Review - The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny

Title: The Madness of Crowds*

Author: Louise Penny

Rating: 5 stars / 5 stars

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Favorite Quote: “What is essential is invisible to the eye. Knowledge, ideas, thoughts. Imagination. All invisible. All lived in libraries.” Penny, Louise. The Madness of Crowds. Minotaur Books, 2021.

Review: Full disclosure. I love Louise Penny’s novels. I started reading them years ago when a book club I was a part of read A Fatal Grace. And I have never stopped. Long after mysteries, though still a favorite, stopped being my primary source of literary entertainment, Louise Penny’s books were a constant source of intrigue, joy, and anticipation. For those of you who have been with me since the beginning of this blog, you may have even seen that I took some time off work when The Madness of Crowds was first published because I wanted the whole afternoon to read.

And this book. Oh my goodness, this book. More full disclosure - despite my adoration - bordering on idolatry - of Ms. Penny and her works, in 2020, I couldn’t get through All the Devils Are Here. In fact, I still haven’t read the whole thing, though I intend to return to it someday. But after my experience of not being drawn into that book, I spent a year worried that maybe the pandemic had stolen from me even more of the magic I looked for in life - the excitement and enjoyment I found in a new Louise Penny release. But fear not, my friends. The Madness of Crowds dragged me back into the world of Three Pines and I once again never want to leave.

So, after a full two paragraphs, should we get to the actual review part? (Or should I just keep fangirling, because honestly, I totally could.) The Madness of Crowds finds Inspector Gamache, his family, and his colleagues, back in the world of Three Pines and its surrounding geography, as he is charged with protecting a controversial speaker/professor who, in a post-Covid world, is advocating for [TRIGGER WARNING AND SPOILER ALERT] euthanizing the elderly and the disabled. And then, against the backdrop of a tense New Year’s party…murder.

As always, Penny weaves a narrative that balances intrigue with the comfort of a small town - where mysteries are solved in equal parts in the throes of violence and around cafe au lait at the bistro. She draws on the worst of human experiences, but balances it with messages of kindness, compassion, and understanding. This book is Penny at her best, no doubt about it.

I will admit that, this being one of the first books I’ve read that is fully immersed in a world that experienced Covid, it was a bit jarring at times to read a fictionalized account of a world we are all very much still living in. The fear. The carnage. The unimaginable loss. While still very much a cozy mystery, as is Penny’s want, this novel is also a cultural snapshot - one that makes clear the devastation suffered by the world in the year leading up to its events.

As always, Penny also manages to create dynamic characters whose very human reactions to external stimuli drive the narrative to some of its most gripping moments. I just about had to walk away for a moment when it was revealed that [SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU HAVE ALREADY READ THE BOOK] Buovoir was the person to abandon his station at the speech.

I could go on forever about this book, but I’ll stop (mostly) here by saying - if you’re a fan of cozy mysteries and you haven’t read Penny yet…do yourself the favor of going to your local library or bookstore and picking up Still Life immediately.

TW for The Madness of Crowds: proposed euthanasia of elderly and disabled folks, child death, murder, Covid, mentions of Covid related deaths (especially in nursing homes and care facilities)

About that Quote: I picked up Penny for the mystery, but stayed for the humanity. And the social commentary. And the philosophizing. And the bistro. Never forget the bistro. And I think this quote captures the Louise Penny novel approach to mystery-solving - think. Learn. Analyze. A badge and a weapon will only get folks so far. Being human - relating to humans - acknowledging faults and learning from mistakes - that is the Gamache-tested route to solving murders. And I think this quote speaks to that.

Have you read The Madness of Crowds? Share your thoughts below!