Glass Houses

"When a mysterious figure appears in Three Pines one cold November day, Armand Gamache and the rest of the villagers are at first curious. Then wary. Through rain and sleet, the figure stands unmoving, staring ahead. From the moment its shadow falls over the village, Gamache, now Chief Superintendent of the Sûreté du Québec, suspects the creature has deep roots and a dark purpose. Yet he does nothing. What can he do? Only watch and wait. And hope his mounting fears are not realized. But when the figure vanishes overnight and a body is discovered, it falls to Gamache to discover if a debt has been paid or levied. Months later, on a steamy July day as the trial for the accused begins in Montréal, Chief Superintendent Gamache continues to struggle with actions he set in motion that bitter November, from which there is no going back. More than the accused is on trial. Gamache's own conscience is standing in judgment" -- provided by publisher.

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too much "great man" submitted by camelsamba on July 1, 2021, 11:32pm This book had an interesting literary structure. It starts with Gamache on the witness stand, relaying events surrounding the murder being tried. Then it switches to those events as lived. This alternation repeats throughout the book. I don't know how the switch might be made obvious in the print edition, but in the audiobook it was confusing on occasion. I suspect than Penny wanted to stretch herself and try something new. (I have read an author's note where she states: "I didn’t want to fall into the easy formula of having one chapter past, next in the present. I wanted it to feel like it does in real life….where we often have our minds in both places. Standing in the present but reliving the past. Without a border. Slipping back and forth." So maybe it's not any more obvious in the print book?)

So that's the structure. The plot, on the other hand, leaves much to be desired! Simply put, there is too much "great man" in this book. In previous books, Armand saved the homicide division, then he rooted out corruption in the whole police force (which at least stretched across multiple books), then he cleaned up the source of future rot (the police academy). So what's left? All of Quebec! Will he move on to Canada next? Or is he too tainted by the event that led to the cliffhanger in this one?