All the Devils Are Here

My least favorite Gamache book thus far. I realize I said that last book, but I mean it this time.

The Gamaches are in Paris for the birth of a grandchild, but get sucked into a murder mystery when a close family friend is involved in a hit-and-run accident outside a restaurant. Not long after, a body is found within the family friend's residence, and the case starts quickly spiraling out from there. Soon, Gamache is chasing down leads involving corporate espionage and coverup murders, and it's not until the end that we finally learn who's side everyone is on.

Rather than feeling like a traditional Gamache twisty murder mystery, this felt more like Gamache-and-friends were dumped into a generic corporate espionage thriller plot. I know thrillers have their fans out there, but the incredibly fast paced action of this book didn't feel very....Gamache-like. All throughout Paris, I couldn't help but think about how much I missed Canada and Three Pines and the friends that have become mainstays in these books up until this point, and it really took me out of the current book's setting. I realize this was an attempt to keep the series fresh, but it just felt too far removed from what I loved about the other fifteen books.

All that said, I did like the role Reine-Marie played in this one, and I really hope she keeps it in the following books.

I just want to say this book was great but I had a dysfunctional moment with it. I couldn't get it to play on the kindle at all and then decided to spend some time on my phone and just listened. This is my first book by Louise Penny and this is book sixteen in the Chief Inspector Gamache series. I will say that this reads beautifully as a standalone. The Paris setting was amazing. I felt as if I were there, even though I never have been. I felt like I was walking the streets, seeing the statues and architecture, and eating the delicious-sounding food they were eating. Paris is definitely a major character in this book. Armand and his family are , of course, the main human characters. Some of the revelations are heart-breaking; and others, joyous.
The plot is labyrinthine with many twists and surprises and crosses and doubles crosses. It was an exciting ride.
It gave me Dan Brown Angels and Demons vibes and I loved the who done it aspect that the book inspires. I enjoyed the quiet and felt like things were wrapped up nice even though it left room for a book seventeen. I am for sure going to go backwards and read book one just to get a better love for the characters.

Summary: As Gamache and his wife visit Paris to await the birth of their grandchild, crime continues to happen.

Louise Penny is one of my favorite fiction authors at this point. I can't think of another author that has managed to keep my attention 16 books into a series. I am been reading far too few fiction books lately. There are many reasons for that, but I do believe that fiction is essential. It is how we understand parts of the world that are not our own as well, giving words to help us make sense of the elements of the world that are our own. I was thrilled that Netgalley has started offering audiobook to review. I was desperate for a change of pace, and while a crime thriller isn't what I would call relaxing, it was the change of pace I needed. I finished the 14-hour audiobook in three days. I would not recommend jumping into the 16th book in the series; there are too many details that you will miss.