The brilliant new novel in the New York Times bestselling series by Louise Penny, one of the most acclaimed crime writers of our timeNo 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. … 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 S ret du Qu bec. 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.
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This was my first book by this author. It is actually the eighth in a series, however I really enjoyed it. I have had a curiosity about how the written music got its start and this was informative in that respect, giving me what I needed to do my search for more. Of course it left me hanging, so I may have to read more of her books.
The way Louise Penny writes comes together effortlessly and you can never guess the outcome of this mystery. From the mystical setting of this story to the chants you can imagine in the monastery, everything was fun to read!
Love all of this series! Makes you want to move to three pines and live among these wonderful people.
My favorite of the Gamache books, and I have read all of them (though, to be honest, I am only 19% through the one that came out this week).