From Inside My Book Fort - - - "Glass Houses" by Louise Penny

Welcome to the book fort!

Annabelle and I are reading a novel by one of our favorite people who just happens to be one of our favorite writers.

The incomparable Louise Penny.

It's no surprise to me when Louise Penny's newest novels win a multitude of awards.  

The accolades keep coming, and deservedly so.

You can see reviews and awards for Glass Houses at Ms. Penny's webpage.  It's a pretty impressive list!

"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. And finally, watching the unmoving figure, a pall settles over the pretty Québec village.

Months later, on a steamy July day as the trial for the accused begins in Montreal, 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 judgement.

Maureen Corrigan, The Washington Post
"….No other writer…writes like Penny….Her characters are distilled to their essences. The stylistic result is that a Gamache mystery reads a bit like an incantatory epic poem....It takes nerve and skill - as well as heart - to write mysteries like this."

Richmond Times-Dispatch
"With grace and insight…Penny has pushed the boundaries of the genre with each novel, and 'Glass Houses' takes them still further….And she does so with compassion, decency and love as she depicts evil, exalts courage and neither flinches nor preaches as she confronts moral ambiguities-and the health and sickness within each soul."

Listen.

and enjoy . . . 

Glass Houses by Louise Penny

Release Date:   August 29, 2017

I have, most of my life, had a list of authors I've considered my "auto-buy" authors. 

Slowly, over the years, the list has changed, and it has dwindled. 

There is now a very small group of outstanding writers remaining on that list. Louise Penny has been there, at the top, since I happened upon Still Life. 

Honestly, I do not think there's anyone writing today who is writing as well as she. 

She has taken pen to page and created a group of people her readers have grown to love. Some have stories we're still waiting to learn. Some have broken our hearts. Ms. Penny takes the pieces of broken hearts, puts them back together and raises them high - to the light. And she does it fearlessly. 

She's able to write about tough topics, as she does in Glass Houses, with a deft and sure hand. Helps us remember that even when we're doubting the world we live in, there is goodness. 

Glass Houses kept me on my toes. It had some surprises that made me think. And, as always, there was the irreverence and subtle humor that have become a Louise Penny signature. 

I loved Glass Houses. 

I want to stumble into Three Pines and never leave.

Note:  I received an advance reading copy from the publisher with no discussion regarding whether or not I would review the book.