Armand Gamache in Paris: Louise Penny’s "All the Devils Are Here"

Review by Sharon Tucker  

Details on how to win a copy of this book at the end of the review and links to purchase it.  

My high charms work and these, mine enemies, are all in their distractions. They now are in my power.” —Prospero, The Tempest, III. iii. 

Every year it is the same; as summer ends, Louise Penny’s long awaited new Three Pines novel arrives at last. What immediately distinguishes All the Devils Are Here (2020) from most of its predecessors is that we aren’t in Three Pines, Quebec, for the novel’s duration. I’ll admit to mixed emotions regarding this latest development because I so look forward to spending most of each novel in this small Quebecois village with the characters I know so well, but . . . Paris! 


➡ switch to KingsRiverLife.com for more articles ⬅

Image Source Minotaur
Armand and Reign-Marie are newly arrived in Paris as we begin, but so many of the Gamache family are already living in Paris. Their eldest son, Daniel, is a banker living and working there. Annie, their daughter, is expecting another child that is close to term, while her husband, Jean-Guy, Armand’s former 2nd in command at the Surete` de Quebec, is working as head of security for a Parisian engineering firm. The drama begins to unfold immediately as we meet Armand’s godfather, Stephen Horowitz, long a mover and shaker in the Parisian financial world—and very much a Prospero-like figure. Events evolve quickly with a sudden life-threatening incident and the discovery something may be very wrong in the engineering firm Jean-Guy feels rather lost in. Oddly it all seems obscurely linked to Stephen Horowitz. Too, all is not well in the Gamache family as long subdued resentments suddenly flower and the remembrance of things past is just as suddenly a minefield. 

This latest novel may not be peopled with our Three Pines regulars, but you will enjoy seeing Paris through the eyes of the Gamache family. Penny’s deft touch with conflict is much in evidence as family members spar and co-workers do not know who to trust. Armand is at his best when discerning subtleties and reconciling the difficult, but the stakes are different within his own family dynamic. It seems years of covering up true feelings have created a carapace even he may not be able to penetrate. What is always so good to see is how each character brings their strengths to solve the central problem of the novel and how their baggage gets in the way. Armand himself has more baggage then usual here and is therefore more vulnerable than we have seen him in the past—even though we have come through some difficult times with him to be sure. 

What I particularly relished was getting to know the Gamache family, immediate and extended. I also loved the plot’s roots in WWII, a subject that is still part of the culture in Paris. So, contain your disappointment that Ruth, Rosa, Gabri, Olivier and Clara, and our other Three Pines friends are only mentioned in All the Devils Are Here. I’m sure we will be with them again soon and that whatever catastrophe has befallen any or all of them, Armand will sort soon enough.  

To enter to win a copy of All the Devils Are Here, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line "devils,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen October 24, 2020. US residents only and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win. BE AWARE THAT DUE TO THE CURRENT CRISIS THERE MAY BE A DELAY IN SHIPPING THE WINNING BOOK. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section in Kings River Life and in our mystery category here on KRL News & Reviews. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. And check out our new mystery podcast which features mystery short stories and first chapters read by local actors! A new episode goes up next week.

You can use these links to purchase the book. If you have adblocker on you may not be able to see the Amazon link:


Sharon Tucker is former faculty at the University of Memphis in Memphis TN, and now enjoys evening supervising in that campus library. Having forsworn TV except for online viewing and her own movies, she reads an average of 3 to 4 books per week and has her first novel---a mystery, of course---well underway.
 
Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.

Comments

  1. New author for me, sounds good! tWarner419(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds like an interesting location twist. I'd love to have a copy. Thanks! crs(at)codedivasites(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sounds like a book I would enjoy reading. Thanks for the chance.
    diannekc8(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sounds great! Legallyblonde1961@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love this series, but haven't read this one yet. Thanks for the opportunity.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Isn't that a wonderful cover? I really enjoy this series. Karen94066 at aol dot com

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment