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Madness of Crowds
Madness of Crowds | Louise Penny
15 posts | 23 read | 6 to read
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache returns to Three Pines in #1 New York Times bestseller Louise Penny's latest spellbinding novel You're a coward. Time and again, as the New Year approaches, that charge is leveled against Armand Gamache. It starts innocently enough. While the residents of the Qubec village of Three Pines take advantage of the deep snow to ski and toboggan, to drink hot chocolate in the bistro and share meals together, the Chief Inspector finds his holiday with his family interrupted by a simple request. He's asked to provide security for what promises to be a non-event. A visiting Professor of Statistics will be giving a lecture at the nearby university. While he is perplexed as to why the head of homicide for the Sret du Qubec would be assigned this task, it sounds easy enough. That is until Gamache starts looking into Professor Abigail Robinson and discovers an agenda so repulsive he begs the university to cancel the lecture. They refuse, citing academic freedom, and accuse Gamache of censorship and intellectual cowardice. Before long, Professor Robinson's views start seeping into conversations. Spreading and infecting. So that truth and fact, reality and delusion are so confused it's near impossible to tell them apart. Discussions become debates, debates become arguments, which turn into fights. As sides are declared, a madness takes hold. Abigail Robinson promises that, if they follow her, a va bien aller. All will be well. But not, Gamache and his team know, for everyone. When a murder is committed it falls to Armand Gamache, his second-in-command Jean-Guy Beauvoir, and their team to investigate the crime as well as this extraordinary popular delusion. And the madness of crowds.
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review
Bluebird
Madness of Crowds | Louise Penny
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Pickpick

The Gamache series is one of my favorites. Love the characters, love the charming village, love the mysteries, love the audiobook narrator. Reading these books always makes me smile and takes me to my happy place…which is kind of odd for a mystery read. Lol. This book is not quite up to the standards of all the earlier ones, but still a pick for me.
First book read for #SeriesLove23 @Andrew65 @TheSpineView
#52BookClub23 #sendsyoudownarabbithole

Bluebird The rabbit hole I went down was for the mention of serial killer Harold Shipman. I was surprised I‘d never heard of this doctor who killed 250 people between 1975-1998! 1y
Cinfhen Ohhhhh! That would have sent me down the r🐰 🕳 too!!! 1y
BarbaraBB A real rabbit hole book indeed 1y
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TheSpineView Great job! 1y
Librarybelle Good choice! 1y
Andrew65 Well done, a great series of books. 👏👏👏 1y
Andrew65 That is indeed a rabbit hole, a terrible, terrible man! How he got away with it for so long says so much about the lack of checks and balances in the system. (edited) 1y
Bluebird @Andrew65 yes! It was quite shocking to learn of this. 1y
jenniferw88 @Bluebird @Cinfhen @BarbaraBB This is why this prompt is so interesting to me. Shipman is well known in the UK! Everyone's choice is going to be so different - I THINK I've just started mine! 14mo
Cinfhen Excellent subject matter @jenniferw88 14mo
25 likes10 comments
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canbku
Madness of Crowds | Louise Penny
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Gorgeous cover! And it's the last one that's currently out! I'll be waiting for the next installment... Soon!!

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Tamra
Madness of Crowds | Louise Penny
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Pickpick

I loved being back in Three Pines! 🌲🌲🌲

I had a laugh when the narrator acknowledges the omnipresence of murder in the tiny village.

The themes were fully engaging, BUT, is it just me or has Penny recently been making the solutions more convoluted and revelations more protracted? With the last two novels they‘ve felt belabored and I was getting frustrated with the stalling. Just seems more than necessary for a cathartic climax.

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Tamra
Madness of Crowds | Louise Penny
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Enjoying this one a great deal as I‘m eager to find out how the pieces fit together. Hits a little close to home though re: the collective pandemic anxiety, which isn‘t over by any means.

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Penny_LiteraryHoarders
Madness of Crowds | Louise Penny
Pickpick

Although too long and drawn out, and kind of got bored in places, no one writes like Louise Penny and the title of this book is probably one of her very best titles! How it‘s weaved into the story is fantastic. I will always run to grab the next in the series!

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ImperfectCJ
Madness of Crowds | Louise Penny
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Pickpick

An overall pick for the moral/ethical questions raised and despite Penny making the mistake many of us have in thinking that the arrival of the vaccine(s) would lead swiftly to the end of the pandemic. I also think she puts too much emphasis on the lasting effects of pandemic isolation, or maybe it was just worse in Quebec. Or maybe it hit people harder who were used to interacting a lot more with a lot of people, and I'm missing that perspective.

ImperfectCJ Basically, she seems to assume a collective experience that I didn't really feel, which made it challenging to connect with the novel at some points. Not usually a problem for me with stories about less current events. 2y
ImperfectCJ And...what's with all the hints about Gamache and Beauvoir not being able to smell things? I thought for sure this meant they'd caught breakthrough cases, but I guess not in Penny's perfect post-pandemic world. Can't figure out why she even mentions it, though. 2y
55 likes2 comments
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Readswithcoffee
Madness of Crowds | Louise Penny
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Just started this audiobook. Great premise! Sure hope it pans out! 🤞🏻

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Lindy
Madness of Crowds | Louise Penny
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Pickpick

You know what to expect in a mystery series, especially by the 17th one about Inspector Gamache. I wasn‘t disappointed: the cast of characters are cozily familiar and yet we always learn new things about them—just as we do with people in real life. Louise Penny does this by throwing in moral questions brought to the foreground by the COVID pandemic.

BkClubCare Is this another colorful cover?! Yes 2y
Lindy @BkClubCare I guess it‘s a trend. And I like it! 2y
BkClubCare @Lindy me, too! I can recognize your posts before my brain does. (Actually, one of my fave coworkers is named Lindy… so you are memorable no matter what) 2y
Lindy @BkClubCare ☺️🥰 2y
38 likes4 comments
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Lindy
Madness of Crowds | Louise Penny
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“It‘s about what happens when greed and fear meet gullibility and power.”
“Nothing good?” said Armand with a small smile.
“You‘re smarter than you look, garçon.”Stephen tapped the cover. “People will believe anything. Doesn‘t make them stupid, just desperate.”

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Lindy
Madness of Crowds | Louise Penny
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Scene of urban wildlife… while #audiowalking!

Leftcoastzen 😄🙌 2y
Lindy @Leftcoastzen The dinosaurs had the voices of teenage girls and they were yakking away nonstop to each other, as if they wore these suits every day. 2y
Leftcoastzen Even better! 🤣 2y
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Reggie Lololol awesome! 2y
CarolynM 🤣 2y
Cathythoughts Brilliant 2y
Lindy @Cathythoughts 😊🦖🦕 2y
43 likes7 comments
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Lindy
Madness of Crowds | Louise Penny
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Question for Canadian Littens: I‘ve always heard Abitibi pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable. The place name comes up often in this audiobook, but the narrator Robert Bathurst places the accent on the third syllable. Is this a typical anglophone Canadian pronunciation, or just a mistake made by a nonCanadian audiobook narrator?

rabbitprincess I‘ve only seen it written and not had an occasion to say it out loud, but I would likely it pronounce like in this video: https://youtu.be/3vja-Q0FQWg (edited) 2y
Lindy @rabbitprincess Wow! If only Robert Bathurst had listened to Abitibi repeated so many times! Thanks for that link. 2y
Penny_LiteraryHoarders Oh how I miss the wonderful Ralph Cosham narrating! I‘ve only listened to Bathurst a couple of times, he‘s fine, but I‘ve purchased most of Penny‘s books since Cosham died. 2y
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tournevis It's abitiBi TehMISgaMINge (hard g) just like in the video. 2y
tournevis Sadly, it's yet another common mispronounciation by Anglo. Like Pooooteeeeen. 2y
Lindy @tournevis Abitibi is fun to say! Robert Bathurst is doing okay with most of the French in this audiobook, but I winced at the diphthong in his “biscuit” (biskweee) and it‘s annoying that he says madame the English way. 2y
tournevis @Lindy The u and i in biscuit are supposed to be super short and smooshed tight together. Anglophones tend to separate them in two syllables. And that is so anoying. It's like painters saying goo-awsh instead of goua-che. An entirely different set of two syllables. 2y
Lindy @tournevis I knew I could count on you for a commiserating rant. 🤗 2y
tournevis @Lindy This said, it's all a bit ironic because neither the Fr nor the En prononciations are correct considering these are Anishinaabeg words, but I digress. 🤓 2y
Lindy @tournevis Your digression makes an excellent point. 🏆 2y
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review
EadieB
Madness of Crowds | Louise Penny
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Pickpick

#MadnessofCrowds #LouisePenny #BookSpinBingo

Professor Abigail Robinson will be giving a lecture at the nearby university. Armand Gamache has been asked to provide security. Gamache starts looking into Professor Abigail Robinson and discovers an agenda so repulsive he begs the university to cancel the lecture. They refuse, citing academic freedom, and accuse Gamache of censorship and intellectual cowardice.

EadieB Abigail Robinson promises that, if they follow her, "All will be well." A murder is committed and Armand Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir, and their team will investigate the crime. The post-pandemic plot meandered a bit and felt a little off somehow. I'm not sure it is time for a post-pandemic book as the virus is still lingering on. At least there was a visit to Three Pines to visit the whole gang. 3y
EadieB That seems to be where Penny should focus her books as Three Pines is what her readers look forward to. The ending of the book seemed to drag on too long. I'm still looking forward to the next book but hope to spend more time in Three Pines. 3y
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 3y
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Eggs
Madness of Crowds | Louise Penny
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#waitingtoberead #falltreasures @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

The 17th book in the Armand Gamache series❣️ the library hold is 16 weeks—can I wait that long....

Librariana Our library has a 4:1 holds ratio - 1 book for every 4 people on the waiting list. One of my co-workers (who assists our Selectors/Librarians) runs a holds ratio report every other week (Adults one week; juvenile the following) and depending on those numbers, we purchase more copies 😊 I hope your library is able to do something similar! 3y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Did you know she wrote a book with Hilary Clinton? 🥴 3y
Eggs @librariana yes there are 5 copies in use 3y
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Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks yes I knew that. Everyone is allowed an occasional lapse in good sense 🤢🤮 3y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs I guess!! 🥴 3y
Eggs @MayJasper yes!!! 2y
72 likes7 comments
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AlexGeorge
Madness of Crowds | Louise Penny
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Pickpick

As dependably brilliant as ever. This time with a post-pandemic twist. Superb. Watch for it in August.

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BookishMarginalia
Madness of Crowds | Louise Penny
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Yey for a new #InspectorGamache coming #Aug2021 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 #SavethePubDate #TBRtemptation#LouisePenny rocks!

Bookwormjillk 👏👏👏 3y
mom2bugnbee AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! 3y
Susanita !!! 3y
kspenmoll Thanks for letting me know!!! Cannot wait! 3y
TNbookworm Yes👏👏👏 3y
83 likes3 stack adds5 comments