Review of "Kingdom of the Blind: A Chief Inspector Armand Gamache Mystery' by Louise Penny

In this 14th book in the 'Chief Inspector Armand Gamache' series, the Canadian cop becomes the executor of a will and investigates a murder. The book can be read as a standalone, but familiarity with the series is a bonus.

*****

As the story opens, Chief Superintendent Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec is on suspension for a partially bungled drug operation. While Gamache is under investigation he takes on another task, as executor of the will of Bertha Baumgartner - a woman he's never met. It seems that Baumgartner, who worked as a cleaning lady, named three strangers to execute her will: Gamache; Gamache's neighbor in Three Pines Myrna Lander; and a young Montreal man called Benedict Pouliot.



Baumgartner's notary, Maître Mercier, can't explain why his client chose a cop (Armand); a bookstore owner (Myrna); and a builder (Benedict) to carry out her final wishes, but it's not really his business. Thus Mercier carries out his duties and reads the will, which turns out to be a very odd document.

Ms. Baumgartner - who had no savings and owned nothing but an old crumbling farmhouse - left each of her three adult children five million dollars. She also directed her 'European estates' to be sold, and left 'the title' to her eldest son. This seems ludicrous on the face of it, but becomes more clear when the executors learn that Baumgartner's Austrian ancestors were involved in a family feud that started over one hundred years ago.



While Gamache is looking into the will, one of the legatees is killed in suspicious circumstances. Even though Gamache is suspended from the Sûreté, he investigates with his son-in-law, Chief Inspector of Homicide Jean-Guy Beauvoir. Other Sûreté' officers help as well, as do Gamache's friends in Three Pines. As a result many secrets are revealed and an ongoing lawsuit in Austria - that has repercussions for the Baumgartners - comes to light. (In one scene Gamache calls an Austrian policeman and speaks pidgin German, which is hilarious. 😊)



As all this is happening Gamache is trying to repair the damage done by the botched drug case, which allowed powerful new opioids to get loose in Montreal. Because Gamache is vulnerable, the powers-that-be are trying to smear him for political reasons, and even want Jean-Guy to help them. To clear his name (and conscience) Gamache is trying to track down the drugs before they cause mass overdoses and deaths. This is difficult, but the Chief Inspector has a 'secret weapon' of sorts.....which just might work.



There's some drama in the book when a blizzard blows through southeastern Canada and knocks out the electricity, but Armand and his neighbors are very capable and resilient, and organize a lovely gathering with food and drinks.



Many of Gamache's friends and relatives make an appearance in the story, including his wife Reine-Marie; the eccentric old poet Ruth and her duck Rosa (whose quacks sound like 'f**k, f**k, f**k); the portrait artist Clara - who painted a peculiar picture of wrinkled old Ruth as the Virgin Mary; the café owners Oliver and Gabri - who make delicious food; Gamache's daughter Annie and his grandbaby Honoré - who learns his first word from Rosa 😲; and Armand's dogs Gracie and Henri. I laughed when Ruth refers to Myrna Lander's bookstore as a lending library - apparently because she walks out with 'free books' under her coat.

The novel's plot is interesting and well-constructed, and I enjoyed visiting with old friends from Three Pines. I think mystery readers would like the book, especially fans of the series. 

Rating: 3.5 stars