The Beautiful Mystery
(Libby/OverDrive eAudiobook)

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Description

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.

The Beautiful Mystery is the winner of the 2012 Agatha Award for best novel, the 2013 Anthony Award for best novel and the 2013 Macavity Award for best novel.

More Details

Format
eAudiobook
Edition
Unabridged
Street Date
8/28/2012
Language
English
ISBN
9781427226105

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Also in this Series

  • Still life (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 1) Cover
  • A fatal grace (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 2) Cover
  • The cruelest month (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 3) Cover
  • A rule against murder (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 4) Cover
  • The brutal telling (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 5) Cover
  • Bury your dead (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 6) Cover
  • A trick of the light: a Chief Inspector Gamache novel (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 7) Cover
  • The beautiful mystery (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 8) Cover
  • How the light gets in (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 9) Cover
  • The long way home (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 10) Cover
  • The nature of the beast (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 11) Cover
  • A great reckoning (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 12) Cover
  • Glass houses: a novel (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 13) Cover
  • Kingdom of the blind (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 14) Cover
  • A better man (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 15) Cover
  • All the devils are here (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 16) Cover
  • The madness of crowds (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 17) Cover
  • A world of curiosities (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 18) Cover
  • The grey wolf (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 19) Cover
  • The Hangman (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume ) Cover

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Similar Series From Novelist

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for series you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
The Sister Jane amateur detective stories offer well-formed characters, explorations of social issues, and a mix of humor and detection. Set in small-town Virginia, one of their central themes is the clash of traditional and modern cultures in a small village. -- Katherine Johnson
The Armand Gamache and Flavia De Luce mysteries are intelligent, character-centered, cozies set in small towns. Although the locales and time periods differ, the conversational tone and feel are similar. They also share casts of eccentric secondary characters as well as unique investigators. -- Becky Spratford
These mystery series by Canadian authors are both peopled by interesting characters and distinguished by comfortable settings - one in North Wales and one in the Canadian province of Quebec. -- Victoria Fredrick
Both starring intelligent detectives who rely on their intuition -- and an ability to get suspects to confide just a bit too much information -- to solve crimes, these two series also share a well-crafted style, despite being written decades apart. -- Shauna Griffin
The Richard Jury series, particularly the early books, share a number of similar features with Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries: they are clever police procedurals centered around a puzzle. They also focus on the relationships between a group of characters. -- Krista Biggs
Although both atmospheric and descriptive series have a gritty feel, the Quebec-based Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries also has a lyrical writing style. Both series star moody, introspective detectives who are easily as interesting as the crimes they investigate. -- Mike Nilsson
Readers who appreciate the character building in the Armand Gamache series will find much to love in the Reverend Clare Fergusson mysteries. Personalities are just as important as fingerprints when solving crimes in these intricately plotted, complex novels with a strong sense of place. -- Halle Carlson
Salvano Montalbano of Sicily and Inspector Armand Gamache of Quebec conduct investigations via their brilliant team leadership. Both series feature memorable supporting casts and tension mixed with humor, though Montalbano has more humor and Gamache features more gripping tension. -- Katherine Johnson
These evocative mystery series showcase the richly detailed environs and distinctive cultural milieu of New Mexico (Milagro Mysteries) and Quebec (Inspector Armand Gamache) in which confounding murders and other crimes are investigated by sympathetic detectives. -- Andrienne Cruz

Similar Titles From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for titles you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
NoveList recommends "Penny Brannigan mysteries" for fans of "Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries". Check out the first book in the series.
NoveList recommends "Simon Serrailler crime novels" for fans of "Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries". Check out the first book in the series.
NoveList recommends "Salvo Montalbano mysteries" for fans of "Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries". Check out the first book in the series.
NoveList recommends "Rachel Getty and Esa Khattak novels" for fans of "Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries". Check out the first book in the series.
The quality of mercy - Medhat, Katayoun
NoveList recommends "Milagro mysteries" for fans of "Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries". Check out the first book in the series.
These character-driven, reflective, mystical, and richly detailed mysteries feature compassionate detectives whose strong sense of empathy guides them in understanding victims, perpetrators, and imperfect subordinates while at the same time fighting their own inner demons. -- Anne Filiaci
In these mysteries featuring delicately nuanced characters, Scotland Yard Commander Adam Dalgliesh (Death in Holy Orders) and Quebec's Chief Inspector Gamache (The Beautiful Mystery) must investigate the suspicious deaths of those who have taken vows in tightly knit religious communities. -- Shauna Griffin
Though set centuries apart, these two novels -- mysteries with a deep understanding of and reflections upon human nature -- are set in the closed, isolated worlds of monasteries. Both richly detailed books contain complex plotting and intriguing characters. -- Shauna Griffin
The book of Killowen - Hart, Erin
Though they have different settings, both complex mystery novels involve medieval manuscripts that have been hidden for centuries, the people who want them, the people who guard them -- and murder. -- Katherine Johnson
Though they both feature an investigation into (and observations of) a closely knit -- and close-lipped -- community after a murder occurs, these two mysteries differ in setting and action: The Gentlemen's Hour concerns California surfers and is more violent. -- Shauna Griffin
Though Death and Restoration is a bit lighter in tone, it, like The Beautiful Mystery, is a contemporary police procedural that involves ancient art forms; both novels also have a strong sense of place and engaging characters. -- Katherine Johnson
In these police procedurals, set in equally bleak though very different settings, experienced detectives work to solve unusual cases as both bureaucratic disapproval and old crimes disturb and distract them. -- Katherine Johnson

Similar Authors From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for other authors you might want to read if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
Both Louise Penny and P.D. James write character-driven police procedural mysteries that explore moral ambiguity and the psychological causes and effects of crime. Their stories create a strong sense of place while the mystery's solution is slowly revealed. -- Merle Jacob
Canadian mystery authors Louise Penny and Gail Bowen offer a strong sense of place (in Quebec and Saskatchewan, respectively). Penny's police detectives have well-rounded personalities, with lives as interesting as that of Bowen's Joanne Kilbourn, a university professor. They feature interesting secondary characters, intellectual puzzles, and social issues alongside the crime. -- Katherine Johnson
Louise Penny offers contemporary versions of the classic detective novel popularized by Agatha Christie. If Penny's intelligent but intuitive detective and his skill at drawing information out of suspects appeal to you, you may want to try the novels of Agatha Christie, especially those starring Hercule Poirot. -- Shauna Griffin
Dexter writes puzzle novels that are as intelligent as Penny's, filled with the same attention to detail, cultural depth, and atmosphere. -- Krista Biggs
Susan Wittig Albert's amateur detective China Bayles lives in a town in Texas (Pecan Springs) as appealing as Penny's Three Pines, Quebec. Both towns are populated with a variety of engaging people and shops that lure the reader to visit again and again. -- Maureen O'Connor
Although William Deverell's books focus on trials rather than on police investigations, both are Canadian authors who write intricately plotted, witty, and suspenseful character-driven mysteries featuring intelligent and eccentric protagonists, well-developed characterization, and vividly atmospheric depictions of rural Canada. -- Derek Keyser
Both of these authors share the ability to create a sense of place and time period from just a few details. Their languidly-paced mysteries focus on both the story and the complex characters that they create. -- Krista Biggs
As they weave and then unravel their stories, both Deborah Crombie and Louise Penny bring to the fore the psychological complexities of human behavior in individuals and society at large, emphasizing personal relationships while constructing elaborate puzzle mysteries. -- Maureen O'Connor
Marc Strange and Louise Penny write complex police procedurals set in small Canadian towns. These slow moving stories are character driven and feature a large cast of secondary characters. The personal and professional lives of the sleuths are explored in these absorbing stories with a strong sense of place. -- Merle Jacob
The main characters in Elizabeth George's writing lead lives as complex and fraught as the people they are investigating. So too does Louise Penny portray her cast of recurring characters -- police investigators, regular "civilian" characters, and perpetrators. -- Maureen O'Connor
Giles Blunt and Louise Penny write complex police procedurals set in small Canadian towns. These character driven mysteries feature a strong male lead detective with an interesting secondary team. The plots build slowly as the personal lives and relationships of the police and the suspects are revealed. -- Merle Jacob
These authors' works have the appeal factors melancholy and leisurely paced, and they have the genre "police procedurals"; the subjects "police," "detectives," and "small town life"; and characters that are "introspective characters," "complex characters," and "flawed characters."

Published Reviews

Booklist Review

*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. It begins when the choir director of a monastery in a remote corner of Quebec is murdered, his skull bashed in with a rock. Outsiders are not allowed inside the monastery's walls, where 24 cloistered monks pray, make chocolate, and sing though a few years earlier, a homemade recording of their chants was released and created a sensation, helped along by the inaccessibility of the artists. Now, with the murder, the doors of the monastery are opened to Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and Inspector Jean-Guy Beauvoir, charged with finding a killer among a group of largely silent monks, who, it quickly becomes apparent, are engaged in a civil war over their music, but one fought with glances and small gestures until now, when rocks have been added to the arsenal. 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, this time adding an entire contrapuntal plot concerning Gamache, Beauvoir, their relationship, the secrets each conceals, and the demons each continues to fight. The deepest passions could appear dispassionate, the face a smooth plain while something mammoth roiled away underneath, Gamache thinks, expressing not only his frustration with the case but, inadvertently, the coming crisis in his relationship with Beauvoir. 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. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: A major marketing campaign and a 150,000-copy first printing will launch Penny's latest in style.--Ott, Bill Copyright 2010 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
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Publisher's Weekly Review

Religious music serves as the backdrop for bestseller Penny's excellent eighth novel featuring Chief Insp. Armand Gamache of the Quebec Surete (after 2011's A Trick of the Light). Gamache and his loyal number two, Insp. Jean-Guy Beauvoir, travel to the isolated monastery of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups, which produced a CD of Gregorian chants that became a surprise smash hit, to investigate the murder of its choirmaster, Frere Mathieu, found within an enclosed garden in a fetal position with his head bashed in. Gamache soon finds serious divisions among the outwardly unified and placid monks, and begins to encourage confidences among them as a first step to catching the killer. Traditional mystery fans can look forward to 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. 150,000 first printing; author tour. Agent: Patty Moosbrugger, Teresa Chris Literary Agency. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
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Library Journal Review

Penny's (A Trick of the Light) eighth elegant entry in her Agatha Award-winning series is a locked-room mystery set in a remote monastery deep in the wilderness of northern Quebec. There are 24 cloistered monks. One is dead. There are only 23 suspects. The monks have taken a vow of silence, except that they made the most beautiful recording of Gregorian chant ever heard. And it caused a schism. And then a murder. Chief Inspector Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir of the Surete du Quebec come to investigate the murder and the difficulties in this formerly peaceful order that caused it. It also brings the viper within the Surete to this remote place and exposes the rot inside Gamache's own house. VERDICT This heart-rending tale is a marvelous addition to Penny's acclaimed series. Fans won't be disappointed. [See Prepub Alert, 7/5/12.]-Marlene Harris, Reading Reality LLC, Atlanta (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Kirkus Book Review

A prior's murder takes Quebec's Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his sidekick, Inspector Jean-Guy Beauvoir, inside the walls of the monastery of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loupes. The Gilbertine order, long extinct except for the two dozen brothers who live on an island apart from the rest of the world, enforces silence on its members. In the absence of speech, a raised eyebrow or averted gaze can speak intense hostility. Now someone has found a new way to communicate such hostility: by bashing Frre Mathieu, the monastery's choirmaster and prior, over the head. Gamache and Beauvoir soon find that the order is devoted heart and soul to Gregorian chant; that its abbot, Dom Philippe, has recruited its members from among the ranks of other orders for their piety, their musical abilities and a necessary range of domestic and maintenance skills; and that an otherworldly recording the brothers had recently made of Gregorian chants has sharply polarized the community between the prior's men, who want to exploit their unexpected success by making another recording and speaking more widely of their vocation, and the abbot's men, who greet the prospect of a more open and worldly community with horror. Nor are conflicts limited to the holy suspects. Gamache, Beauvoir and Sret Chief Superintendent Sylvain Franoeur, arriving unexpectedly and unwelcome, tangle over the proper way to conduct the investigation, the responsibility for the collateral damage in Gamache's last case (A Trick of the Light, 2011, etc.) and Beauvoir's loyalty to his two chiefs and himself in ways quite as violent as any their hosts can provide. Elliptical and often oracular, but also 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.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
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Booklist Reviews

*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. It begins when the choir director of a monastery in a remote corner of Quebec is murdered, his skull bashed in with a rock. Outsiders are not allowed inside the monastery's walls, where 24 cloistered monks pray, make chocolate, and sing—though a few years earlier, a homemade recording of their chants was released and created a sensation, helped along by the inaccessibility of the artists. Now, with the murder, the doors of the monastery are opened to Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and Inspector Jean-Guy Beauvoir, charged with finding a killer among a group of largely silent monks, who, it quickly becomes apparent, are engaged in a civil war over their music, but one "fought with glances and small gestures"—until now, when rocks have been added to the arsenal. 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, this time adding an entire contrapuntal plot concerning Gamache, Beauvoir, their relationship, the secrets each conceals, and the demons each continues to fight. "The deepest passions could appear dispassionate, the face a smooth plain while something mammoth roiled away underneath," Gamache thinks, expressing not only his frustration with the case but, inadvertently, the coming crisis in his relationship with Beauvoir. 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. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: A major marketing campaign and a 150,000-copy first printing will launch Penny's latest in style. Copyright 2012 Booklist Reviews.

Copyright 2012 Booklist Reviews.
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Library Journal Reviews

Penny's (A Trick of the Light) eighth elegant entry in her Agatha Award-winning series is a locked-room mystery set in a remote monastery deep in the wilderness of northern Québec. There are 24 cloistered monks. One is dead. There are only 23 suspects. The monks have taken a vow of silence, except that they made the most beautiful recording of Gregorian chant ever heard. And it caused a schism. And then a murder. Chief Inspector Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir of the Sûreté du Québec come to investigate the murder and the difficulties in this formerly peaceful order that caused it. It also brings the viper within the Sûreté to this remote place and exposes the rot inside Gamache's own house. VERDICT This heart-rending tale is a marvelous addition to Penny's acclaimed series. Fans won't be disappointed. [See Prepub Alert, 7/5/12.]—Marlene Harris, Reading Reality LLC, Atlanta

[Page 64]. (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Publishers Weekly Reviews

Religious music serves as the backdrop for bestseller Penny's excellent eighth novel featuring Chief Insp. Armand Gamache of the Quebec Sûreté (after 2011's A Trick of the Light). Gamache and his loyal number two, Insp. Jean-Guy Beauvoir, travel to the isolated monastery of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups, which produced a CD of Gregorian chants that became a surprise smash hit, to investigate the murder of its choirmaster, Frère Mathieu, found within an enclosed garden in a fetal position with his head bashed in. Gamache soon finds serious divisions among the outwardly unified and placid monks, and begins to encourage confidences among them as a first step to catching the killer. Traditional mystery fans can look forward to 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. 150,000 first printing; author tour. Agent: Patty Moosbrugger, Teresa Chris Literary Agency. (Aug.)

[Page ]. Copyright 2012 PWxyz LLC

Copyright 2012 PWxyz LLC
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Citations

APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)

Penny, L., & Cosham, R. (2012). The Beautiful Mystery (Unabridged). Macmillan Audio.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Penny, Louise and Ralph Cosham. 2012. The Beautiful Mystery. Macmillan Audio.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Penny, Louise and Ralph Cosham. The Beautiful Mystery Macmillan Audio, 2012.

Harvard Citation (style guide)

Penny, L. and Cosham, R. (2012). The beautiful mystery. Unabridged Macmillan Audio.

MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)

Penny, Louise, and Ralph Cosham. The Beautiful Mystery Unabridged, Macmillan Audio, 2012.

Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.

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