Kingdom of the Blind

Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny

I find myself these days looking for a book to get lost in. So I went looking for a mystery/detective stories. I haven't had great luck with these in the past, so was pleasantly surprised when I had trouble putting this one down. I basically read it cover-to-cover over the long MLK-day weekend.

This book is one of a series about Armand Gamache, a detective with something called the Surete du Quebec -- which has several accent marks I've left out -- that I assume is what they call the police force in our French-speaking neighbor to the north. In this one, there are three plot lines to follow. The first is a will for which Gamache, a neighbor friend, and an unknown third party are inexplicably named liquidators responsible for carrying out the deceased's wishes. Who was this person? Why did they put strangers in charge of the will? And why did it lead to a murder? Second is an investigation into Gamache himself that stems from actions he must have taken in a previous book. He is on suspension from his job as head of the Surete. Gamache seems fine with this, but his son-in-law, who also happens to work for him, is less comfortable with the situation. Higher-ups want him to sign some paperwork indicating that Gamache acted alone. Will he sign? How might this impact Gamache's future? Finally, the action for which Gamache is under investigation allowed a new powerful, and deadly, opioid into Quebec, and could hit the streets any day. Will Gamache stop it?

I appreciated how the author wove these narrative lines together so that they all stayed in the forefront of the reader's mind. I also was taken with the way she brought the characters to life. It is no mystery why she would serialize Gamache. It was also fun to be tricked a bit in the end. Throughout the book, you think you know what the characters know, even though the author tries to make it clear that you don't. Still, it is surprising to find out that Gamache was hiding something from the reader as well as his fellow characters. What might have really drawn me in, though, was the descriptions of rural Quebec in winter time. It seems like an idyllic place, albeit a cold one. I'll have to return to Gamache soon!