Review: The Beautiful Mystery (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #8)

This eighth instalment of the series sees Gamache and Beauvior investigating the brutal murder of a monk who was a member of the Gilbertine monks, an order that lives a cloistered, contemplative life in an abbey ‘as far from civilisation as they could get’.

Gregorian plainchant is at the core of this mystery, and I felt I should have been listening to it as I read! The ‘beautiful mystery’ of the title refers to the extraordinary effect listening to Gregorian chant has on the human body. Blood pressure drops, breathing becomes deeper and the brain starts to produce alpha waves.

This small community of two dozen monks have lived a simple and harmonious life for many years. But disharmony occurs when the choirmaster, Frere Mathieu, convinces them to release a recording of their singing, to raise much needed funds for the ageing monastic buildings. The funds are appreciated, but the relentless attention of the outside world is not. The community is divided.

Could this divide be responsible for the murder of Frere Mathieu? Who amongst these holy men could be responsible for the brutal murder of their choirmaster?

The unexpected arrival of Gamache’s superior and nemesis, Superintendent Francoeur, creates tension between Gamache and Beauvoir, and distracts them from the investigation at hand. Why has he insinuated himself into the investigation? And why is he creating a divide between the two officers?

I have read this series in order, so I must say I missed the village of Three Pines, where most of the other books are set, but unless we want all the residents to disappear under mysterious circumstances, our favourite members of the Quebec Surete must solve crimes in other locations! And what better location than an abbey on an isolated island, surrounded by fog?

• Review
• Louise Penny