Glass Houses

A Novel

by Louise Penny

Louise Penny’s All the Devils are Here is one of my favorite books ever. In that title as in all the others I have found that it is easy to love Armand Gamache. Much like Donna Leon’s fictional Brunetti, Gamache is a good man and it is a pleasure to spend time with him.

Glass Houses is the 13th entry in the series that began with Still Life. Most of the books are set, as this one is, in the fictional village of Three Pines (Canada). Gamache has chosen to live there for the sense of peace and community that he finds there, in contrast with the grittiness he sees in his investigations.

In this novel, all of the reader’s favorite townspeople are there. To name a few besides Gamache, there is his second in command (and son in law) Jean Guy Beauvoir, Isabelle, the inn owners, poet Ruth, and painter Clara, to name a few. There are also some weekend visitors including a politician and an architect. However…in addition, there is someone rather odd in the village. This character is dressed all in black, stands in one place, does not engage and leaves everyone feeling menaced. Why is this figure there? What does this character symbolize? What will be uncovered? What moral dilemmas will Gamache face? Readers will want to know.

The structure of this book is goes between a court trial and the actual events. This perspective heightened my interest in the story.

Kirkus Reviews notes the very high level of tension in this story. I agree. My opinion is that one can NEVER go wrong reading this series. Pick up this one and all of the others. Note that Penny has a new novel coming out this fall.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press-Minotaur Books for this title. All opinions are my own.

This book was published in 2017.