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The Madness of Crowds

A Novel

Chief Inspector Gamache Novel

By Penny, Louise

Read by Bathurst, Robert

14.50 hrs • 12 CDs • Unabridged

Genre: FICTION  /  MYSTERY, THRILLERS & SUSPENSE  /  GENERAL & LITERARY FICTION

Release Date: 09/01/2021

© 2021 by Macmillan

ISBN No : 9781250810670

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List: $71.25

Price: $45.90

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Chief Inspector Armand Gamache returns to Three Pines in #1 New York Times bestseller Louise Penny's latest spellbinding novel

You’re a coward.

Time and again, as the New Year approaches, that charge is leveled against Armand Gamache.

It starts innocently enough.

While the residents of the Québec village of Three Pines take advantage of the deep snow to ski and toboggan, to drink hot chocolate in the bistro and share meals together, the Chief Inspector finds his holiday with his family interrupted by a simple request.

He’s asked to provide security for what promises to be a non-event. A visiting Professor of Statistics will be giving a lecture at the nearby university.

While he is perplexed as to why the head of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec would be assigned this task, it sounds easy enough. That is until Gamache starts looking into Professor Abigail Robinson and discovers an agenda so repulsive he begs the university to cancel the lecture.

They refuse, citing academic freedom, and accuse Gamache of censorship and intellectual cowardice. Before long, Professor Robinson’s views start seeping into conversations. Spreading and infecting. So that truth and fact, reality and delusion are so confused it’s near impossible to tell them apart.

Discussions become debates, debates become arguments, which turn into fights. As sides are declared, a madness takes hold.

Abigail Robinson promises that, if they follow her, ça va bien aller. All will be well. But not, Gamache and his team know, for everyone.

When a murder is committed it falls to Armand Gamache, his second-in-command Jean-Guy Beauvoir, and their team to investigate the crime as well as this extraordinary popular delusion.

Advance Praise for The Madness of Crowds

"Penny excels at placing her characters in challenging ethical quandaries. This author just goes from strength to strength." ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Praise for All the Devils Are Here

INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
PARADE MAGAZINE – ONE OF FALL'S MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS
AARP'S MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF FALL
CRIMEREADS – ONE OF THE BEST TRADITIONAL MYSTERIES OF THE YEAR
GLOBE AND MAIL - TOP 100 BOOKS OF THE YEAR
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR - ONE OF THE BEST NOVELS OF THE YEAR
KIRKUS REVIEWS - ONE OF THE BEST MYSTERIES/THRILLERS OF THE YEAR
LIBRARY JOURNAL - ONE OF THE BEST CRIME FICTION BOOKS OF THE YEAR

“Although Penny touches on a wide range of subjects in this expansive story, her main concern is with the sacrifices we make for those we love. Here, even the loving relationship between Gamache and his son, Daniel, is challenged. If you think about it, the underlying theme of all of Penny’s books is Honor Thy Family ― the one you were born with, the one you’ve acquired during your lifetime and the Family of Man.” ―The New York Times Book Review

“Penny excels at capturing the inner life, whether it’s a criminal’s or a resentful child’s. Series novices and die-hard fans alike will be left breathless―and moved.”
People Magazine (Book of the Week)

“Armand Gamache seems as much a spiritual warrior as a homicide detective… What stays with the reader are the tender passages, the human insights, the reminders of what makes life worth living.”
Wall Street Journal

“You don't need to have read the previous books to enjoy the mystery (whose apt title refers to a line from Shakespeare's The Tempest: ‘Hell is empty and all the devils are here’), but knowing a bit about the characters’ backgrounds helps you follow the subtle tensions between them."
―AARP The Magazine

“Penny excels at creating a sense of place, and she brings Paris to life with scenes small (a favorite garden at the Rodin museum) and big (the top of the Eiffel Tower). We walk ― or, when necessary, run ― through the streets of Paris, taste lemon tarts and mourn the fire damage to Notre Dame.”
St. Louis Post Dispatch

“Penny’s books are always a cause for celebration, and this one is superb in every regard.”
Booklist (Top Review)

“Penny's series has always been about the complexities and sustaining glories of family, and here she takes that theme even further, revealing fissures in the Gamache clan, but also showing the resilience and love at its root. Series devotees will revel in both Penny's evocation of Paris―every bit as sumptuous as her rendering of Three Pines―and in the increased role she allots to librarian Reine-Marie, whose research skills are crucial to untying the Gordian knot at the mystery's core.”
Booklist (starred)

“Exceptional… Penny’s nuanced exploration of the human spirit continues to distinguish this brilliant series.”
Publishers Weekly (starred)

“As always, Penny's mystery is meticulously constructed and reveals hard truths about the hidden workings of the world―as well as the workings of the Gamache family. But there's plenty of local color, too, with a trip to the top of the Eiffel Tower to escape surveillance and a luxurious suite at the Hotel George V for good measure. If you're new to Penny's world, this would be a great place to jump in. Then go back and start the series from the beginning.”
Kirkus Reviews (starred)

"The strengths of this latest procedural from the inimitable Penny will attract her longtime fans and also draw in new admirers. A deft touch with plotting, sensitive characterization, and the author’s warmth and humanity make this a must-have mystery, especially for collections owning the rest of series.”
Library Journal (starred)

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