How did I miss reviewing this? Another largely satisfying installment from a writer I purchase like clockwork every year, whisking me away to a place I can't wait to return to!

Adults and children are skating on the newly iced over ponds, stopping only briefly to warm themselves with hot chocolate and then rushing back to the ice. On the snowy slopes, the skis and toboggans that were so recently under Christmas trees are being tested. Over at the bistro, the tables are filled with local citizens enjoying a meal and conversation. The sweet life has returned to Three Pines, Quebec Canada.
For Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his family this is a particularly welcomed holiday season. Paris, the Pandemic, and the quarantines are behind them and most importantly the family is together. Time to relax and reacquaint with friends and loved ones. The Pandemic is over, we can breathe!
Of course, there will be a detour on this roadway to normalcy. Armand receives a request (really a summons) to plan and provide crowd control and security at a lecture being given by a visiting Professor of Statistics, Abigail Robinson, three days before New Year’s. One would think that factoring in the lecture date, the snowy weather, and the statistics topic, the attendance would probably be between eight and ten people.
As Armand learns, this professor offers a theory based on statistics that plays into people’s fears. The Covid Pandemic revealed deep disturbing societal weaknesses that are not easily cured. Indeed, there is even discord over What should be remedied and how to do it. People are emotionally spent. It seems unfair to have to face more concerns for survival. How do you know the right path?
The day of the lecture, Armand checks and triple checks his plan for control and security. While apprehensive, he feels he has done as much as possible to control the situation. Unfortunately, not everyone performs their job correctly and the lecture is disrupted when shots are fired at Professor Robinson. Luckily, she was not harmed but Chief Inspector Gamache faces scrutiny for the failure. That he can handle. What unsettles Armand is who and why failed to follow orders.
Plans for the New Year’s celebration in Three Pines continue and Armand continues exploring the failed lecture event and the impact of Professor Robinsons view of the future. The news that the University Chancellor and Professor Robinson will be attending the celebrations in Three Pines does little to ease the situation. A festive party is planned, a bonfire is prepared, fireworks are planned- everyone is looking ahead to a real “Happy New Year.”
At the actual gathering, the unexpected happens. Events and action from the past come to light. Residents and visitors face scrutiny and concerns are raised. When a dead body is found, the questions are who is it and why did this death occur. Armand now faces a complex problem. The weather and time of day have an impact on the investigation. The number of people at the party must be interviewed and their information interpreted. As only he can, Gamache patiently and carefully examines each clue, each reaction, each little difference. Though some revelations are shaky and difficult to accept, Armand’s investigation is soothing to the reader because Armand will not be rushed, will take no short cuts. He recognizes his own emotions and biases and will only be satisfied when every piece fits. He is Chief Inspector Armand Gamache.
I felt that this book is Louise Penny’s attempt to remind us that the COVID Pandemic may well be ending but there is still another Pandemic out there and this one cannot be cured with a vaccine.
The Madness of Crowds can be read as a standalone novel but there are references to incidents, actions and reactions that were fully covered in prior novels. The lack of explanations in the current novel can leave one questioning, “What is the significance of this that I am not privy to?” The ultimate question is does this lack of detail of the past detract from the impact of the current story.
This book was difficult to accept. It is dispiriting that all we’ve been through may not be the end of our struggles. Seems we’ll need Armand for some time in the future. I feel certain he will dutifully accept this burden and we will have more opportunities to “enjoy” his efforts.

I received an ARC from NetGalley

It is always hard to write a less than positive review for the book of an author one loves. Sometimes, however, it is unavoidable.

I've been reading Louise from the beginning. She has always been a "must-read" author for me. Still, every author has an "off" book and this was one of only three about which I've felt that way.

From the first page, I found myself shouting "Too soon, it's too soon." The pandemic is far from over; it may never be. The controversial character is one American's may recognize, and one who should be regarded with disdain. They were of no interest to me. I'll also admit I'm becoming tired of the profane nicknames, and I'm not one to shy away from profanity.

The biggest issue was the need for serious editing; two-hundred fewer pages would have been a significant improvement. It would be nice to return to basic mysteries and focus less on plots with multiple emotional trigger plots.

Here's hoping Louise's next book goes back to the basics.

This isn't to say there were high points. The best was the scene between Armand and Jean Guy in the pub. It was powerful and emotional; something at which Louise is particularly skilled.
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I've been reading Louise from the beginning. She has always been a "must-read" author for me. Still, every author has an "off" book and this was one of only three about which I've felt that way.

From the first page, I found myself shouting "Too soon, it's too soon." The pandemic is far from over; it may never be. The controversial character is one American's may recognize, and one who should be regarded with disdain. They were of no interest to me. I'll also admit I'm becoming tired of the profane nicknames, and I'm not one to shy away from profanity.

The biggest issue was the need for serious editing; two-hundred fewer pages would have been a significant improvement. It would be nice to return to basic mysteries and focus less on plots with multiple emotional trigger plots.

Here's hoping Louise's next book goes back to the basics.

This isn't to say there were high points. The best was the scene between Armand and Jean Guy in the pub. It was powerful and emotional; something at which Louise is particularly skilled.
1 like

This year, Louise Penny’s latest Armand Gamache novel, The Madness of Crowds, is not only a difficult book to summarize, as hers always are; it’s a difficult book to read. I understand what she is doing with the book, which I can’t really say without spoiling it, but that doesn’t mean it was easy. It felt as if it was too soon, and, with the resurgence of COVID in the U.S., it really felt as if it was too soon to read this book. I’m going to admit I was upset for the first 150 pages or so. This may sound strange, but, once the murder occurred, I could actually settle into the book without feeling angry and uncomfortable. In other words, I’m sure Penny’s purpose is accomplished when readers are angry and uncomfortable with the message of this book.

Let’s start with the title, The Madness of Crowds. It comes from a book by Charles Mackay, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds. The overview of that book says, “Whenever struck by campaigns, fads, cults and fashions, the reader may take some comfort that Charles Mackay can demonstrate historical parallels for almost every neurosis of our times. The South Sea Bubble, Witch Mania, Alchemy, the Crusades, Fortune-telling, Haunted Houses, and even ‘Tulipomania’ are only some of the subjects covered in this book.” It’s actually no comfort that there are historical parallels to the concepts in this current book.

It’s between Christmas and New Year’s, and the residents of Three Pines, like the rest of Canada, are celebrating that the pandemic is over. They’re finally able to reopen businesses and hug each other. As Armand Gamache enjoys the time with his visiting grandchildren, he’s asked to provide security at Universite de l’Estrie when there will be a visiting lecturer in the auditorium. It’s only when Gamache watches several videos of Professor Abigail Robinson’s lectures that he becomes concerned. Although she’s a statistician, he knows that her talks have gone viral, and he suspects there may be crowds and violence. He even takes his concerns to the President and Chancellor of the university, asking them to cancel the program. Instead the Chancellor accuses him of cowardice.

Gamache knows Robinson’s theories will stir up emotions. He knows how he reacted, and he knows how upset his son-in-law and second-in-command, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, was when he saw the videos. Yes, her stats prove there can be better times ahead for the people worn down by the pandemic. But, at what cost?

One minor cost is peace of mind. When Gamache is forced to provide security for Professor Robinson even following her lecture, and she unexpectedly shows up in Three Pines, she stirs up trouble even there. There’s quite a contrast between three people at the village’s New Year’s Eve party, their local “Asshole Saint”, who can be both,; Haniya Daoud, a Nobel Peace Prize candidate from the Sudan, and Professor Robinson. As the story progresses, we learn the backgrounds of each of these people, backgrounds vital to the story.

Even after finishing this book, I still feel it’s too early. And, here in the U.S., it’s too early because of the madness and division following Trump.

My heart broke with Gamache’s at times, but I never saw what he did during the pandemic when his family was sheltering in place and he and Jean-Guy were stuck in Montreal working sixteen hour shifts. I felt as if Robinson’s slogan, “All will be well” violated the Julian of Norwich quote that I’ve come to love because of Louise Penny’s books. Robinson’s context debases that quote.

Strictly on a book level, this one needed tighter editing. There was too much repetition at times. How many times within five or six chapters did we need to read about the animal that might be a ferret or a rat or whatever? The editor should have caught that.

As I said, I understood the book, and the concepts I won’t discuss so I don’t inadvertently write a spoiler. The Madness of Crowds is a book each reader will have to evaluate for themselves. Tuesday is release date.

Last year, Louise Penny took her legion of fans off to Paris with Armand Gamache and his family in the well-received All the Devils Are Here. As refreshing as it was to see these familiar characters in a new setting, loyal fans will be thrilled to know that Penny’s new novel, The Madness of Crowds, returns the action to Three Pines, with all its popular residents in tow. Featuring Louise Penny’s incredible ability to home in on the psychology of what makes humans tick and her fearlessness in tackling controversial topics, The Madness of Crowds will be a welcome addition to the Chief Inspector Gamache series for her many, many fans.

Like all authors, Louise Penny faced the challenge of how to incorporate the world-wide pandemic into her work – especially challenging for a series and while not knowing exactly what our “new normal” would look like post-Covid. The Madness of Crowds gets much of this correct, while not taking into account the devastating impact of variants. Because of the isolation of Three Pines, it is easy to believe that Penny’s version of “after” is possible, even if only for the short time period in which the novel takes place.

The Madness of Crowds is set around the winter holidays and while many people are relaxing and getting ready to celebrate Christmas, Gamache and his team are hired to work security for an upcoming lecture at a local University. It seems that Abigail Robinson will be speaking at the event and her unconventional views coming out of the pandemic have been causing a stir in the academic community.

Louise Penny does a nice job of creating a slow and steady build to the start of this lecture, with an air of mystery and trepidation surrounding the speech’s topic. There is enough evidence for concern which only increases the foreboding the reader feels as the pages turn. This is a crime novel, so of course, things do not go quite as planned at the event and tensions in the small village are high.

Many authors would be content with this level of unease, but Louise Penny ups the ante by weaving in an unexpected murder which may or may not be connected to the events at the public lecture. With no shortage of suspects, readers will speed through the chapters – many with cliffhanger endings – trying to sort the red herrings from the actual clues that will expose this murderer.

Each of the regular Three Pines citizens make appearances and their reactions to Gamache’s investigation vary. Louise Penny also brings to the canvas a number of new characters, among them, the chancellor at the University and Haniya Daoud, a Sudanese folk hero – both of whom are highly opinionated, controversial, and vocal in their convictions.

As with most of her novels, Louise Penny weaves in obscure, but true, information she has discovered over the years. In this case, an unusual anthropological theory is mentioned and echoes throughout the remainder of the investigation. It is tidbits like this that readers will carry with them into life – one of the many reasons fans of Louise Penny enjoy getting together to discuss her novels in depth.

Every review of Louise Penny’s oeuvre that I have written talks about her innate ability to understand human nature – both the good and the bad, but also the grey in between. With The Madness of Crowds, she is one of the first crime fiction authors to tackle the pandemic and its aftermath head-on and in doing so becomes almost a literary Oracle at Delphi, mapping out both the rewards and the pitfalls facing society after such an unprecedented and seismic pandemic.

In the end, The Madness of Crowds stands as one of the best novels in Louise Penny’s excellent, and now iconic, series. The ramifications of events from this novel will still be felt moving forward and fans will be clamoring to find out what will happen next.