Book Review: Glass Houses by Louise Penny

Glass Houses

by Louise Penny

Genre: Mystery, Contemporary, Fiction

Synopsis:

When a mysterious figure appears on the village green on a cold November day in Three Pines, Armand Gamache, now Chief Superintendent of the Sûreté du Québec, knows something is seriously wrong. Yet he does nothing. Legally, what can he do? Only watch and wait. And hope his mounting fears are not realized.

From the moment its shadow falls over Three Pines, Gamache suspects the creature has deep roots and a dark purpose. When it suddenly vanishes and a body is discovered, it falls to Gamache to discover if a debt has been paid or levied.

In the early days of the investigation into the murder, and months later, as the trial for the accused begins in a Montreal courtroom on a steamy day in July, the Chief Superintendent continues to struggle with actions he’s set in motion, from which there is no going back. “This case began in a higher court,” he tells the judge, “and it’s going to end there.”

And regardless of the trial’s outcome, he must face his own conscience.

In 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.

Review:

As always, I must warn you that this post may contain spoilers. I don't find that I have much of a filter when it comes to these things.


Honestly, I don't think I will ever not like a Louise Penny book. I'm only sorry I didn't read this one sooner, and that when I did start reading it, I didn't give it the attention it deserved. I adore the world that Louise Penny has created in these books. Not just Three Pines, and not just because it's set in the region where I live... I love the people as if they were my own friends and neighbours, and I love the atmosphere, and I love the attention she gives to food.

So before I read it, I saw a ton of reviews that toted this novel as her "best one yet" and everyone saying it was their favourite... I won't say that, but I will say that it took on a slightly different feel, and I liked it. It made me cry, and that's usually a sign of a very good book. (Or maybe I was just an emotional wreck when I was reading it... Who knows?)

The story goes back and forth between the events leading up to a murder that took place in Three Pines in November, and the Montreal courtroom in July, where the case is being tried and Armand is giving his testimony.

Of course there is more to the story than the murder itself. In previous books, Louise dealt with corruption in the government; in this one she addresses drug cartels. In order to stop this one significant source of crime and death in Quebec, Gamache and his team must launch a huge top secret undercover operation which results in many more deaths, and crimes that they themselves must commit, for the greater good. The line between right and wrong is not always clear.

I mentioned it in my Goodreads review, but I'll say it again here, the last three chapters were really what got me. The major action scenes happen then (which were what made me cry), we finally discover who the murderer was, as well as the identity of the head of the drug cartel, and we are left in suspense to find out whether or not Armand Gamache will maintain his title as Chief Superintendent of the Sûreté du Québec!

My Goodreads rating:

Book Reviews: February Reads!

Checking in with February's reads! So I've finished the Armand Gamache series, except for the most recent book which I do not yet own. So that's The Brutal Telling and Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny. Great reads. I think that The Brutal Telling was my favourite of all the books, although Bury Your Dead continued the story and was also very interesting.


Next I read The Radleys by Matt Haig. It's a story about a family of English non-practicing vampires (meaning they don't drink blood or kill people). The only problem with this is that the 2 children, Rowan and Clara don't actually know that they're vampires, which becomes a problem when Clara decides to be vegan and refuses to eat any animal proteins. She gets really sick. Then the unthinkable happens, and Peter and Helen must tell their children the truth. In the panic of the situation, Peter calls his vampire brother, Will, to come help them. Will is a practicing vampire, and he's very much in love with Helen. Some interesting twists and turns happen resulting in Rowan having to take some drastic actions to save their family and others, but everything, of course, works out in the end.


The next book I read was Cinder by Marissa Meyer, part of a new series called The Lunar Chronicles. This was such a good read, and a fun, futuristic retelling of the old fairy tale (Cinderella). It takes place in the distant future (after World War IV) in New Beijing. Cinder is a 16 year old cyborg mechanic - the best in New Beijing. Cyborgs are outcasts and Cinder's only friends are her android Iko and her step sister Peony. Cinder was adopted at the age of 11 by Linh Garan, who shortly thereafter died of the plague that has been spreading thru the world ever since, leaving Cinder in the care of his wife Adri and their 2 daughters Pearl and Peony. Adri treats Cinder like a slave and property to do with as she pleases. So when Peony ends up with the plague, Adri's first reaction is to "volunteer" Cinder for the cyborg draft to find a cure. It doesn't turn out quite the way she had planned, and when you throw His Imperial Highness Prince Kai into the mix of things... it gets interesting. :) Cinder is not who she - or anybody else - thinks she is...


That's it so far! I'm up to 9 books and we are 8 weeks into the year, so I'm doing really well at this point, with that goal. Check in again next month... happy reading!

Book Reviews: January Reads

Can I just say that I adore murder mysteries?! I'm not even sure why, but man... love them! Crime dramas, murder mysteries, all things related... right up my alley.

Anyway! So I wanted to summarize what I've been reading this month, which includes a lot of murder mysteries! :D I have read 5 books, so far, toward my goal of 52 in 2012 - good progress!

The first book I read was called The Christmas Cookie Club by Ann Pearlman. It was an ok read, but I probably wouldn't read it again, nor recommend it. The recipes included at the beginning of each chapter look interesting and I might have to try some of them, but as for the book itself... It's the story of a group of 12 women who get together every Christmas for a cookie swap. Each member bakes 12 dozen of her cookies - one dozen for every other member and an extra dozen to go to a charity. So they each talk about their cookie recipe, why the chose it, and how it kind of relates to the year they've had. There are a bunch of little side stories going on, secrets, which made it not that interesting. They have a strict list of rules, and the whole concept really makes me want to try something similar in real life! :)

The next 4 books I read were from Louise Penny's Armand Gamache series: Still Life, The Cruellest Month, Dead Cold, and The Murder Stone. I became interested in reading Louise Penny's works because she's a local author and her novels are based here in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. It's particularly refreshing to read about a landscape and terms I am familiar with. I think she is a magnificent writer, I've loved every book so far. I'm currently reading The Brutal Telling, which is also really good. Possibly even the best so far! Each book has at least one murder, which is solved by the Chief Inspector of Homicide for the Sûreté du Québec, Armand Gamache, and his team. The murders all take place in, or have something to do with the residents of, Three Pines - a fictitious village in the Eastern Townships - and I think every murder so far has had some sort of connection to a particular house in Three Pines, "the old Hadley house." I won't describe the stories because I would be tempted to give away spoilers because I tend to gush about books I enjoy, and I don't want to do that because I really recommend these books to anyone who enjoys a good murder mystery that isn't gorey or graphic! There is some swearing, and Québecois terminology that might be lost on some people, but if you can overlook these small things, I think you'll really enjoy the read!