A World of Curiosities

Penny is in top form with her 18th novel featuring Inspector Armand Gamache (following The Madness of Crowds) and the unique characters who inhabit the quaint village of Three Pines. Memory, revenge, and forgiveness are just some of the themes that permeate this rich and intricate outing. Two seemingly unrelated cases from Gamache’s past set the events in motion. The first case, which prompted Gamache to become an investigator, involved the real-life 1989 mass murder of 14 women at Montreal’s École Polytechnique. The second case, the murder of Clotilde Arsenault, occasioned Gamache’s first meeting with future son-in-law and partner Jean-Guy Beauvoir. These cases are linked to the discovery of a bricked-up room in Three Pines that contains a copy of the famous “Paston Treasure” painting. New additions to the painting suggest a symbolic and dangerous warning pointing directly to Gamache. Narrator Robert Bathurst skillfully evokes the mood and suspense of the story. Although his voicing of women and children is sometimes awkward, his portrait of Gamache’s interiority is masterful.