Glass Houses
Louise Penny Pages: 388 Published: 2017
The book: A strange, masked figure dressed in black appears in a small Canadian village near Montreal, called Three Pines. The figure stands silently for days in the middle of the village. No one knows who he is or why he is there. Concern and fear spread among the local residents. Strange things happen. Perhaps murder is afoot? Can Armand Gamache, who happens to have a home in the village and is the Chief Superintendent of the Sûreté du Québec, work out what’s going on and who the masked figure is?
You might like it because: This is a well-plotted mystery that will keep readers turning the pages and trying to work out whodunit. Penny’s characters, which include a duck (yes, a duck!), will keep the reader engaged as the plot moves along.
What did other people say?
“The tension has never been greater…A meticulously built mystery that follows a careful ascent toward a breaking point that will leave you breathless. It’s Three Pines as you have never seen it before.”– Kirkus Reviews
“Chief Superintendent Armand Gamache of the Quebec police is one of the most interesting detectives in crime fiction.” –The Sunday Times (U.K)
Awards & Recognition:
Washington Post – Ten best mysteries and thrillers of 2017.
Amazon – Best Book of 2017.
Barnes & Noble’s – Best Fiction Books of 2017.
How quickly will you get into the book?
I had not read any of the previous Gamache novels, so was not familiar with the characters. Nonetheless, I was hooked by page twenty.
You might not like it because: Some of the plot lines may feel too far-fetched for some readers. For others, some of the more eccentric characters might seem too unrealistic.
What might you read next?
Penny mentioned in a number of interviews that she’d originally set out to write historical fiction but realized that she should write the type of books she read, which were books by people like Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers. You could pick Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express. Or try Sayers’ first novel, Whose Body?
Alternatively, read a thriller that starts off on the other side of Canada. Pick up It All Falls Down, by Sheena Kamal, which begins in Vancouver.
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