The Beautiful Mystery

A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel

By: Louise Penny

Narrated by: Ralph Cosham

Audie Award Nominee, Mystery, 2013

The brilliant new novel in the New York Times best-selling series by Louise Penny, one of the most acclaimed crime writers of our time

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.

©2012 Three Pines Creations, Inc. (P)2012 Macmillan Audio

Hits You in the Head and Heart!

What made the experience of listening to The Beautiful Mystery the most enjoyable?

The unique setting; the use of more humor than usual by the author but always in the right setting and which never takes away from the drama of the story itself; the well-defined characters and the interplay that occurs between them; and, as always in a Louise Penny novel but especially in this one, the feeling of evil wending its way throughout the story, maybe just around the next corner, but never where you expected to find it.

Who was your favorite character and why?

There were several great characters, as usual in a Louise Penny mystery, but in the end it was Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. His powerfulness of character, his intellect, and even his frailness are front and center in this novel.

What about Ralph Cosham’s performance did you like?

His performance never takes over the novel, never interrupts it; he is flawless.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I cannot answer this question without giving away part of the plot, but I thought about this story -- am still thinking about this story -- long after I had finished listening to it.

Any additional comments?

Wonderful.

Another Great Read

This novel continues the Chief Inspector Gamache series with a story that takes place outside the village of Three Pines. As always, there is a murder to solve, but the setting inside a remote monastery and the background story about Gregorian Chant provide a different slant than previous books in the series.

Another element that I particularly enjoyed was the interplay of emotions among Gamache, Beauvoir, and Superintendent Francoeur. I had inadvertently read "How the Light Gets In", the following book in the series, before this one, so I knew something of the outcome, but that did not spoil anything for me.

If you are a Louise Penny fan, "The Beautiful Mystery" will not disappoint!

A good listen! A classic Penny, asking the big questions.

Penny's Gamach books always have a theme that makes them so much more than just a murder mystery. Usually, it's hard to figure out who the murderer is, but this time it was easy (hence the 4 stars - comparing Penny to Penny) but the theme was compelling. What does it mean to have faith, to truly love something or someone; to trust that someone or something has your best interest at heart and will not betray you. What would it take to break that trust? What wound do you carry that makes you vulnerable, and could that wound become your breaking point - where your love would turn to hate and your trust to bitter ashes?
There's always a choice: will you choose to listen to the voice for calm, peace, and faith - the voice of God, or will you choose to listen to the voice of the Devil as he whispers lies in your ear, turning your calm to anxiety, your peace to pain and your faith to emptiness?

Well Acted and Great Characters

What I like about Louise Penny's books is that you can pick up any of them and not be required to backtrack all your way to another book to find out why a character did what he or she did. The Beautiful Mystery fits into this vain. A well written and well thought out book -- it is narrated by Ralph Cosham and it does not dissapoint. The descriptions are vivid, the narration is profound and the focus and emphasis on the characters is truly magical. It is a great book that celebrates Quebec while also delves deep into characters that are flawed, broken and in need of healing. The mystery, however, is the crown jewel; unique, down to earth and truly mesmerizing. It is an excellent listen.

Long & involved, but it kept my neurons firing.

This was a great narration, & a great story . As usual, very hard to guess the murderer.
Liked learning history of this Era of The Catholic Church & Gregorian Chants.

Not my favorite

Not in Three Pines. Still a beautiful story, though a tad dark for my taste. The character development is interesting and engaging. I enjoyed the story arch. Overall - it felt like the amount of content for the book was too much for the given timeline. I think they covered 48 hours, and the character arcs seemed like it would take weeks to develop. At one point Lt Bouvier even said it felt like weeks had gone by. As much as I love inspector gamasche, I missed Claire and Olivia, and Ruth and Gabri and even Peter (only a little).

Well-titled book

This non-Three Pines mystery is fantastic. I am again impressed by the topics Louise Penny brings to her books; in this one, I refer to the history of Gregorian chanting. I would have loved more of the chanting in the audio book!
Although the story can stand alone, it may engage the reader more quickly if he/she have followed the Gamache novels. These characters tell a wonderful, new story, as they solve several immediate mysteries, but foretell of future mysteries.
I do think the performance would improve with a different reader. For me, I'd prefer to hear characters speak with different voices, not the same throaty, whispery voice for each character.

Astounding.

I am once again totally moved by the writing I felt as though I was there in the Monastery in the Quebec wilderness and could hear the Gregorian chants . The beauty mirrored Gamaches pain.

I loved this book

I would place it in the category of "will mean more if you've been following the series."

It is a bit slow to get going - actually quite slow - however there is a mood to be set and such things take time. The basic story was good, but the thing that made the book truly great for me is how Penny has continued to develop her characters (in this book, Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir). At the point at which things come to a peak near the end, I was actually shaking with emotion - I'd become that involved!

Monks, intrigue, isolation, murder, addiction

Enjoyed learning about the lives of the monks, their chants , their faith. This was a different story in this series but well worth the listen/read. The sadness of addiction actually surpassed the sadness of murder.