In addition to an excellent mystery, Penny explores sexual abuse of children, misogyny, and gun crimes while holding me in the safety and comfort of Three Pines and the familiar cast of characters.

The writing was typical Penny, lots of lyrical sections, poems, dialogue, cliffhangers. But the flow in this one was up and down. It started off very strong and then it just started to drag, especially towards the end. A copy of a painting, the original of which is in England: The Paston Treasure, (yes, it’s a real painting) at Norwich Castle Museum, depicts objects from the collections of a local landed family. The Pastons established one of the most extensive cabinets of rarities and curiosities in seventeenth-century England—it boasted no fewer than six hundred decorative art objects, including shell cups, crystal vessels, a pair of crocodiles, gemstones, musical instruments, and paintings. Some guy (not revealed until later) makes a copy of this painting and has contemporary images superimposed on some of the original objects and hides it in a sealed room in a house in Three Pines. Well I enjoyed this one too, but.... it just contained too much. I think the editor should have suggested leaving out the two children and just going for the super crazy yet incredibly smart killer. Or vice versa. Either would do. Both was overkill. (pun - sorry). On the real world side of the ledger, I found her depiction of one psychopath completely unnerving. So many books labeled as "psychological thrillers" these days are, IMNSHO, duds, leaving me with the feeling that the victims (typically women) are simplistic idiots. Not so here! In a few scenes scattered throughout the book, the menace bubbling below the surface of this character made my hair stand on end.I was happy to see the return of Amelia. I really hated how she got jettisoned like 6 books ago, she was a welcome addition (IMHO) to the series. For Penny, the novel is a narrative tour de force, drawing brilliantly on some dark moments in Québec history and leading Gamache and the residents of Three Pines to a hard-won, thoroughly unsentimental recognition that forgiveness is our most powerful magic.”— Booklist (starred review) So disappointed. I am a hardcore Gamache fan and have read all of the books (at least once). I understand the need for a mystery writer to include some peripheral characters and stories to increase the "whodunnit" factor, but this book had so many characters and sub-plots, it was bogged down and confusing. I can't imagine someone trying to sort through this who didn't already know Armand, Reine-Marie, Jean-Guy, Ruth, Myrna, Gabri, Amelia..., and then had to figure out who Fiona, Sam, Harriet, Godit, the pastor and his wife, Nathalie, witches, John, the caretaker... were (are we supposed to remember what's wrong with Harriet?). The painting’s discovery will unleash a bloody retribution that Gamache never expected, and that threatens not just his life but everything dear to him. Cozy it’s not, but “A World of Curiosities” is an irresistible read. Now streaming I have a rule: I don't give 5 stars to series books. If a book is part of a larger series, I believe it needs to be judged on its merits and that of its fellow books. The highest I will go is 4.5 stars.

In the novel’s present day, Gamache and his wife are attending a ceremony at the college that combines a remembrance of the victims and the graduation of a new class of engineering students that includes two young women close to them. William’s travels brought the world home, and Oxnead’s transformation was so dramatic and complete that Knyvett did not know if he would escape without undergoing some kind of transformation himself. In this 18th book in the 'Chief Inspector Armand Gamache' series, the detective faces off against an old foe. The book can be read as a standalone, but familiarity with the series is a bonus. Virtuoso… blends nuanced characterization with nail-biting suspense…This tale of forgiveness and redemption will resonate with many. ” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)Each anachronistic object is a message, a warning of a catastrophe with all the signs pointing to Gamache and his family as the target. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by

That had been years ago, but the rabbit habit hadn’t wholly taken. Most months Harriet remembered, but of course this month, when she needed it most, she’d forgotten. Though she knew it was probably because she had so much else on her mind. Sir William Paston, first Baronet (1610–1663), the primary collector in the story and one of the possible commissioners of The Paston Treasure, was famous in his time for his extensive travels. Following the death of his first wife, Lady Katherine, and spurred it seems by an insatiable curiosity, he made an unusually extensive tour of Italy, Egypt, and the Middle East in 1638–39. Upon inheriting Oxnead Hall in the same decade—it was originally built by his distant uncle, the infamous sea captain Clement Paston in the 1560s—William eventually transformed the Tudor house into an Italianate villa, with classical sculpture and parterre gardens inspired by his journeys. His cousin, Thomas Knyvett, captured the atmosphere of the newly transformed Oxnead in a letter sent to his wife in February 1640, less than a year after Paston’s travels: But other main traits of the cozy mystery — decorous crimes committed offstage with a minimum of bloodshed — are not in Penny’s playbook. Many of her novels, including the newest, “A World of Curiosities,” are powered by disturbing violence and thrilling pursuit. Godyear, Sheena (5 Dec 2022). "How a Montreal Massacre survivor became a character in a Louise Penny detective novel". CBC. A World of Curiosities” is Penny’s 18th novel, not counting “State of Terror,” the bestselling 2021 thriller she co-wrote with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

He heard a snort of derision behind him and ignored it, continuing to stare into the worried eyes of the dead woman at his feet. This is not a feel good read. I’d stay away if you are not into psycho murder thrillers that also lectures you about social problems where there is not yet consensus.