The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny audiobook

The Beautiful Mystery: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel

By Louise Penny
Read by Ralph Cosham

Macmillan Audio 9781427226099

The Chief Inspector Gamache Novels: Book 8

13.60 Hours • Unabridged
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    ISBN: 9781427226105

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The brilliant new novel in the New York Times bestselling series by Louise Penny, one of the most acclaimed crime writers of our time No outsiders are ever admitted to the monastery of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups, hidden deep in the wilderness of Quebec, where two dozen cloistered monks live in peace and prayer. They grow vegetables, they tend chickens, they make chocolate. And they sing. Ironically, for a community that has taken a vow of silence, the monks have become world-famous for their glorious voices, raised in ancient chants whose effect on both singer and listener is so profound it is known as "the beautiful mystery." But when the renowned choir director is murdered, the lock on the monastery's massive wooden door is drawn back to admit Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir of the Sûreté du Québec. There they discover disquiet beneath the silence, discord in the apparent harmony. One of the brothers, in this life of prayer and contemplation, has been contemplating murder. As the peace of the monastery crumbles, Gamache is forced to confront some of his own demons, as well as those roaming the remote corridors. Before finding the killer, before restoring peace, the Chief must first consider the divine, the human, and the cracks in between.

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Summary

Summary

Winner of the 2013 Audie Award for Mystery

Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award

Winner of the 2012 Agatha Award for Best Novel

A 2013 Macavity Award Nominee for Best Mystery Novel

A 2013 Anthony Award Nominee for Best Novel

A USA Today bestseller

An NPR bestseller

Selected for the September 2012 Indie Next List

A Publishers Weekly bestseller

A 2013 Booklist Top 10 Crime Fiction Audiobook

A Kirkus Reviews Top 25 Book, August 2012

Winner of Agatha Awards - Winner, 2012

Winner of Audie Award Winner, 2013

Winner of Anthony Awards - Winner, 2013

Nominated for Agatha Awards - Nominee, 2012

Nominated for Macavity Award - Nominee, 2013

Nominated for Anthony Awards - Nominee, 2013

Nominated for Anthony Awards - Nominee, 2012

Winner of Macavity Award - Winner, 2013

The brilliant new novel in the New York Times bestselling series by Louise Penny, one of the most acclaimed crime writers of our time

No outsiders are ever admitted to the monastery of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups, hidden deep in the wilderness of Quebec, where two dozen cloistered monks live in peace and prayer. They grow vegetables, they tend chickens, they make chocolate. And they sing. Ironically, for a community that has taken a vow of silence, the monks have become world-famous for their glorious voices, raised in ancient chants whose effect on both singer and listener is so profound it is known as "the beautiful mystery."

But when the renowned choir director is murdered, the lock on the monastery's massive wooden door is drawn back to admit Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir of the Sûreté du Québec. There they discover disquiet beneath the silence, discord in the apparent harmony. One of the brothers, in this life of prayer and contemplation, has been contemplating murder. As the peace of the monastery crumbles, Gamache is forced to confront some of his own demons, as well as those roaming the remote corridors. Before finding the killer, before restoring peace, the Chief must first consider the divine, the human, and the cracks in between.

Editorial Reviews

Editorial Reviews

“Louise Penny has crafted an almost perfect crime—haunting, puzzling, brilliant, and indeed a most beautiful mystery. Chief Inspector Gamache is one of my favorite characters in fiction…This is a tour de force for Penny, and a thrilling, intelligent read.” —Linda Fairstein, New York Times bestselling author
“Ralph Cosham expertly presents Penny's writing, portraying Gamache's quietly thoughtful style and Beauvoir's earthy personality and giving each monk distinction and humanity…Quebecois accents and a sprinkling of French words flow seamlessly amid the story and add greatly to the listening pleasure. —AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award Winner
In measured, sonorous tones and an accent reflective of the French Canadian setting, Cosham conjures the disquieting atmosphere of an isolated Quebec monastery, where the choir director's murder invades the monks' silence and evokes the pervasive influence of their chants…Penny's gorgeous prose sings in Cosham's hypnotic performance and mirrors the chants, with phrases repeated for emphasis and intensity, creating a musical cadence. This is a superior production of serious multidimensional drama, breathtakingly performed. —Booklist, starred review
Cosham's approach enhances the reverent tone while still plucking Penny's ripe humor from the vines that weave their way throughout the dark plot. Penny has a gift with dialogue, and Cosham makes that gift pop for the audience…there is no mystery about the allure of Louise Penny's series or the beauty with which Ralph Cosham continues to narrate it. This is a series that should be experienced at least once on audio, and THE BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY is the perfect choice. —Shelf Awareness
Not enough praise can be accorded Ralph Cosham, who has served as the reader for all the audiobooks in this series. His voice is simply magnificent. —Newark Star-Ledger
Penny's dark atmosphere and characters are as always masterfully interpreted by narrator Ralph Cosham in his excellent, beautifully paced, fully-voiced narration...Listeners will want the next, the ninth, volume in the series as soon as possible. Excellent as always with the brilliant combination of Cosham and Penny. —Sound Commentary
This is much more than a whodunit; Penny renders her characters with real depth and puts them in an unusually intriguing setting and situation. And Ralph Cosham's excellent, empathetic narration enhances it all. —BookPage
Narrator Ralph Cosham brings Penny's vivid descriptions and lyrical writing to life. His hypnotic voice and unhurried pace combine to draw the listener into the seemingly tranquil world of the monastery and its inhabitants. Cosham deftly handles the Quebecois accents and intricate plot twists, balancing the emotional tensions of this multilayered story. —Library Journal
The narration is fantastic with the occasional French phrase flowing beautifully off the tongue of narrator Ralph Cosham. —Brookings Register Weekend
Louise Penny has crafted an almost perfect crime--haunting, puzzling, brilliant and indeed a most beautiful mystery. Chief Inspector Gamache is one of my favorite characters in fiction. Here he must penetrate a cloistered monastery deep in the northern woods of Quebec, where a murdered monk is his ticket to get in. This is a tour-de-force for Penny, and a thrilling, intelligent read. —Linda Fairstein
A. Ma. Zing! A remarkably courageous--and very beautiful--book that leaps the abyss between faith and despair. —Diana Gabaldon
The superbly gifted Louise Penny is on my secret shortlist of must-read authors. A Trick of the Light will not only keep you engrossed from start to finish, it will teach you something new about love, truth, and the human heart. —Lisa Scottoline, author of Save Me on Louise Penny's A Trick of the Light
Stellar. . . . Penny proves again that she is one of our finest writers. —People Magazine (4 out of 4 stars) on Louise Penny's A Trick of the Light
Deceptively charming . . . delivering acute insights into the complicated motives of complex characters. —New York Times Book Review (one of the Notable Crime Books of 2011) on Louise Penny's A Trick of the Light
Penny, elevating herself to the pantheon that houses P.D. James, Ruth Rendell and Minette Walters, demonstrates an exquisite touch with characterization, plotting and artistic sensitivity. —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) on Louise Penny's A Trick of the Light
This is a beautiful book, gorgeously written and carefully constructed. —The Globe and Mail on Louise Penny's A Trick of the Light
“Penny writes with grace and intelligence about complex people struggling with complex emotions. But her great gift is her uncanny ability to describe what might seem indescribable—the play of light, the sound of celestial music, a quiet sense of peace.” —New York Times
“With The Beautiful Mystery, there’s no longer any doubt: Penny is Canada’s best contemporary crime writer, among the best in the world, and one of our best writers, period.” —Winnipeg Free Press
“This heart-rending tale is a marvelous addition to Penny’s acclaimed series.” —Library Journal
“Remarkably penetrating and humane. The most illuminating analogies are not to other contemporary detective fiction but to The Name of the Rose and Murder in the Cathedral.” —Kirkus Reviews
“With enormous empathy for the troubled human soul—and an ending that makes your blood race and your heart break—Penny continues to raise the bar of her splendid series.” —People (Editor’s Pick, 4 stars)
“Could a book by Louise Penny have a better title than The Beautiful Mystery? The title, like Penny’s fiction, has multiple layers. First is the crime: the murder of the choir director of a monastery in the deep woods of Quebec. Then there’s the joyous but inexplicable emotions the monks’ glorious liturgical singing invokes. And there’s the disconnect between the monks’ vows of silence and their renowned singing. And then, of course, there’s the mystery of religion itself…For the reader, meanwhile, there’s a final beautiful mystery to contemplate: How does Penny consistently write such luminous and compassionate books?” —Seattle Times
“It’s a stirring, thought-provoking read, less a matter of whodunit than a relentless questioning of why any of us do anything. The Beautiful Mystery…stands as a powerful literary novel in its own right.” —Globe and Mail (Toronto)
“Penny—who melds prose at once expressive and restrained with a keen understanding of human emotions—creates a novel that earns its title, a book that shines with the grace and compassion that stamp her work.” —Richmond Times-Dispatch
“Excellent…A captivating whodunit plot, a clever fair-play clue concealed in plain view, and the deft use of humor to lighten the story’s dark patches. On a deeper level, the crime provides a means for Penny’s unusually empathic, all-too-fallible lead to unearth truths about human passions and weaknesses while avoiding simple answers.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“An entire mystery novel centering on Gregorian chants (whose curiously hypnotic allure is called the “beautiful mystery”)? Yes, indeed, and in the hands of the masterful Penny, the topic proves every bit as able to transfix readers as the chants do their listeners…P. D. James, of course, has made a career out of taking her sleuth, Adam Dalgliesh, into closed worlds to investigate murders, and while Penny follows that formula, she layers her plots more intricately than does James…Of course, there is always something mammoth roiling away beneath the surface of Penny’s novels—but this time the roiling is set against the serenity of the chanting, producing a melody of uncommon complexity and beauty.” —Booklist (starred review)
“One of the joys of detective fiction.” —Herald Sun
“Penny shows us the joy of the cloistered life as surely as she has shown us the joy of village life…For fans of the series, the resulting bombshell in the characters’ lives is as much like murder as anything ever delivered by a blunt instrument.” —Charlotte Observer

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Author

Author Bio: Louise Penny

Author Bio: Louise Penny

Louise Penny is the multiaward–winning author of the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache mystery novels set in Canada that have made the bestsellers list of the New York Times, USA Today, and Toronto Globe and Mail. She is also coauthor with Hillary Rodham Clinton of the #1 New York Times bestselling thriller State of Terror. She has won numerous awards, including nine Agatha Awards and the CWA Dagger, Dilys, Lefty, Macavity, Barry, Anthony, and Nero awards. She is the recipient of both the Order of Canada and l’Ordre national du Québec.

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Details

Details

Available Formats : Digital Download, CD
Runtime: 13.60
Audience: Adult
Language: English

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