Book Review

Should we have a right or a duty to die?

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By Ande Jacobson

The Madness of Crowds is the seventeenth mystery novel in Louise Penny’s Gamache series. Armand Gamache, his wife Reine-Marie, and their children, grandchildren, and Armand’s godfather, Stephen Horowitz are all back in Three Pines. Armand is hard at work as the Chief Inspector of the Homicide division at the Sûreté du Québec, and his son-in-law, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, is his co-second as he readjusts to being back in the thick of things. This time, Penny tackles an extremely controversial subject coming out of the pandemic, the subject of euthanasia, but from an unexpected direction. At the end of the previous installment, Annie and Jean-Guy welcomed their second child into the world, a daughter they named Idola. Theirs was an informed choice to complete the pregnancy even though they found out early on that their child had Down Syndrome. They could have aborted the fetus, but instead chose to bring their daughter into the world, to love her, to care for her, and give her the best life they possibly could. Dark forces are amassing though, and their world is rocked by controversy. In the story, a famed statistics professor, Abigail Robinson, had recently released a report from the pandemic that suggested that resources were limited, and that it would be better for society if people who were old or infirm weren’t necessarily given life extending treatments and were instead allowed to die. More to the point, that for the good of society, she posited that they essentially had a duty to die. That of course hits very close to home for Armand and company, and especially for Jean-Guy and Annie. Continue reading →

Armand is always an investigator

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By Ande Jacobson

All the Devils Are Here is the sixteenth mystery novel in Louise Penny’s Gamache series. It starts out serving as a break from the usual Three Pines/Québec storylines moving instead to Paris, France. Armand Gamache and his wife Reine-Marie are taking a short vacation from his heading the Homicide division at the Sûreté du Québec visiting their children and grandchildren. Their daughter, Annie, and son-in-law, Jean-Guy Beauvoir are soon expecting the birth of their second child. Jean-Guy has recently started his job in the private sector after leaving the Sûreté. Unfortunately for Armand and Reine-Marie, Jean-Guy’s new job is in Paris, so both of their children and all of their grandchildren are across the pond. At least it gives them a nice place to visit for important occasions. Continue reading →

What would Armand Gamache do?

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By Ande Jacobson

A Better Man is the fifteenth mystery novel in Louise Penny’s Gamache series. This time Armand Gamache is back at the Sûreté du Québec in his old job as the Chief Inspector of the Homicide division, a job he temporarily shares with his former second-in-command (and son-in-law) Jean-Guy Beauvoir. He’s made a lot of enemies both in the Sûreté leadership and in the government, although he also has a few well-placed friends. He’s being attacked by the press, by social media, and while it would be far easier for him to just retire after all of the turmoil he’s endured, his sense of duty and honor will not let him do that. To make matters worse, the province is facing a spring catastrophe that brings with it both bad press and life-threatening danger. In all of this, Armand is pulled into a search that quickly becomes a murder investigation that tugs at him personally. It’s not that he’s well-acquainted with the victim, but he is emotionally torn by those surrounding her including her distraught father, an abusive husband, and circumstances that are murky at best. Continue reading →

Confessions may sometimes mislead

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By Ande Jacobson

Confession is the third book in Michael Cordell’s Contempt series, and it’s a page-turner. Released at the beginning of August 2025, readers again join Thane Banning on a controversial case. Thane is a criminal attorney with a past. Having been framed and imprisoned for a murder he didn’t commit, he’s still struggling since his release to cope with what that did to him. He’s taken on some difficult cases in the past and won even when the odds were against him, although his methods weren’t always quite by the book. He’s trying desperately to change that though not just for himself, but for his wife Hannah, and their as yet unborn child. He wants to get back to being the man he was before his confinement. This time, Thane takes on a client who is accused of killing a popular football coach with a winning record at a notable local university. The biggest problem is that she confessed to the crime, so Thane and his team are starting from a huge disadvantage. Thane’s team includes:

  • Kristin Peterson – a new, young attorney who is learning the ropes and has an eye toward righting wrongs.
  • Gideon Spence – originally a friend from Thane’s time in prison who is now part enforcer, part private investigator, and all parts loyal friend.
  • Letitia – receptionist and office manager extraordinaire.

Continue reading →

The line between guests and residents can be a fractious one

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By Ande Jacobson

The second book in Tess Gerritsen’s Martini Club series, The Summer Guests, again returns to Purity, Maine. Maggie Bird, Declan Rose, Ben Diamond, and Ingrid and Lloyd Slocum are again involved in solving not just one crime, but also an old one that took place decades ago in the secluded hamlet they now call home. The five members of the Martini Club are ex-CIA operatives who were just looking for a quiet retirement, but while spies can leave active duty, they can’t turn off their zest for solving the puzzles that come their way. This time, Maggie rounds up the club when her friend and neighbor, Luther Yount, is arrested for something he didn’t do. Continue reading →

Blind spots can be challenging

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By Ande Jacobson

Kingdom of the Blind is the fourteenth mystery novel in Louise Penny’s Gamache series and like its predecessor picks up where the previous story left off. Armand Gamache is on suspension after a tenuous but mostly successful gambit to address the drug problem plaguing Canada (and the U.S.). Because of the actions he took, there are serious consequences in the making, but they haven’t hit just yet, so Armand is officially in limbo. He made a lot of political enemies while he was Chief Superintendent of the Sûreté du Québec. While Isabelle Lacoste is also on leave still recovering from her almost fatal injuries from the last project, Armand’s son-in-law, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, is the acting head of Homicide. Superintendent Madeleine Toussaint has been promoted to acting Chief Superintendent. Despite all of that, Armand unofficially still has work to do. He’s determined to find the missing drugs that his team couldn’t recover over the course of events that ended with his suspension, and he uses some rather unorthodox methods to go about doing so. Much of his plan is only known to himself and one other person who is neither Isabelle nor Jean-Guy frustrating the two of them given their close relationships with Armand. Continue reading →

Making it appear that all is lost

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By Ande Jacobson

Glass Houses, is the thirteenth mystery novel in Louise Penny’s Gamache series. As in the previous book, this one picks up where its predecessor left off, this time with Armand Gamache taking the position of Chief Superintendent of the Sûreté du Québec. Having cleaned out the service and the academy of the former deep-seated corruption, he now faces the reality that the service is fighting what seems an unwinnable battle against the drug trade. Canada had become the entry point for drugs flowing from Europe, Asia, and parts beyond so proficiently that there isn’t an obvious way to stop them. Those drugs then blanket both Canada and the U.S. causing death and destruction in their wake. Given this dire situation, Armand, with his second-in-command and son-in-law Jean-Guy Beauvoir, create a committee of the most trusted heads of Sûreté departments including Chief Inspector Isabelle Lacoste, the agent who rose to replace Armand when he retired earlier, and Superintendent Madeleine Toussaint among others to address this in a way that promises serious consequences whether or not they are successful. Armand also enlists the chief prosecutor for the province, Barry Zalmanowitz, in his complex plan. At the same time, Armand is a key prosecution witness in a contentious murder trial. The presiding judge, Judge Maureen Corriveau, suspects something is amiss in the trial early on, but it takes time for the depth of the scheme to fully come to light. Part of Armand’s plan necessitated him making it seem like the Sûreté was completely inept to give those they were pursuing a false sense of security. The danger of course puts many innocents in grave danger. At what point are sacrifices for the greater good too great? Continue reading →

Finishing cleaning house

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By Ande Jacobson

A Great Reckoning, is the twelfth mystery novel in Louise Penny’s Gamache series. The story picks up the thread of what’s next for Armand Gamache, formerly the chief inspector of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec. After cleaning the corruption out of the service itself and the top leadership and retiring to Three Pines, there’s one piece left – the academy that trains new recruits. Recently (in the previous book), Armand saw first-hand the caliber of recent academy graduates and was appalled at their lack of decorum and their dangerous and violent attitudes. After receiving numerous offers from various services that value his expertise, he chooses to accept the position of commander of the Sûreté Academy. His first task is to adjust the staff, letting some of the old guard go, and ushering in some new faces. He keeps a few of the old guard though, including a few potentially dangerous individuals. Unfortunately for him, one of them turns out to be far worse than he knew. Continue reading →

The Phoenix Crown: A tale of intrigue and survival

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By Ande Jacobson

The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang is a brilliant work of historical fiction that takes place surrounding the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The story surrounds four fictional women who come together through happenstance and trauma and become not only fast friends, but heroes during the earthquake and after. Quinn and Chang weave a fascinating tale of intrigue, murder, survival, and quite a bit of history in this one. The Prologue begins with a glimpse many years past the end of the story. Then Chapter 1 quickly rewinds to just under two weeks before the earthquake. There was a lot happening in the city just then, and the authors capture the many events coalescing in those fateful two weeks. They also capture the horror and chaos that surrounded the earthquake and its aftermath as the city burned. For those from California and especially the San Francisco Bay Area, the earthquake portion of the story is terrifying, yet the courage and tenacity shown by the protagonists is uplifting and inspirational. Continue reading →

What happened to Ruth Zardo?

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By Ande Jacobson

The Nature of the Beast, the eleventh mystery novel in Louise Penny’s Chief Inspector Armand Gamache (of the Sûreté du Québec) series, is more than a murder mystery. It’s also a work of historical fiction. While the current day murders are works of fiction, the core discovery driving them is a bit of real history that could have changed the world in a frightening way. Penny uses what could have been the most devastating technological development ever created by man to weave a fascinating tale of intrigue and personal growth. Continue reading →