The Madness of Crowds (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #17) [B1679-PB]

2022 PB in nice clean condition. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache returns to Three Pines in #1 New York Times bestseller Louise Penny's latest spellbinding novel You're a coward. Time and again, as the New Year approaches, that charge is leveled against Armand Gamache. It starts innocently enough. While the residents of the Québec village of Three Pines take advantage of the deep snow to ski and toboggan, to drink hot chocolate in the bistro and share meals together, the Chief Inspector finds his holiday with his family interrupted by a simple request. He's asked to provide security for what promises to be a non-event. A visiting Professor of Statistics will be giving a lecture at the nearby university. While he is perplexed as to why the head of homicide for the Sûreté du Quebec would be assigned this task, it sounds easy enough. That is until Gamache starts looking into Professor Abigail Robinson and discovers an agenda so repulsive he begs the university to cancel the lecture. They refuse, citing academic freedom, and accuse Gamache of censorship and intellectual cowardice. Before long, Professor Robinson's views start seeping into conversations. Spreading and infecting. So that truth and fact, reality and delusion are so confused it's near impossible to tell them apart. Discussions become debates, debates become arguments, which turn into fights. As sides are declared, a madness takes hold. Abigail Robinson promises that, if they follow her, ça va bien aller. All will be well. But not, Gamache and his team know, for everyone. When a murder is committed it falls to Armand Gamache, his second-in-command Jean-Guy Beauvoir, and their team to investigate the crime as well as this extraordinary popular delusion. And the madness of crowds.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "Wow! Yet another fascinating book and look inside our hearts' and minds' motivations and penchants for good and evil with my favorite characters."; "Felt like the most relevant and topical of the series so far. It takes place just after the height of covid and involves the rise in popularity of far-right views. Penny did a great job portraying the complicated emotions involved in parenting a disabled child. My child is autistic and I could really relate to a lot of what Jean-Guy is going through."; "Louise Penny is not afraid to take risks, and The Madness of Crowds may be her most provocative and unsettling Gamache novel yet. This wasn't my favorite Penny novel - I missed some of the warmth, village charm, and character-centered storytelling - but I absolutely respect its ambition. The Madness of Crowds is bold, unsettling, and designed to provoke discussion. It will challenge readers, spark debate, and stay in your thoughts long after you close the book."; "I learn much from Louise Penny and from her characters who I love to spend the dark part of winter with."