the beautiful mystery
synopsis
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 has won the Agatha Award for Best Mystery in the US!
THE BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY won the Anthony Award for Best Crime Novel
THE BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY won the Macavity Award for Best Crime Novel of the year in the US - as voted on by members of Mystery Readers International.
Publishers Weekly named Best Summer Book of 2012
Booklist - name THE BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY in top 10 crime fiction titles of the year
Ralph Cosham won the Audie Award for Best Audio Crime Novel in the US for narrating THE BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY
"Penny writes with grace and intelligence about complex people struggling with complex emotions. But her great gift is her uncanny ability to describe what might seem indescribable - the play of light, the sound of celestial music, a quiet sense of peace."
"With enormous empathy for the troubled human soul—and an ending that makes your blood race and your heart break—Penny continues to raise the bar of her splendid series."
"....It’s a stirring, thought- provoking read, less a matter of whodunit than a relentless questioning of why any of us do anything. The Beautiful Mystery...stands as a powerful literary novel in its own right..."
"An entire mystery novel centering on Gregorian chants (whose curiously hypnotic allure is called the “beautiful mystery”)? Yes, indeed, and in the hands of the masterful Penny, the topic proves every bit as able to transfix readers as the chants do their listeners.... P. D. James, of course, has made a career out of taking her sleuth, Adam Dalgliesh, into closed worlds to investigate murders, and while Penny follows that formula, she layers her plots more intricately than does James, this time adding an entire contrapuntal plot concerning Gamache, Beauvoir, their relationship, the secrets each conceals, and the demons each continues to fight....Of course, there is always something mammoth roiling away beneath the surface of Penny’s novels—but this time the roiling is set against the serenity of the chanting, producing a melody of uncommon complexity and beauty."
"Excellent....a captivating whodunit plot, a clever fair-play clue concealed in plain view, and the deft use of humor to lighten the story's dark patches. On a deeper level, the crime provides a means for Penny's unusually empathic, all-too-fallible lead to unearth truths about human passions and weaknesses while avoiding simple answers."
"....remarkably penetrating and humane. The most illuminating analogies are not to other contemporary detective fiction but to The Name of the Rose and Murder in the Cathedral."
"...This heart-rending tale is a marvelous addition to Penny’s acclaimed series."
"Hallelujah. Amid the formulaic dross that makes up so much current crime fiction, gems can be found"
"With The Beautiful Mystery, there's no longer any doubt: Penny is Canada's best contemporary crime writer, among the best in the world, and one of our best writers, period."
"Could a book by Louise Penny have a better title than "The Beautiful Mystery". The title, like Penny's fiction, has multiple layers. First is the crime: the murder of the choir director of a monastery in the deep woods of Quebec. Then there's the joyous but inexplicable emotions the monks' glorious liturgical singing invokes. And there's the disconnect between the monks' vows of silence and their renowned singing. And then, of course, there's the mystery of religion itself....For the reader, meanwhile, there's a final beautiful mystery to contemplate: How does Penny consistently write such luminous and compassionate books?."
"Penny shows us the joy of the cloistered life as surely as she has shown us the joy of village life…for fans of the series, the resulting bombshell in the characters' lives is as much like murder as anything ever delivered by a blunt instrument."
"Penny - who melds prose at once expressive and restrained with a keen understanding of human emotions - creates a novel that earns its title, a book that shines with the grace and compassion that stamp her work."
"Certain writers remain utterly reliable, utterly enchanting"
"A tense plot with a finite group of suspects will keep the reader involved until the last clue"
"The Beautiful Mystery is an ingenious, sinister new novel"
"Here is a good old-fashioned detective yarn with a believable plot, charming characters, a fascinating location and enough red herrings to keep the reader alert"
"One of the joys of detective fiction"
