The Beautiful Mystery - Chief Inspector Gamache, Bk 8
Author: Louise Penny

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.

Another compelling read in the Gamache series by Penny. This one is quite different from most of the series so far in that it takes place entirely in a remote abbey where a murder has taken place rather than in the comfortable setting of Three Pines village. Chief Inspector Gamache and his right-hand-man, Inspector Jean-Guy Beauvoir, are called to investigate the murder inside the walls of the monastery of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loupes. The monastery is home to the Gilbertine order, thought to be long extinct by the Catholic Church. One of the monks, Frère Mathieu, the monastery’s choirmaster and prior, has been bashed over the head...but why would another monk commit such an act? The order is devoted entirely to Gregorian chants and its abbot, Dom Philippe, has recruited its members from among the ranks of other orders for their piety, but mainly for their musical abilities. In fact, a recording of their chants has been made and circulated to the world making the monastery open to possible outside scrutiny. But this could also result in more money for the abbey which is sorely needed. The recording has sharply polarized the community between the prior’s men, who want to exploit their unexpected success by making another recording and speaking more widely of their vocation, and the abbot’s men, who greet the prospect of a more open and worldly community with horror. And to top off Gamache's problems, Sûreté Chief Superintendent Sylvain Françoeur, arrives unexpectedly on the scene to supposedly take charge of the investigation...but what are his real motives? He is definitely an enemy of Gamache and he sows some very serious doubts in the mind of Beauvoir about the motivations of Gamache towards him. Beauvoir is in love with Gamache's daughter, Annie, but will this last?

As I said, this novel was quite outside the norms of most of Penny's other works. I did enjoy it but I missed the interplay between the characters inhabiting Three Pines. I did lean a few things from this novel including how Gregorian Chants started and the origins of musical notation. Chants originally used "neumes" to indicate when monastic voices should be raised and hushed. These neumes eventually evolved into the musical notation used today.

I'll definitely be looking forward to reading the next book in this series especially since this one left a lot of things up in the air...especially the relationship between Gamache and Beauvoir.

Wishlist RABCK going to iwillrejoice in Florida. Enjoy!

Tracking: 9449028206335445295860

Arrived safely. Thank you!

Received this in a box of books from a friend of Iwillrejoice. She is packing up the belongings of Iwillrejoice now that Iwillrejoice, is rejoicing in heaven.

Never was invested in the story line. I felt like the story was too long.