Review by Booklist Review
The setting of Penny's sixteenth Armand Gamache novel moves from Three Pines in Quebec to Paris, where Gamache and his wife, Reine-Marie, await the birth of daughter Annie's second child. After a reunion dinner with the family and Gamache's billionaire godfather, Stephen Horowitz, a speeding van hits Horowitz, leaving him near death. Gamache believes the hit-and-run was intentional and sets out to determine who wanted his godfather dead. So begins a deftly plotted mystery in which the entire Gamache family is at risk. Might Horowitz, Gamache wonders, knowing that his friend has devoted his life to exposing corporate wrongdoers, have been playing a long game aimed at revealing shocking malfeasance at GHS Electronics, the company where Jean-Guy Beauvoir, Annie's husband and Armand's former lieutenant at the Sûreté de Québec, now works? As the plot machinations multiply, Gamache must also confront his alienated son, Daniel, about the wedge that exists between them. 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. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: This celebration of the First Family of crime fiction will be treasured by Penny's ever-growing legion of readers.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Bestseller Penny's exceptional 16th series mystery (after 2019's A Better Man) takes Chief Insp. Armand Gamache, the head of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec, to Paris for the anticipated birth of a grandchild to his daughter, Annie, who moved to France with her husband, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, Gamache's longtime number two, after they both got jobs there. The happy reunion includes Gamache's son, Daniel, also lured to Paris by a job, and Gamache's godfather, billionaire Stephen Horowitz, who supported Gamache after he was orphaned. Tragedy strikes when Stephen, who made a career of exposing corporate wrongdoing, is hit by a delivery van while crossing the street, leaving him at death's door. Gamache, who witnessed the attack, tries to persuade the Prefect of Police, an old friend, that the hit-and-run should be treated as attempted murder, only succeeding after he finds the corpse of a stranger, who was shot twice, in Stephen's ransacked apartment. The tension rises as Gamache tries to investigate both crimes in a jurisdiction where he has no authority, and vital secrets about his family come to light, changing relationships forever. Penny's nuanced exploration of the human spirit continues to distinguish this brilliant series. Agent: David Gernert, Gernert Company. (Sept.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Armand and Reine-Marie Gamache have come to Paris to await the birth of a new granddaughter. That first night, they have dinner with Armand's godfather, the billionaire Stephen Horowitz. But after leaving the bistro, Stephen is hit by a vehicle and critically injured in what Gamache knows was a deliberate attempt on the elderly man's life. A strange key found in Stephen's possession sends Armand, Reine-Marie, and his son-in-law and former colleague at the Sûreté, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, from the top of the Eiffel Tower to perfume counters around the city and into the bowels of the Paris Archives looking for answers. The more they learn about the secrets Stephen kept from them, the more confused and despairing they are. And when a corpse is found in Stephen's apartment, the Gamaches realize there's even more at stake than their personal histories. Robert Bathurst provides resonant, perfectly paced narration. VERDICT Fans who may have been skeptical about an installment being set outside Three Pines can relax. A temporary move to the City of Lights allows Penny to explore relationships among the Gamache family, as well as set in play one of her classic twisty mysteries. Essential for series fans.--Stephanie Klose, Library Journal
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Gamache goes to Paris. Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec has had an eventful time in Penny's last few books, taking over as Chief Superintendent, uncovering corruption at the highest levels, facing public scorn, and finally ending up back where he started, as head of the homicide division. Penny has always been a master of pacing on a serieswide level, moving between the overarching corruption story and more local mysteries and also occasionally taking a break from Three Pines, the beloved, unmappable Quebec village that is the main setting. This time around, Gamache and his wife, Reine-Marie, a retired librarian, are spending time in Paris, where both of their children now live, waiting for their daughter, Annie, to give birth to her first child with husband Jean-Guy Beauvoir, Gamache's former second-in-command. Gamache takes the opportunity to visit the Rodin Museum with his godfather, billionaire Stephen Horowitz, who then joins the extended Gamache clan for dinner--only to be hit by a car and almost killed as they leave the restaurant. Gamache is convinced it was no accident--an impression reinforced the next morning when he and Reine-Marie go to Stephen's apartment and find the place has been ransacked and there's a dead body behind the sofa. Soon the whole family is involved in the investigation, and everyone has a part to play, from Reine-Marie, who visits the Archives nationales, to son Daniel, a venture capitalist who moved to Paris to escape his father's shadow. Gamache calls on an old friend, the head of the Paris police force, but can he be trusted? 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. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
