A World of Curiosities

A World of Curiosities is Louise Penny's 18th novel in a series featuring the fictional character Chief Inspector Armand Gamache.

A World of Curiosities
AuthorLouise Penny
PublisherMinotaur Books
Pages400
ISBN978-1-250-14529-1

The 2022 crime mystery book follows the investigation into a series of murders in Quebec, and briefly references the real life 1989 École Polytechnique massacre.

It was well received by critics and an immediate number one best seller in the hardback fiction charts.

Production and background

A World of Curiosities is a fiction book written by Canadian author and former journalist Louise Penny. It is the 18th novel in a series of mystery novels featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache.[1] It was published by Minotaur Books[2] as a sequel to Penny's 2021 book The Madness of Crowds.[3]

The book was released in late 2022 just as Amazon Prime Video started streaming the television show Three Pines, based on Penny's earlier books in the series.[4]

Synopsis

The novel is set in the fictional Quebec village of Three Pines, and features siblings Sam and Fiona Arsenault, whose mother Clotilde was killed after subjecting them both to sexual abuse in their younger years.[3] The book follows Sûreté du Québec detectives Armand Gamache and his deputy Jean-Guy Beauvoir.[3] The detectives are investigating multiple homicides in the village, with clues about the killer centering around a mysterious painting.[5] The story briefly incorporates the real life massacre that happened at the Polytechnique Montréal in 1989[6] and features the real life survivor Nathalie Provost.[7]

The book provides the reader with insights into the early career of inspector Gamache.[5]

Critical reception

A World of Curiosities was an immediate best seller on the hardcover fiction charts.[4] Kajori Patra, writing in The Telegraph (India) described the book as dramatic, frightening and thrilling. She notes it deliberately confuses the reader, before the book's unexpectedly abrupt conclusion.[2] Guardian book reporter Alison Flood, wrote that "unusually for a crime novel, leaves you feeling better about the world once you’ve finished."[8] Globe and Mail book columnist Margaret Cannon described the book as one of the best in the series of 18, and wrote that Penny was "at the top of her game".[5]

References
  1. Rogers, Shelagh (24 March 2023). "Louise Penny's A World of Curiosities reveals Chief Inspector Armand Gamache's origins". CBC's The Next Chapter (radio program).
  2. Kajori, Patra (3 March 2023). "In the dark". The Telegraph (India). Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  3. "A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny". Publishers Weekly. 24 Aug 2022. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  4. Egan, Elisabeth (2022-12-15). "Louise Penny Wrote a No. 1 Best Seller During Her Year Off". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  5. Cannon, Margaret (2023-01-13). "Review: Five mystery books to start the year with a thrill". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  6. Culley, Joanne (2023-03-11). "Otonabee Ward: Books can help us get through the last days of a Peterborough winter". The Peterborough Examiner. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  7. Godyear, Sheena (5 Dec 2022). "How a Montreal Massacre survivor became a character in a Louise Penny detective novel". CBC.
  8. Flood, Alison (2022-10-30). "The best recent crime and thriller writing – review roundup". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
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