Book Review: All the Devils Are Here

Some authors settle into a formulaic rhythm in a book series. The overall arc is identical, but the specific details are altered for each successive contribution. There can be a draw to that -- a comfortable expectation -- but it gives an author an easy way out from having to stretch themselves or their characters into innovative scenarios or altered structures. This predictability is not the case for the Inspector Gamache series, where new settings and challenges abound. I can trust Louise Penny to take me on a journey filled with nuanced characters and a thoughtful story.

In All the Devils Are Here, we find Gamache and his wife in Paris, awaiting the birth of a grandchild. His grown children now both live in Paris with their respective families. Through the lens of Gamache's relationship with his godfather, we are introduced to questions of who we are and how our past influences our present. The professional lives of his son and son-in-law come into play and intersect as they investigate the attempted murder of a loved one and how their employers may have had a hand in events.

We can trust Gamache to act nobly and navigate events thoughtfully, and his connections with friends and family are soothing to read. Penny has created a character we would all value as a trusted, valuable friend. He is not without fault, but that humanity, coming from a place of seeking truth, makes him feel all the more real and unusual.

I look forward to each release in the series. It is clear that Penny's strengths are characterization and plot devices. I don't often find myself captivated by a specific line artfully written, but I am drawn into the overall story and invested in how it plays out.

I tend to be critical of narrators, as I admit when I'm listening to audiobooks, I'm often multitasking, so I need a highly effective reader to captivate me. However, Louise Penny titles are expertly narrated. The first ten were done so effectively by Ralph Cosham, and upon his passing, Robert Bathurst continues the tradition of top-rate narration. This series is one that I will pre-order the audiobook in advance, and they never disappoint.

(I received a digital ALC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.)