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First Published:
Sep 2020, 448 pages
Paperback:
Jun 2021, 464 pages
Book Reviewed by:
Kim Kovacs
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The 16th novel by #1 bestselling author Louise Penny finds Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Quebec investigating a sinister plot in the City of Light.
On their first night in Paris, the Gamaches gather as a family for a bistro dinner with Armand's godfather, the billionaire Stephen Horowitz. Walking home together after the meal, they watch in horror as Stephen is knocked down and critically injured in what Gamache knows is no accident, but a deliberate attempt on the elderly man's life.
When a strange key is found in Stephen's possession it sends Armand, his wife Reine-Marie, and his former second-in-command at the Sûreté, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, from the top of the Tour d'Eiffel, to the bowels of the Paris Archives, from luxury hotels to odd, coded, works of art.
It sends them deep into the secrets Armand's godfather has kept for decades.
A gruesome discovery in Stephen's Paris apartment makes it clear the secrets are more rancid, the danger far greater and more imminent, than they realized.
Soon the whole family is caught up in a web of lies and deceit. In order to find the truth, Gamache will have to decide whether he can trust his friends, his colleagues, his instincts, his own past. His own family.
For even the City of Light casts long shadows. And in that darkness devils hide.
Chapter 1
"Hell is empty, Armand," said Stephen Horowitz.
"You've mentioned that. And all the devils are here?" asked Armand Gamache.
"Well, maybe not here, here"—Stephen spread his expressive hands—"exactly."
"Here, here" was the garden of the Musée Rodin, in Paris, where Armand and his godfather were enjoying a quiet few minutes. Outside the walls they could hear the traffic, the hustle and the tussle of the great city.
But here, here, there was peace. The deep peace that comes not just with quiet, but with familiarity.
With knowing they were safe. In the garden. In each other's company.
Armand passed his companion a tartelette au citron and glanced casually around. It was a warm and pleasant late-September afternoon. Shadows were distancing themselves from the trees, the statues, the people. Elongating. Straining away.
The light was winning.
Children ran free, laughing and racing down the long lawn in front of the château. Young parents...
Devotees of the series won't be disappointed. The novel is, however, a departure from the previous entries in a number of ways. First and most obvious is the fact that the book's setting is Paris, not Three Pines, Canada with its beloved quirky residents and isolated, old-fashioned ambiance. Some may find they miss the characters that are as much a part of the series as Gamache, but for these loyal readers the author throws in the occasional "Easter egg" — even Ruth Zardo's duck Rosa gets a mention. The move is a good one on Penny's part; fans are likely to work through any disappointment they feel in the omission, while those new to the series will find the simplification of the back story makes the book a much better entry point than most of her earlier works...continued
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(Reviewed by Kim Kovacs).
Several important scenes in Louise Penny's mystery, All the Devils Are Here, take place in the gardens of the Musée Rodin. Located in Paris, just south of the River Seine and about a mile east of the Eiffel Tower, the museum and its grounds boast thousands of Auguste Rodin's sculptures, casts and drawings, as well as thousands of works of art the sculptor accumulated throughout his life. It is open to the public and records over 700,000 visits annually. Rodin's most famous works — The Burghers of Calais, The Gates of Hell, The Kiss, The Thinker — can be found here.
The building where the museum is located started out as a mansion built for French banker Abraham Peyrenc de Moras. It was designed and constructed by the...
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