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    The Beautiful Mystery: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel
    The Beautiful Mystery: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel
    The Beautiful Mystery: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel
    Audiobook13 hours

    The Beautiful Mystery: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel

    Written by Louise Penny

    Narrated by Ralph Cosham

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    The brilliant novel in the New York Times bestselling series by Louise Penny, one of the most acclaimed crime writers of our time

    No outsiders are ever admitted to the monastery of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups, hidden deep in the wilderness of Quebec, where two dozen cloistered monks live in peace and prayer. They grow vegetables, they tend chickens, they make chocolate. And they sing. Ironically, for a community that has taken a vow of silence, the monks have become world-famous for their glorious voices, raised in ancient chants whose effect on both singer and listener is so profound it is known as "the beautiful mystery."

    But when the renowned choir director is murdered, the lock on the monastery's massive wooden door is drawn back to admit Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir of the Sûreté du Québec. There they discover disquiet beneath the silence, discord in the apparent harmony. One of the brothers, in this life of prayer and contemplation, has been contemplating murder. As the peace of the monastery crumbles, Gamache is forced to confront some of his own demons, as well as those roaming the remote corridors. Before finding the killer, before restoring peace, the Chief must first consider the divine, the human, and the cracks in between.

    The Beautiful Mystery is the winner of the 2012 Agatha Award for best novel, the 2013 Anthony Award for best novel and the 2013 Macavity Award for best novel.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Audio
    Release dateAug 28, 2012
    ISBN9781427226105
    The Beautiful Mystery: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel
    Author

    Louise Penny

    LOUISE PENNY is the author of the #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Globe and Mail bestselling series of Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novels, and coauthor with Hillary Rodham Clinton of the #1 New York Times bestselling thriller State of Terror. She has won numerous awards, including a CWA Dagger and the Agatha Award (nine times), and was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Novel. In 2017, she received the Order of Canada for her contributions to Canadian culture. Louise lives in a small village south of Montréal.

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    Reviews for The Beautiful Mystery

    4/5

    1,167 ratings127 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I love this author and for me this is just another example of her skill in bringing characters to life, creating suspense and maintaining interest from start to finish. In a way I wish that I had done the series of Gamache stories in order, however, they lose nothing as stand alone books! Never disappointing.
    • 5/5
      Yet another excellent installment in the Armand Gamache series. One of very favorite series to read ever.
    • 4/5
      The Beautiful Mystery is the second book that I have read by Penny, and I really enjoyed it. The other book I read was earlier in the series so I wasn't caught up with current events, but Penny structured the book so that it was friendly to old and new readers. The overall mystery was well done. Its setup was very good and having 24 monks as the suspects made it hard to guess the murderer. I was most intrigued by the side story of Gamache and Beauuvoir because of their friendship and obvious bond with each other. Finding this bond tested was hard to read so I am anxious to see if this conflict can be resolved in the next book. The characters were very likeable and well developed, and the book's setting came alive to the reader. Overall this book was very good, and I would definitely recommend it.
    • 5/5
      Very well done enjoyable, excellent writing. Solution to mystery always action packed at the end with a final resolution for that episode. And always a surprise "who done it" !!!!
    • 5/5
      This is the ultimate closed-room mystery - in this case, a closed monastery mystery. Penny can spin an enthralling story around the most interesting topic combined with Quebec history, and this time, Gregorian chant. Naturally Penny did not set the mystery in a real monastery, but featured Gilbertine monks, an order that existed at one time but became extinct. The Elysian setting of an isolated monastery in the Quebec wilderness, accessible only by boat or plane is what makes this book so special. It is an ideal location for the two dozen monks cloistered there, who have perfected plainchant, known as the Beautiful Mystery. Most of the characters at some point will question their faith, or have it tested. I can't wait to get to the next book in the series where I hope Penny and Inspector Gamache deals with the supremely evil Superintendent Francoeur. This book, the 8th in the series, could be read as a standalone.
    • 5/5
      Well drawn characters, wonderful descriptions of place and time. Will continue to enjoy her books....
    • 5/5
      One of the best stories yet! The characters become real people and the explanation of the chants enhances one’s appreciation.
    • 4/5
      Another great Gamanche mystery. Entirely set in a monastery, so not your typical Three Pines setting. Anxious to get back to Three Pines.
    • 5/5
      I'm sorry. I can't write a review right now. I will at some point, but I am so eager to read (listen) to the next book in this incredible series! I have never, except for Charles Dickens, ever been so obsessed with an author...Well, Marcel Proust... but SF o trust me when I say that this is a great books. Each one totally stands on its own. But the joy in starting at the beginning, and traveling through this passage '(these passages)' is a wonderful gift you can give yourself!
    • 3/5
      My least favorite of Gamache series. All action takes place in cloistered monastery, including the murder. A bit boring as a monk's life is repetitive. Also, for me, didn't like the ending with one of the lead characters even though I know it will be continued in the next book.
    • 5/5
      Amazing character sketch, and surprising finish: the repeating characters really are developing in an intriguing way. I can't wait to see what happens next.
    • 5/5
      Louise Penny again shows us why she is the best mystery author writing today with her latest entry in the Inspector Gamache series. This outing is not set in the small Canadian town of Three Pines, but rather in a monastery populated by a dozen or so monks, one of whom has killed another monk. Armand Gamache, Chief Inspector of the Sûreté du Québec, and Jean-Guy Beauvoir, his second-in-command, are greeted by an order of monks thought to have died out 400 years earlier. These isolated and silent monks have spent centuries perfecting the art of singing Gregorian chants. Gamache must figure out who killed the prior and why while dealing with his arch-nemesis and boss who arrives unannounced and unwanted. While I missed the characters from earlier entries in this series, I have to admit I was fascinated by the concept of this mystery. Not solely because Gamache has only a handful of suspects to sift through to find the murderer and his motive, but because of the uniqueness of the setting. Penny’s ability to evoke the place is again shown as the reader begins to sense the transporting music she describes throughout the book. So incredible are her descriptions that the reader will swear she smells the incense and hears the music building as each monk enters the chapel. Few, if any, authors are as skilled at this as Penny.If you’ve not read this series, do start with the first book, “A Still Life.” You will surely be so fascinated by Gamache and the other characters that you’ll hate for the book to end and will immediately seek out the second book. You’ll get to this book soon enough, but, like Penny’s fans, be bereft because there will be no others to read for another year.
    • 4/5
      One beautiful Saturday morning in September, Inspector Armand Gamache of the Quebec Sûreté and his closest colleague, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, are called from Montréal to a hidden island to investigate a murder. The island is home to a massive, stone monastery, built long ago by a small order, the Gilbertines, who fled to Canada to escape the Inquisition. (Much to my surprise, Beauvoir never makes a Monty Python joke about this. Do you suppose French Canadians don't watch Monty Python?)Just two dozen monks live at the monastery, where they grow vegetables, tend chickens, cook, maintain the buildings and grounds and--most important--worship God. Their days are spent in near-silence, except for the hours they spend in prayer and singing Gregorian chants. All of the Gilbertines have a gift for singing and most were recruited from other religious communities for their singing talent.Singing brought the monks together, but it also tore them apart. The murdered monk was Frère Mathieu, the prior and choirmaster. His recording of the Gilbertines' chants became a surprise sensation, bringing in much-needed money to the monastery but, with it, attention and demands from the secular world. Mathieu thought the attention was, literally, a Godsend; they could use the public spotlight to benefit the monastery and spread the word of God. But this would require the abolition of their tradition of silence and the loss of their solitary contemplative life on the hidden island.Dom Philippe, the abbot, and Mathieu's closest friend in the monastery, decided that these losses would destroy the Gilbertine order, and he ruled that there would be no further recordings of the chants and no public appearances by the monks. But what started as a difference of opinion between two friends grew to an enmity that split the community. Did one of the monks on the abbot's side of the schism decide that Frère Mathieu had to be eliminated to save the order?What Gamache doesn't at first recognize is that there is a parallel to the monastery's schism much closer to home. For several years, there has been a venomous animosity between Gamache and Sylvain Françoeur, the man who is now the Superintendent of the Sûreté. The poison of their relationship has spread within the police force, causing rancor and distrust among colleagues.Gamache and Beauvoir must stay at the monastery to investigate Frère Mathieu's murder. They fall into the rhythm of life at the monastery. More important than the monks' work is each day's prayer sessions. This is when the mesmerizing sound of the chants fills the chapel and seems to work a physical and emotional change in the listener. The book's descriptions of the chants and their history compelled me to listen to some as I read. (You can do it, too, by going to the Pandora website and searching for the Gregorian Chant music channel.)In their quiet, deliberate way, Gamache and Beauvoir investigate on their own, without the rest of their team, with no internet access or forensics lab, without their families or any intrusion from the outside world. It's as if they are themselves cloistered monks, which makes it almost a peaceful time--until the investigation takes a turn and the plot's pace accelerates, building to a stormy climax. This intense closing promises much more drama to come in the next book for Gamache, Beauvoir, their colleagues and loved ones. For now, though, my advice is to clear your calendar, go find the Gregorian Chant channel on Pandora, and settle down to yet another compelling entry in the Armand Gamache series.DISCLOSURE: I received a free publisher's review copy of this book.
    • 5/5
      This Inspector Gamache story does not take place in Three Pines but in a remote monastery where a murder has happened. Two stories are intertwined: that of the monastery, the monks, and the murder, and that of Inspector Beauvoir who has gone back to being haunted by his demons brought on by the arrival and scheming of Inspector Gamache’s superior (and enemy) at the monastery. Excellent as always, with historical background, and mostly, Louise Penny’s knack for entering into her characters’ psyches.
    • 5/5
      [The Beautiful Mystery] by [[Louise Penny]] takes place in an isolated monastry rather than in Three Pines. A monk has been murdered and Chief Inspector Gamache and Inspector Beauvoir arrive on the scene to solve the case. As usualy with Ms. Penny it's a captivating and enjoyable story although I did miss the Three Pines characters that I usually enjoy.
    • 2/5
      wow so disappointed. i can't explain why without giving away major plotr points but. sooooooooooooooooooooooooo disappointed.
    • 5/5
      Another amazing entry in the Chief Inspector Gamache series. The mystery is solid and the ongoing pressure from the powers that be against Gamache are getting very close to exploding. I imagine some readers may have missed Three Pines, but I was so wrapped up in the mystery of the monks that I didn't mind. I appreciated how Penny showed the decent into an addict's relapse. As heart breaking as it was to read, it was presented accurately--the stressful, isolated situation, the small negative thoughts that mushroom, how easily one can be manipulated and on a physical level how when an addict uses again they are right back to where they were when they last quit using--there's no slow building tolerance to their substance of choice. The next book in the series might be very dark, indeed.
    • 5/5
      Such a beautifully written and powerfully described story and setting. Transported me to the monastery, felt the place, the music, the characters. The conflict between Gamache, Beauvoir and Francoeur (Gamache's boss) was very compelling, dark and I can't wait to read more about how this unfolds and hopefully resolves.
    • 4/5
      The Beautiful Mystery is a story that captures he reader from the beginning with its history of the Gregorian Chants through the entire book. There is a murder in the monastery and there is evil within the police. Right and wrong, good and bad fight with each other in both the monastery and police to create a good story that does not conclude at the end. Four stars were awarded to this book.
    • 5/5
      If you like liturgical music or murder mysteries, you will love this book.
    • 5/5
      Noooooooo, Beauvoir!!!! Nooooooo!!!!!!

      Also, thank you, Louise, for not passing up the no one expects the inquisition line.

      I feel like this novel is a test of faith (like the whole series, really) -- our faith in Gamache to accomplish his goals, and boy, do I feel tested. I do not see how he can pull Beauvoir back from the brink. I do not see how harmony can be restored. It's tragedy, tragedy, and I feel like it's prescient of the damage that opiates are creating in our lives. But I love the descriptions of the monastery, of the neumes and the plainchant. Marvelous. I also wholeheartedly support hearing about investigations outside of three pines -- not that I don't miss those clowns, but that it's very hard for the same small pool of suspects to be investigated for murder.
    • 3/5
      This was one of my favorite Armand Gamache mysteries.
    • 5/5
      The Gilbertines were an order of cloistered monks who fled Europe during the Inquisition. While many people thought they no longer existed, a very small number of them established a monastery, Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups, in an extremely remote region of Quebec to which no outsiders had ever been admitted.The order had been known for its promulgation of the Gregorian Chant. The founder had figured out a way to record the notes to use when chanting the prayers which, up to then, were learned orally. The two dozen monks currently there spent their days and nights praying, gardening, cooking, and maintaining their home.One day, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his assistant, Jean-Guy Beauvoir of the Surete du Quebec were sent to investigate the murder of the choir master. The choir had become very famous because of CD of their chanting had gone public internationally. The media and public tried to enter the grounds and the build but were unsuccessful. They eventually gave up.During their investigation, the two men discovered that while the public image of this monastery was one of a peaceful, prayerful, it actually was quite different inside.THE BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY presents a totally different type of mystery story, even for Gamache and Beauvoir, one that gets into their own minds and emotions. It explains a lot about music, particularly the history, effects, and problems with Gregorian Chants as well as the way traditions and reality clash.The ending is quite unexpected.Tidbit:“Most people don’t die at once....They die a bit at a time....“People die in bits and pieces...Little deaths. They lose their sight, their hearing, their independence. Those are the physical ones. But there are others. Less obvious, more fatal. They lose heart. They lose hope. They lose faith. They lose interest. And finally, they lose themselves.”Another hit for the well-written works of Louise Penny.
    • 3/5
      The mystery and its solving were fine, but the real strength for me, (as usual in these stories), is always the relationships. The detectives are in an isolated location for this case, so you don't have all the townspeople of Three Pines like you do in most of the books. That brings so much more of the focus to the primary two detectives, which I enjoy. Their dynamic is interesting. Trigger warning for addiction.
    • 3/5
      I must I lost track of all the suspects, but I still enjoyed the book. A locked monastery type of mystery, one of you hear is a murderer...The Gregorian chant was a good theme.
    • 4/5
      This mystery wrapped up nicely such that I will continue with the Gamache series. These past two books interweave a nice historical setting and storyline—enjoying that—
    • 3/5
      I'm not sure this is a good place for me to start the series. I don't know, after reading this one, whether I can trust the author with characters I could care about. Since this one takes place away from the usual places and community it's also hard to judge if I'd care for those. As a mystery, well, the 3 major suspects were clear and the lack of intense who-was-where-when given less than 1/2 hr. window, was absurd, which made the possibilities even more obvious.
    • 4/5
      Penny just opened me up to an entirely new world of music.
    • 4/5
      One of the best in this series. Not only does the audiobook version have an amazing narrator, who can handle Quebec French like its his first language, but the audiobook also has a small part of a Gregorian chant at the beginning, and the end of the audiobook...! It's seriously gorgeous to listen to.
      Four stars, and highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      I found this book of Louise Penny's to be one of the most difficult to read in this beloved series. There were a number of reasons for this. For example there is an awful lot of history about the origin and evolution of Gregorian chants. Ms. Penny goes into exhaustive detail about the chants, their interpretation, and how they are performed. By the end of the book, I think I was hearing chants in my head. Another thing that made the book difficult was that the whole story takes place in a 400-year-old monastery in northern Quebec. The only two main characters that we see are Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir. Everyone else is not at the monastery where the murder of a monk has occurred. But the main thing that I found difficult to read was the dissolution of Jean-Guy's mental state. The questionable addition of the hated Chief Superintendent Sylvain Francouer into the mix at this very remote place was unsettling and to me seemed to be a bit of overkill. Those of us who have read these books know of the hatred between Gamache and Francouer and the confrontations that they have in the monastery are unsettling and disturbing. i don't usually appreciate when authors leave a big cliffhanger at the end of the book, and this book certainly has that. I knew after I closed the book that things will probably not go well for either Gamache or Beauvoir in the next instalment, and frankly I want to wait awhile before tackling the next book so that I can get the memory of this one out of my mind. Having said all this, this book still deserves 4 stars in my opinion because of Ms. Penny's wonderful literary style and her character development. I am a huge fan of Armand Gamache, and just wish that she'd let him do the awesome job that he does with every case, and leave the politics and back-biting out. And please, give us a break from Jean-Guy. He's the most annoying, childish and odious detective I've ever seen in fiction. Gamache does get his man in this book, but at great sacrifice to himself. If you love this series, you need to read this book in order to follow the storyline of these characters, but be prepared to want to skip through a few pages here and there because they are too long and detailed or too uncomfortable to read. This would not be the book that should be read as a first introduction to Armand Gamache.