The Beautiful Mystery

(Hardback, Large Print Edition)

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Description

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 Sret du Qubec. 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.

Reviews

Advance Praise for Louise Penny's "The Beautiful Mystery"

"Louise Penny has crafted an almost perfect crime--haunting, puzzling, brilliant and indeed a most beautiful mystery. Chief Inspector Gamache is one of my favorite characters in fiction. Here he must penetrate a cloistered monastery deep in the northern woods of Quebec, where a murdered monk is his ticket to get in. This is a tour-de-force for Penny, and a thrilling, intelligent read." --Linda Fairstein

"A. Ma. Zing! A remarkably courageous--and very beautiful--book that leaps the abyss between faith and despair." --Diana Gabaldon

Praise for Louise Penny's "A Trick of the Light"

"The superbly gifted Louise Penny is on my secret shortlist of must-read authors. "A Trick of the Light" will not only keep you engrossed from start to finish, it will teach you something new about love, truth, and the human heart." --Lisa Scottoline, author of "Save Me"

"Stellar. . . . Penny proves again that she is one of our finest writers." --"People Magazine" (4 out of 4 stars)

"Deceptively charming . . . delivering acute insights into the complicated motives of complex characters." --"New York Times Book Review" (one of the Notable Crime Books of 2011)

"Penny, elevating herself to the pantheon that houses P.D. James, Ruth Rendell and Minette Walters, demonstrates an exquisite touch with characterization, plotting and artistic sensitivity." --"Kirkus Reviews" (starred review)

"""This is a beautiful book, gorgeously written and carefully constructed." --"The Globe and Mail
"

Praise for Louise Penny's "A Trick of the Light"

"The superbly gifted Louise Penny is on my secret shortlist of must-read authors. "A Trick of the Light" will not only keep you engrossed from start to finish, it will teach you something new about love, truth, and the human heart." --Lisa Scottoline, author of "Save Me"

"Stellar. . . . Penny proves again that she is one of our finest writers." --"People Magazine" (4 out of 4 stars)

"Deceptively charming . . . delivering acute insights into the complicated motives of complex characters." --"New York Times Book Review" (one of the Notable Crime Books of 2011)

"Penny, elevating herself to the pantheon that houses P.D. James, Ruth Rendell and Minette Walters, demonstrates an exquisite touch with characterization, plotting and artistic sensitivity." --"Kirkus Reviews" (starred review)

"""This is a beautiful book, gorgeously written and carefully constructed." --"The Globe and Mail
"

Author Bio

LOUISE PENNY is the "New York Times "and" ""Globe and Mail "bestselling author of seven previous novels featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache." "Her debut, "Still Life," won the John Creasey Dagger and the Arthur Ellis, Barry, Anthony, and Dilys Awards, and was named one of the five Mystery/Crime Novels of the Decade by "Deadly Pleasures" magazine. Penny was the first author ever to win the Agatha Award for Best Novel four times--for "A Fatal Grace, The Cruelest Month, " and "The Brutal Telling ("which also received the Anthony Award for Best Novel), and "Bury Your Dead" (which also won the Dilys, Arthur Ellis, Anthony, Macavity, and Nero Awards). She lives in a small village south of Montreal.