past re-emerge in Three Pines. A secret room, an old grimoire, a spellbook, a curious painting “The Paston Treasure” (nicknamed “A World of Curiosities”), a witch of old (and Ruth), an old nemesis - they all play a central role in this suspenseful novel.

»Jean-Guy Beauvoir, lashed to the mast, would sink or swim with this man. Their fates were bound together, as the winds howled, and the storm descended, and they traveled deeper into Hell.«

Not only are the old friends and foes back, though, but new friends take the stage as well: Myrna’s niece, Harriett, as well as Agent Amelia Choquet. The latter proves not only to be an indispensable part of the team but also a true friend... The only person conspicuously absent was, sadly, Isabelle Lacoste who’s on vacation and only cursorily helps towards the end…

This novel has a strong focus on the mystery and is, at times, very, very suspenseful. I read at almost every possible moment, chasing pages and chapters! Every night I was sad to go to sleep but also looking forward to resume reading this excellent novel again. It is very slightly less focussed on moral, emotional or intellectual aspects than some of the other novels in this series but this in no way diminishes its literary value.

And it still touches upon important topics...

»They didn’t need proof. All a woman had to be was alive. Just being a woman was, in the church’s eyes, evil.”
“But there must’ve been a reason,” said Gabri.
“Is there a reason gay, lesbian, and transgender people are attacked?” asked Ruth. “Is there a reason Black men are shot? Is there a reason women are raped, abused, refused abortions, groomed and sold as sex slaves?”
“Murdered,” said Myrna, looking at the bouquet of white roses on the kitchen island.«

Since “A World of Curiosities” explores all the background and the past to the extent needed to enjoy the novel, it could even be read on its own or serve as an introduction to Armand Gamache.

As is the case with most of Penny’s novels this one also has a central idea which permeates everything. As always, though, this is rather subtly done by Penny so I won’t mention it here but maybe you’d like to find out for yourself? Because just like our world, this novel is, indeed, in the best sense “A World of Curiosities”...

Five out of five stars!

»I honestly don’t feel I can take full credit for the books. There is, finally, an element of magic, of inspiration that seems to come out of nowhere. I have my own theories about where it comes from. I wanted, at the end of this, the eighteenth novel, to make it clear that in writing the Gamache books there is more than meets the eye. And always has been.«

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