A World of Curiosities

Many years earlier Chief Inspector Armand Gamache had attended the murder of a young mother, Clotilde Arseault. Her children, Fiona 14 and Sam 10, had reported theat their mother was missing. Now the body was located in a nearby lake. It was while investigating this case that Armand first encountered Jean-Guy Beauvoir, a young policeman with a grudge against the world. To everyon'e surprise Armand decides to give him a chance and invites him to help with the case.

Return to the present and Armand with his wife is attending a graduation ceremony of engineering students. Fiona Clotilde is one of the graduates. Myrna's niece, Harriet has won a special award. The ceremony has additional significance as in 1989 fourteen female engineering students were murdered at the college. 

At the graduation ceremony Armand was disturbed to see that Sam was in the audience. What was more disturbing was that Sam was planning to visit Three Pines where his sister was currently staying.

Back in Three Pines Myrna was thinking of moving somewhere else to live as the present accommodation was too small, especially when Harriet came to stay. During a discussion it was mentioned that there was probably a second room blocked off from Myrna's bedroom. A letter written in the 1860s describing how he was asked to build such a wall is discovered. Myrna and her friends investigate and discover not just another room but a collection of curiosities that possibly have links to the distant, and not so distant, past.

Louise Penny in A World of Curiosities has written a powerful and often dark novel about psychopaths and how they gravely affect the lives of those around them. The book also deals with misogyny, hatred, love, treatment of women considered to be witches, the importance of items in archives belonging to everyday people as well as those belonging to the famous, and, of course, the importance of a loving and supportive community.

Fortunately I read this book during the January holidays as I just had to keep reading it. Although I did work out who the pychopath was that Armand and his team were looking for, I still had to find out how all the pieces fitted together. A character from earlier novels in this series, Amelia Choquet, also assists with the investigation. Definitely a good holiday read.

 December 6 - Memory and Remembrance

The Paston Treasure - Painting at Norfolk Museum