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  1 Glass Houses: A Novel
Author: Penny, Louise
    Series: Chief Inspector Gamache novel, #13
 
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Class: Fiction
Age: Adult
Language: English
Demand: Moderate
LC: PR9199.4


Print Run: 500000
ISBN-13: 9781250066190
LCCN: 2017021224
Imprint: Minotaur Books
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Pub Date: 08/29/2017
Availability: Out of Stock Indefinitely
List: $28.99
  Hardcover
Physical Description: 391 pages ; 25 cm. H 9.63", W 6.42", D 1.34", 1.27 lbs.
LC Series: A Chief Inspector Gamache novel ;
[A Chief Inspector Gamache novel] ;
Brodart Sources: Brodart's Blockbuster List
Brodart's Insight Catalog: Adult
Brodart's TOP Adult Titles
Bibliographies: Fiction Core Collection, 19th ed.
Fiction Core Collection, 20th ed.
New York Times Bestsellers List
New York Times Bestsellers: Adult Fiction
Publishers Weekly Bestsellers
Awards: Agatha Award Winners
BookPage Best Books
Booklist Starred Reviews
Kirkus Starred Reviews
Library Journal Best Books
Library Journal Starred Reviews
Starred Reviews: Booklist
Kirkus Reviews
TIPS Subjects: Mystery/Detective Fiction
BISAC Subjects: FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Traditional
FICTION / Mystery & Detective / International Crime & Mystery
LC Subjects: Gamache, Armand (Fictitious character), Fiction
Gamache, Armand, (Fictitious character), Fiction
Murder, Investigation, Fiction
Mystery fiction
Police, Québec (Province), Fiction
SEARS Subjects: Mystery fiction
Reading Programs:
 
Annotations
Brodart's TOP Adult Titles | 05/01/2017
Publisher Annotation: When a mysterious figure appears in Three Pines one cold November day, Armand Gamache and the rest of the villagers are at first curious. Then wary. Through rain and sleet, the figure stands unmoving, staring ahead. From the moment its shadow falls over the village, Gamache, now Chief Superintendent of the Sûreté du Québec, suspects the creature has deep roots and a dark purpose. Yet he does nothing. What can he do? Only watch and wait. And hope his mounting fears are not realized. But when the figure vanishes overnight and a body is discovered, it falls to Gamache to discover if a debt has been paid or levied. Months later, on a steamy July day as the trial for the accused begins in Montréal, Chief Superintendent Gamache continues to struggle with actions he set in motion that bitter November, from which there is no going back. More than the accused is on trial. Gamache’s own conscience is standing in judgment. Chief Inspector Gamache novel series, 400pp., 500K
Starred Reviews:
Booklist | 06/01/2017
The heroes of crime-fiction series have a real problem with retirement--even Armand Gamache, who ought to have it nailed. He gets to retire in Three Pines, the off-the-grid Quebec village where the horrors of modernity are held mostly in abeyance (the occasional murder aside). And, yet, Gamache just can't stay off the grid permanently. Now he's agreed to become chief superintendent of the Surete du Quebec, the province's top cop. It's just like Gamache to jump on a sinking ship, and that's what the Surete looks like, with the all-powerful drug cartels seemingly in full control of the province. But Gamache has an audacious plan to change that: a rope-a-dope scheme that will either cut off the cartel monster's head or leave the chief in a jail cell. And let's not forget Three Pines, where a hooded black figure has taken up residence in the village green, just standing there, staring. The gang at the bistro is nonplussed at first, then downright panicked after the figure (or someone wearing its outfit) is found murdered in the basement of the church on the green. It's at this point that Penny's devotees must make a leap of faith: accept that weird stuff keeps happening in Canada's Brigadoon in the face of all probability, or close the damn book and call this whole Three Pines thing off. But if we did that, if we failed to see that Three Pines is a sublime metaphor for the precariousness of harmony wherever we find it, we would be forced to walk away from one of the most entrancing fictional worlds in popular literature, not to mention parting company with a lead character whom we all--young or old, male or female--long to be like when we grow up. No, thank you. Let's call the calling off off right now. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Penny has a permanent spot on that enviable short list of writers who combine unwavering quality with mega-sales. Ott, Bill. 400p. AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, c2017.
Kirkus Reviews | 06/15/2017
A dark, still figure, wearing long black robes and a hood, appears on the charming village green of Three Pines, a small Quebec town; though at first it seems scary but harmless, it turns out to be something much more sinister. The strange figure's appearance coincides with a Halloween party at the local bistro, attended by the usual villagers but also four out-of-town guests. They are friends from the Universite de Montreal who meet for a yearly reunion at the B&B in Three Pines. But this event actually happened months ago, and village resident Armand Gamache, now head of the Surete du Quebec, is recounting the story from the witness stand in a courtroom suffering from oppressive summer heat. Gamache's testimony becomes narrative, explaining how over the course of a few days the masked man grew into a fixture on the village green and morphed slowly into an omen. Gamache's son-in-law and second-in-command, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, is asked to research the "dark thing's" back story after one of the B&B guests, a journalist, mentions that the figure reminds him of story he did on an old Spanish tradition, that of the "debt collector." It becomes clear, as Gamache relays the events leading up to murder, that "someone in the village had done something so horrific that a Conscience had been called." But did the dark thing come for a villager or for one of their guests? Conscience is an overarching theme in Penny's latest, seeping into the courtroom narrative as Gamache grapples with an enemy much larger than the dark thing, a war he took on as the new Chief Superintendent. His victory depends on the outcome, and the path, of this murder trial. While certain installments in Penny's bestselling series take Gamache and his team to the far reaches of Quebec, others build their tension not with a chase but instead in the act of keeping still--this is one such book. The tension has never been greater, and Gamache has sat for months waiting, and waiting, to act, with Conscience watching close by. A meticulously built mystery that follows a careful ascent toward a breaking point that will leave you breathless. It's Three Pines as you have never seen it before. 400pg. KIRKUS MEDIA LLC, c2017.
Journal Reviews
BookPage | 09/01/2017
If you have never heard of a cobrador del frac, then don't feel left out. Neither had I, and neither, I suspect, will more than a handful of Louise Penny's readers prior to embarking on her latest suspense novel, Glass Houses. A cobrador del frac is a debt collector with roots in the Middle Ages; dressed in a top hat and tails, he stalks his prey, hovering always at the periphery of their vision, an unwelcome reminder of their indebtedness. One such cobrador has stationed himself in the town square of Three Pines, Quebec--the object of his attentions unknown. And although cobradors are nonconfrontational by design, murder follows soon after, leaving Surete Chief Superintendent Gamache caught up in the center of a dilemma, trying to balance a homicide investigation with his months-long goal of shutting down a massive drug operation. Gamache will face life-changing questions about the nature of guilt and innocence and the thin blue line separating law and conscience, leaving the reader contemplating these conundrums well after the final page has been turned. Bruce Tierney. 400p. BOOKPAGE, c2017.
Library Journal | 07/01/2017
In the 13th book in Penny's popular "Chief Inspector Gamache" series (after A Great Reckoning), Armand Gamache is now the head of the Surete du Quebec, which seems to be a sinking ship heading for an iceberg. Switching back and forth from an October murder scene in the village of Three Pines to a trial in a steamy summer courtroom in Montreal, the tale of a region devastated by drugs unfolds. Gamache and his team have a plan to save their beloved province, which may not succeed and will almost certainly result in the destruction of their careers. In Three Pines, the residents go about their lives, but no one is safe from the threat as both the tension and the action build. Fans of the series will be glad to encounter Ruth and her duck Rosa, Clara the artist, and Gamache's loved ones, Reine-Marie, Jean-Guy, and Annie. VERDICT The award-winning Penny does not rest on her laurels with this challenging and timely book. Though touched by the evils of the outside world, Three Pines remains a singular place away from time. [See Prepub Alert, 3/21/17.]. Terry Lucas, Shelter Island P.L., NY. 400p. LIBRARY JOURNAL, c2017.
Library Journal Prepub Alert | 03/27/2017
In last year's A Great Reckoning, a LibraryReads pick that was No. 1 on the New York Times hardcover fiction, ebook fiction, and combined-format best sellers lists, Armand Gamache ended up as head of the Surete academy, and a mystery about his village, Three Pines, was solved. No hint on how this carries out in this next title from the multi-award-winning author, but this late August title should be really, really good. With a national tour. Barbara Hoffert. 400p. LJ Prepub Alert Online Review. LIBRARY JOURNAL, c2017.
Publishers Weekly | 06/26/2017
Bestseller Penny's taut 13th novel featuring Chief Supt. Armand Gamache of the Surete du Quebec (after 2016's A Great Reckoning) opens at a murder trial in a Montreal courtroom. Judge Maureen Corriveau, who's trying her first homicide case, suspects that something is wrong with Gamache's testimony and the conduct of the Chief Crown Prosecutor. As for Gamache, who was the arresting officer in the case, he "knew perfectly well who the murderer was. He was just a little afraid that something would go wrong. And a particularly cunning killer would go free." Flash back to the recent past, when an ominous costumed figure starts to appear regularly on the green of Gamache's home town of Three Pines. The subsequent discovery by Gamache's wife of the murder victim in the local church leads to the unearthing of some disturbing, long-buried secrets that affect the entire community. The familiar, sometimes eccentric, denizens of Three Pines and Gamache's loyal investigative team help propel the plot to an exciting, high-stakes climax. Agent: Teresa Chris, Teresa Chris Literary Agency. (Aug.). 400p. PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, c2017.
9781250066190,dl.it[0].title
Review Citations
New York Times Book Review | 09/03/2017