Kingdom of the Blind

Locations
Call Number: Mystery / Penny, Louise, Adult Book / Fiction / Mystery / General / Penny, Louise
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Malletts Creek Branch, Pittsfield Branch, Traverwood Branch, Westgate Branch

"The new Chief Inspector Gamache novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author."-- Provided by publisher.
When a peculiar letter arrives inviting Armand Gamache to an abandoned farmhouse, the former head of the Sûreté du Québec discovers that a complete stranger has named him one of the executors of her will. Still on suspension, and frankly curious, Gamache accepts and soon learns that the other two executors are Myrna Landers, the bookseller from Three Pines, and a young builder. None of them had ever met the elderly woman. The will is so odd and includes bequests that are so wildly unlikely that Gamache and the others suspect the woman must have been delusional. But what if, Gamache begins to ask himself, she was perfectly sane? When a body is found, the terms of the bizarre will suddenly seem less peculiar and far more menacing. But it isn't the only menace Gamache is facing. The investigation into what happened six months ago--the events that led to his suspension--has dragged on, into the dead of winter. And while most of the opioids he allowed to slip through his hands, in order to bring down the cartels, have been retrieved, there is one devastating exception. Enough narcotic to kill thousands has disappeared into inner city Montreal. With the deadly drug about to hit the streets, Gamache races for answers. As he uses increasingly audacious, even desperate, measures to retrieve the drug, Armand Gamache begins to see his own blind spots. And the terrible things hiding there.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Time with friends, but something feels off submitted by cattorgerson on January 6, 2019, 11:55am Since I was first introduced to Penny's books over ten years ago, I have loved reading and rereading/listening to them. I enjoyed some more than others, but I always found myself relishing a beautiful turn of phrase, an insight that caused me to pause and think, a laugh out loud moment, and the personalities that have come to life in Three Pines. This novel was not a richly written, and at times felt a bit stale. (This may be in part because I read two other novels in the series just before this one.)

In some places I wondered if I was reading something written by a secondary author: someone familiar with the characters of the books but not Penny herself. Perhaps the death of Penny's husband impacted her. Perhaps, like many popular authors, she has shifted to a more brisk prose. Maybe something happened in editing, or she did depend on someone else to do some of the writing; who knows. I agree with reviews I've read elsewhere that it did not have a feel of a typical Penny book.

For the past couple of novels the overall story arc of Gamache has taken precedence over the mystery du jour, and that is the case here. What one expects to happen around Gamache finally does. Other characters seem to have their story lines wrapped up - or at least pointed in a new direction -, so perhaps Penny plans this to be the last book.

I don't discourage anyone who enjoys Three Pines from reading this addition to the series. But I would not recommend it as a first book to read of Penny's, and I caution those with a passion for her work against having high expectations.

the best of the Gamache series submitted by 21621031390949 on June 24, 2019, 9:38pm This is the best book of the Gamache series! Nicely written, more plausible than some of the others.

Not my favorite Louise Penny submitted by teri on August 12, 2019, 10:31pm A good read, but I enjoyed her earlier works more than this one.

Thoughtful person's kind of mystery submitted by DeeFisher on August 2, 2020, 6:32pm You don't find much by way of shootouts or high risk taking. Thoughtfulness is Penny's forte. I really like the scenery, weather, full personalities that all come together for the solutions.

plot holes and predictability submitted by camelsamba on July 2, 2021, 9:03pm In the first scene, Gamache (and Myrna, and a stranger named Benedict) have been named as executors of the estate of someone they've never met or even heard of. While it looks like the mystery might involve discovering if the inheritance as described in the will actually exists, someone turns up dead so it turns into a (conventional?) murder mystery. But it's not really a conventional Louise Penney book, because a lot of the plot is predictable, but it is also rife with plot holes.

So what did I like? I liked that there was another mystery that needed to be solved: the Baumgartner-Kinderroth family feud element. And while the financial shenanigans were not discussed in detail, they did add another non-murder twist to unravel. And while I'm not sophisticated enough to tease them out, especially not when I listen to the audiobook, I like that there were some kind of underlying themes around the bindweed and the blindness.

"The real danger in a garden came from the bindweed, that moved underground, then surfaced and took hold, strangling plant after healthy plant, killing them all, slowly, and for no apparent reason, except that it was its nature. And then it disappeared underground again. Yes, the real danger always came from the thing you couldn't see." (17% in)

Excellent entry in the Gamache series submitted by vickik on August 28, 2022, 10:14am In the latest entry in Louise Penny's popular mystery series, Armand Gamache, former head of the Sûreté de Québec, now living in the tiny village of Three Pines, is named as the executor of the will of a woman he's never met. Soon afterwards, the body of her oldest son is found in a collapsed farmhouse. Gamache's investigation of the murder uncovers secrets, including a long-lasting family feud. Meanwhile, Gamache searches for a deadly drug he allowed to slip through, and which is about to hit the streets of Montréal.

A bit too many references to past events submitted by elenalibro on August 11, 2023, 7:05am This is only the second book of Gamache that I am reading. I am now halfway. I love mystery books and I appreciate that there is a thread of event that connects different books of the same author, however this time the reference to past events is a bit excessive. It seems to read a sequel more than an independent mystery book.