 |
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
Paris, France - Present Day Armand Gamache and his wife, Reine-Marie, are in Paris to visit their children and grandchildren. Son Daniel and Roslyn moved to Paris several years ago with their two daughters, and daughter Annie and her husband Jean-Guy relocated recently when Jean-Guy left the Surete du Quebec (police force) as Armand's second in command, for private industry. While Armand understood Jean-Guy's decision to put his safety and family first, he is still confused about why Daniel wanted to move so far from his home. Now, with Annie due to deliver a baby any day, the entire family wants to be nearby. Stephen Horowitz, Armand's ninety-year-old godfather, is also in Paris, ostensibly to see the Gamache grandchildren, but he seems to have other reasons for flying across the Atlantic. He and Armand stroll the gardens of Paris and some of what he muses about out loud has Armand wondering just what is going on. Wildly rich, Stephen has his fingers in a lot of businesses, but Armand was unaware that he also had dealings with the bank where Daniel works. What is that all about? The entire family gathers at a restaurant for an evening TOGETHER, and Armand is concerned that Stephen is late. When he finally arrives, he seems himself, but Armand senses something is wrong as his godfather keeps checking his phone. As they all leave after dinner, Armand, Reine-Marie, and Stephen decide to walk, but when Armand and Reine-Marie stop to admire the city lights, Stephen begins to cross the street and is run down by a van, which speeds off. With Stephen in a coma and gravely injured, Armand is convinced that this was no accident. He goes to Stephen's Paris apartment and is shocked to find a dead man on the floor, and the apartment ransacked. The Chief of Police is an acquaintance of Armand's and is skeptical about the hit and run being connected to the murdered man. Does Stephen even know the dead man? To Armand, there are simply too many questions unanswered. When it surfaces that Stephen has interest in the company Jean-Guy works for, even Jean-Guy begins to wonder how he, an ex-homicide detective, would be hired by an engineering company? Was Stephen involved in that? Slowly, but surely, Armand and Jean-Guy begin to unwind a very complicated mystery. Who is involved, and who they can trust are the biggest questions, and events get dangerous for the entire Gamache family. What exactly is being covered up that threats begin to frighten even two homicide detectives? ALL THE DEVILS ARE HERE is the sixteenth book in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series. What is especially wonderful about these books is that they're not only mysteries, they are stories of terrific characters, of family life, of love, and of the frailties of relationships. Armand and Daniel have not been close for many years, and Armand and Reine-Marie don't know why. Can their visit to Paris heal that rift? And Armand misses the little village of Three Pines where he and Reine-Marie now live, with its population of off-beat individuals who have warmed the hearts of the elder Gamaches. Another engrossing, breath-taking, and sometimes shocking mystery, ALL THE DEVILS ARE HERE is a must read. Hang on to your hats! And do read the author's notes at the end of the novel. Jani Brooks |
|||||||||||||
ALL THE DEVILS ARE HERE - Louise Penny