The Gilmore Guide to Books

Connecting Books and Readers One Review at a Time

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Reviews
    • Reviews by Author
    • Reviews by Title
    • Reviews by Genre
  • Podcast
  • Policies
    • Review Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Policy

A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny

February 13, 2023

world of curiosities

A World of Curiosities (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #18) by Louise Penny
Published by Minotaur Books
Publication date: November 29, 2022
Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Suspense
five-stars
Your Local Book Store, Amazon

I’ve had my ups and downs with the Chief Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny, but I’m beginning another week with another big claim: her latest, A World of Curiosities, is the best one yet. In it, Penny mashes up the past and the present to reinforce the history of friends and foes alike. The past is represented by going back to the scene of a woman’s murder, when Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and Agent Jean-Guy Beauvoir, his second-in-command, first meet. In the present day, an ominous 150-year-old letter is delivered that leads to the discovery of a hidden room in a Three Pines home. While everyone else is amused and intrigued Gamache worries that a long-forgotten danger from the past is back to threaten the present.

Penny re-assembles the town’s entire cast of familiar and beloved characters in A World of Curiosities, including the misanthropic poet Ruth, bookstore owner Myrna, and B&B proprietor Gabri. She enfolds newcomers such a minister and his wife, and, there to celebrate their graduation from engineering school, Fiona and Harriet. Fiona is the daughter of the woman murdered a decade ago and Harriet is Myrna’s niece. The town’s mild curiosity morphs into something darker when the hidden room is opened and found to contain items linked to each of them. But the strangest surprise is the presence of a large mural, known as the World of Curiosities—a famous painting from the 1800s with clues buried throughout its canvas.

Penny’s prowess is welcome with all the moving pieces in A World of Curiosities. Faltering or accelerating too fast around a curve could have easily wrecked the novel. Instead, she presses on, adding more elements and details, all of which keep the story moving forward at an increasing speed and tension. At the same time, Penny lets her characters stay in their lanes, without some of the more outlandish antics that have cropped up in the past. It ensured that A World of Curiosities was stellar, engrossing reading.

If Penny’s writing style sounds interesting and you like mysteries but don’t want to start a series, her novel, State of Terror is outstanding.

 

This post contains affiliate links which means if you click on a link and make a purchase of any kind, I get a small commission (at no cost to you).

five-stars

Related Posts

  • Related Posts
  • Same Genre
  • 5 Star Books
  • By Louise Penny
carrie
Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
brennans
We Are the Brennans: A Novel
Shakespeare
Something Wicked This Way Comes: Mini-Reviews
city
City of Women
in the blood
In the Blood
Beautiful Ruins
Beautiful Ruins
hello beautiful
Hello, Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
astonish me
Astonish Me
razorblade
Razorblade Tears
wonderland
Wonderland
swans
The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin
song
Song of a Captive Bird
too bright
Too Bright to Hear Too Loud to See
ten
Ten Best Books of 2019
stone
Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
October
October Reading Wrap-Up
kingdom
Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny
May
May Reading Recap
March
March Reading Wrap-Up
glass
Glass Houses by Louise Penny

10 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: mystery, vacation reading

Comments

  1. Laila says

    February 13, 2023 at 5:26 am

    This series is hugely popular in our library system!

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      February 20, 2023 at 2:30 pm

      I was one of those fans, until The Better Man, which felt so rushed and poorly done I stopped reading them until now.

      Reply
      • KJ says

        April 10, 2023 at 8:37 pm

        She has spoken extensively about how she wrote A Better Man while her husband was dying and that it was a departure for her and reflective of her mental state during a difficult and traumatic time.

        Reply
        • Catherine says

          April 11, 2023 at 4:52 pm

          I hadn’t heard her speak about it, but knew the timeline- which has always made me feel even guiltier for not liking it.

          Reply
  2. Lisa of Lisa's Yarns says

    February 13, 2023 at 7:30 am

    I didn’t love the last book in this series so am glad her latest was her best yet for you! I am impressed that she can crank these out yearly!

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      February 20, 2023 at 2:33 pm

      Interesting. I did really like The Madness of Crowds. It was The Better Man that I disliked so much.

      Sometimes, I wish she wouldn’t write a book a year. So many authors give up quality for quantity.

      Reply
  3. Sarah says

    February 13, 2023 at 10:43 am

    I completely agree – her best one yet!

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      February 20, 2023 at 2:33 pm

      It made me happy to be so engrossed in one of her novels again!

      Reply
  4. susan says

    February 15, 2023 at 2:31 pm

    The best one yet eh? You’ve had a few 5 star reads lately. What’s in the water you’re drinking these days?! You’re on a roll and will likely need to tell all about it on the podcast. Enjoy your week.

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      February 20, 2023 at 2:34 pm

      Sadly, all my outstanding reading has been free-range, not from my preview picks! Gulp.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Save time and subscribe via email

No time to keep checking for new reviews? Enter your email address to subscribe and receive notifications of new posts by email. No spam!

Currently Reading

Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
by Emily Nagoski
The Dutch House
The Dutch House
by Ann Patchett
Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me
Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me
by Adrienne Brodeur

goodreads.com

Affiliate Disclosure

I’m an affiliate for Indiebound and Amazon. If you click on a link that takes you to any of these sites and make a purchase I’ll earn a small fee, which goes towards the costs of maintaining this site. Your support is appreciated. Thank you!

Archives

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.

Theme Design By Studio Mommy · Copyright © 2023

Copyright © 2023 · Beyond Madison Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in