When faced with the prospect of a Gamache novel not only set away from Three Pines, but away from Quebec - and Canada, in fact - I was somewhat sceptical, as the village of Three Pines is almost a character in its own right in this series. But I ended up enjoying All The Devils Are Here a great deal - more, even, than some of the recent books in the series which, while always great reads, had also fallen into something of a reassuring pattern.

All The Devils Are Here book opens with Beauvoir and his wife, Annie Gamache, living and working in Paris (where Daniel, Annie's brother, also lives with his family) and awaiting the birth of their second child, an event for which Armand and Reine-Marie have left Three Pines and travelled to Europe. On their first night there, however, Armand's friend Stephen Horowitz, is the victim of a hit and run (which the Gamache family witness) and in the course of investigating, fractures at the heart of the family are exposed, while Armand once again faces possible betrayal from former professional allies.

The relocation to Paris reinvigorates Penny's writing, and the plotting is ingenious. While I usually avoid conspiratorial story lines, the tangled web of corporate, historical and personal conspiracies works exceedingly well here.

Thoroughly engrossing story with good characters and a surprise ending.A mystery to be solved,lots of intrigue and plentyof twists.

A Chief DI and his family leaves Quebec to go to Paris for a family reunion and meet up with an old family benefactor. The benefactor is very wealthy and likes to devote his life to make money and to bring down corrupt businesses and those involved. When the CDI witnesses a hit and run attempt to kill their old friend he cannot help but involve himself in the investigation, at odds with the French Police. The story intertwines with problems with family relationships and the investigations into complex high-level business shady deals and plots to exploit secret discoveries that pose dangers to the public. A most fascinating and thoughtful story with a back ground of the life, culture and French philosophy of Paris and its impact on human relationships, a bit sentimental at times, in contrast to the excitement of the dangers of clashing with business interests in a criminal investigation.

This is the 16th novel in the Inspector Garnache series and unless you have read a couple of the early ones I think you could get very lost.

It's quite tricky to follow the story-line, all the different names and family relationships. In the earlier novels the story-line is far more believable. This one overplays the is he a goody or baddy theme. We know that in a Louise Penny Novel whoever is painted blackest is the one most likely not to be the bad guy.

I really enjoyed the back story and the ambivalence that still exists within French history as to who did what in the second world war. In this novel I found Stephen more interesting than Inspector Garnache. I must say his son comes across as a complete wet.

Warning: SPOILERS (edited from my original comment on a friend's review).

I finished this recently and I totally agree with other reviewers about the cloying reverence of Gamache and the sentimentality.
I was pleased it wasn't in 3P though as the other usual characters have become caricatures and the whole experience there very mannered and predictable.
What annoys me most though are the preposterous plots. The whole nonsense about Neodymium in this book - it was LOL when she described the screw flying across the room like a bullet. If it was that strong every bit of magnetic material in the room would have flown the other way and be stuck to the little watercolour. Are nickels magnetic BTW ? - even if they are it's their own magnetic strength that would matter, not that they were magnetised by Nd.
Not to mention the Surete being corrupt to the very top.
And previously the idea that the locals would not know about an enormous effing gun in the woods (not to mention the hermit in the cabin in an even earlier book).
Or that by taking out two ringleaders of the cartels the whole drugs trade would collapse.
Or that the great detective wouldn;t have figured out why Daniel was pissed off with him for decades. Sheesh.
Risible, even apart from the technical details she gets wrong.

I have read the whole Gamache series from the beginning through to the end in the correct order, paying for most of them. This might be the last one.

Addictive, fast-paced thriller that keeps you reading right to the end. I hadn't read any of the Inspector Gamache series, but after reading this I now want to go back and read the whole series.

Detective Inspector of homicide Armand Gamache and his archivist wife Reine-Marie have come from Montreal to Paris to visit their children and families, and await the arrival of another grandchild. While there, they naturally meet with Armand’s revered godfather Stephen Horowitz.. A hit and run strikes right to the heart of the family. Out of their element, not knowing who to trust, with time running out to prevent harm and keep people safe, they call in favours from friends and family across the globe to try and uncover corporate corruption at the highest level.

This is the sixteenth of a well loved series and Penny is held in high esteem by fans and fellow crime writers. I had read only one of the previous novels, and although I admired the writing, I was a little flummoxed by the idyllic Three Pines village setting and felt I needed to start from the beginning to make sense of it, which I have yet to do. Because this relocated to Paris I felt I could step right in to the story with the protagonists.

As this novel is set in the heart of (wealthy) tourist Paris, all the visual set pieces, cultural landmarks and descriptions of elegant food are here, and the reader can vicariously experience a luxury vacation alongside the sense of peril.
The plot twists so beautifully that the more implausible things get the more you want Armand and his extended family to survive and thrive.

This novel is about family allegiance, loyalty and duty, secrets and lies, which I’m sure regular readers of the series know well. There is corruption, death,, a special birth, and sacrifices for the greater good. The very moving acknowledgments made me realise how very personal this was to Penny (leave them to the end).
I may have to travel back in time and start from the beginning after all.



Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown for an electronic advance copy..

The sixteenth outing in Penny’s exceptional series sees Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, the head of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec, and wife Reine-Marie travel to Paris for the birth of his grandchild after his daughter Annie and her husband Jean-Guy Beauvoir moved there to start a new life. Having just had a meal at a cosy bistro with Gamache’s godfather, the 93-year-old billionaire Stephen Horowitz, everyone is relaxed and enjoying the evening but that doesn't last too long before the mood changes drastically and for good reason. Stephen, who exposes corporate corruption for a living, has apparently been mowed down in the street by a delivery van with everything pointing towards a deliberate hit and run. Luckily, Gamache witnessed the incident. Stephen is badly hurt and ends up in a coma so Gamache must investigate why this happened and exactly what Stephen was mixed up in. It's his most personal case to date and perhaps also the most dangerous. Gamache attempts to convince the Prefect of Police and old acquaintance to treat it as attempted murder but until a body is found shot to death in Stephen’s apartment he refuses. With no authority to even investigate in this jurisdiction, Gamache feels uneasy but he can't help look into both cases. Little does he know — long-held, devastating family secrets are about to come to the surface.

This is a superb addition to the Gamache series and is compulsive and full of intrigue from the very beginning and Penny continues with her nuanced and deep exploration of human nature. This is a bit of a departure from the preceding 15 books as not only does it take place outside of Quebec and Three Pines and involves a high stakes game of cat and mouse but it explores Gamache’s familial relationships. Subtle details continue to lend authenticity to the story such as the bureaucracy involved with Armand being outside of his investigative jurisdiction and the tug of war between family and career rears its ugly head with both expecting devotion and dedication to them. Also, the motive involved was certainly a believable one, which also made the story more believable rather than less. There is twist after twist with each making you more addicted and absorbed in the storyline and ingenious use of misdirection which definitely threw me off the scent. The tension is palpable as you feel, much like the Gamache family, that you don't know who to trust or who may have ulterior motives. I really loved the love, care, belief, trust and commitment the Gamache’s had in each other. By the end, I was excited about the big reveal and I must say I was dumbfounded. A must-read for crime enthusiasts. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Sphere for an ARC.

When I chose to read this book I didn't realise that it was part of a series. In fact the 16th book into the series! On the whole I don't think not having read the previous books had a seriously detrimental affect on my enjoyment. However, there is always a lot of character development throughout a series so I must have missed out on that. I was also a bit confused at the end when a lot of people were mentioned and it was obvious that I should have known who they were.
This is essentially a police procedural book - not my favourite genre but I do enjoy a few series of detective books. The book centres around Canadian police chief Armand Gamache and his family. His billionaire godfather Stephen Horowitz is obviously up to his neck in some intrigue but following an accident it is left up to Gamache and his family to chase the clues around Paris.
This is a book that started well and ended well but got very slow in the middle. In fact I came close to giving up. There seemed to be a lot of chasing around Paris looking at documents and computers which got a little tedious. There was also a lot made of Gamache's poor relationship with his son, Daniel, which I felt was rather over done. Perhaps this was something which would have meant more to me if I had read the whole series.
This was a fairly average book. It didn't capture my imagination and I found it turgid in places. However, fans of police books or the series will probably get more out of it than I did. I don't plan to read the whole series.
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.

A group of shareholders in a multi million pound enterprise hiding a terrible secret in order to retain control and value of their enterprise. An old man in the twilight of life , rich influential yet with a long shadow from his past seems to be tenuously linked to suspected shady dealings. Three generations of French Canadians, totally immersed in their own family and the difficulties of grandparents in Canada, children and grandchildren in France converge in Paris for the imminent arrival of a grandchild. Finally a city, intrinsic to the storyline where parks, buildings, social structure and snobbery all portray the background to a cat and mouse thriller which deftly describes the beauty of Paris , exquisitely holds the threads together of criminal activities, towards a number of surprises that will reward the reader with a thrilling and satisfying conclusion. Carefully researched, well written, and three dimensional characters all lend weight to a five star unusual book. Many thanks to author, publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

I love this series. I have read most of the previous books. Armand Gamache and his family and friends are wonderful characters who I enjoy finding out more about. This book is set in the magical city of Paris. It was action packed from the start. I enjoyed reading about a city I have been in and imaging the characters in the various locations. This is a compelling read which kept me reading into the night.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

My thanks to Little, Brown Book Group U.K. Sphere for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘All the Devils Are Here’ by Louise Penny.

This is the sixteenth in Canadian author Louise Penny’s Quebec-based series of crime thrillers/police procedurals featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache.

Although I had not read any of the previous novels in the series enough background was provided and I quickly settled in.

Armand and his wife, Reine-Marie, are visiting their adult children, who have both moved with their families to Paris. On their first night they gather for a family dinner with Armand's godfather, the billionaire Stephen Horowitz.

The evening ends in horror when Stephen is knocked down by a van and critically injured. Armand is convinced that it was no accident. As the elderly man lies in a coma, Armand undertakes a desperate search for answers.

As he begins to uncover the secrets that his godfather has kept hidden for decades, he finds himself ensnared in a web of lies and deceit that is threatening to destroy everyone he holds dear.

This proved a highly engaging crime thriller that had many layers and mysteries within mysteries. It was a complex plot though it was presented in a structured fashion and I never felt lost.

Overall, found this an engaging crime thriller. After completing this I am now quite interested in reading earlier titles in this series.

What a joy it has been to be back in the company of Armand, Reine-Marie, Jean-Guy and all the other characters from the previous books in this series, mostly set in the tiny village of Three Pines in Quebec - this reviewer has read and enjoyed them all! A change of scene this time, with the action set in Paris, and the whole Gamache family present and involved in trying to solve the very complex mysteries surrounding a murder and a hit-and-run attack. The plot, superbly managed as always, takes the reader through fraud, industrial espionage, police misbehaviour, plenty of plausible dead ends and all the beauty of Paris, it’s museums and its food. Each of the characters is brilliantly drawn, with their own positive and negative traits and the relationships between them are explored with clarity and empathy. Although reading this book was like a meeting with very dear friends, it would stand perfectly well on its own. I hope Armand Gamache has many more years to go before he starts thinking about retirement!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for an advance copy of All the Devils Are Here, the sixteenth novel to feature Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Québec Sûreté.

Gamache and his wife, Reine-Marie, are in Paris visiting their children. They have just dined with them and Gamache’s godfather, billionaire Stephen Horowitz, when Stephen is knocked down in a deliberate hit and run. With Stephen in a coma it is up to Gamache to work out what he was involved in, but it turns out to be dangerous and deceptive.

I thoroughly enjoyed All the Devils Are Here which is not only a thrilling game of cat and mouse but also a warm tale of family love. I couldn’t put it down as I found all the intrigue compelling, and, as it became clear, the motive sadly all too possible. Gamache and his family don’t know who to trust when they find themselves up against powerful forces. It is very well done with the reader getting hooked on trying to decide who’s trustworthy and what their angle is. Needless to say I was totally confounded by the denouement as it wasn’t at all what I thought it would be. The misdirection is very clever.

The uncertain loyalties of the plot are more apparent when contrasted with the love and support in the Gamache family. They are unwavering in their belief in each other and it’s a strength when nothing else can be trusted. The novel dives deep into Stephen Horowitz’s past and tries to right the distance between Gamache and his son, Daniel, who is nothing short of a brat. Throughout it all Gamache sees clearer than anyone else and is the steady hand despite loosing his cool occasionally.

All the Devils Are Here is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with a arc of all the devils are here by Louise penny.

I was thrilled to be accepted for this book as penny's fictional detective is a personal favorite and I have read all previous books in the gamache series.

This book is set in Paris, a world away from 3 pines, which could have Been a catastrophic failure as its the familiarity and sense of place which, in my opinion, makes the gamache series so good.
However, penny has threaded the string of paris throughout the narrative of the series so the change of environment wasn't too jarring.

The main focus in this story is the relationships within the immediate gamache family, therefore no Ruth unfortunately, but the absence of the main cast isnt to the detriment of the story.

Penny as always paints an intreging tale, heavy with misdirection and history. It's always difficult to work out who is exactly playing which part in the story and this book was no exception.

Overall I throughly enjoyed this book. It seems less urbane than previous works, fewer obscure references and language, but overall an excellent addition to the series.

Highly recommded.

Brilliant. Brilliant. Brilliant.

This is my very first Chief Inspector Gamache series - and God, why had I not heard of this earlier?! Clearly, as you can note, I loved the book.

This book is set in Paris which I loved! Louise took me through the city, and I felt once again transported to the streets eating lemon tarts :)

The story is well written, it has a Hercule Poirot like feel to it, and is very rich in its characterization.

Yes, there is a mystery to be solved, an unexplained dead body and the sort. This is, however, layered beautifully on top of relationships between family members. I really enjoyed the way families / relationships were explored.

If you want a break from psychological thrillers and go back to the classical form of mystery - this is THE book to select.

Personally, I do hope to get into this series now.

Closer to date this will be promoted on my website and Instagram to The BookBuff readers. Including book club questions

Unusual and complicated thriller set in Paris

Armand Gamache is in Paris with all his family and becomes embroiled in a complicated investigation when his godfather is hit by a van. All the family get involved (son, daughter, son-in-law, wife etc..) as well as various other characters, trustworthy and not. Knowing who to trust makes Gamache's life very tricky. The characters are interesting and the plot moves long very well although it's hugely complicated. Not having read any of the previous 14 books made this a bit more of a challenge but it still works as a stand-alone. Enjoyable but "hairy". I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

All The Devils Are Here, is the latest novel in Louise Penny’s series about Quebec homicide detective, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. However, unlike most of the earlier books this does not take place in the Canadian village of Three Pines; indeed, it isn’t sited in Canada at all. When I first realised that this novel was set in Paris, I have to admit I was concerned. Much as I like Gamache, I am just as drawn to Penny’s books by the wonderfully eccentric cast of characters that inhabit that small village close to the borders of Vermont. So much so, that I have been known to insist that the next house that comes up for sale in Three Pines is mine; however much it costs. How would I cope with a book that lacked the harum scarum Clara, the wise Myrna and the acerbic Ruth, not to mention the many delights of Gabri and Olivier‘s bistro?  The answer surprisingly was much better than I expected. In fact, I think this is possibly Penny’s strongest novel since Bury Your Dead.

Armand and Reine-Marie Gamache are in Paris for the birth of their daughter’s second child. Annie along with her husband, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, have moved to the French city following Beauvoir’s resignation from the Sûreté du Québec to take up a position with GHS Engineering.  Beauvoir is no engineer, a fact brought home to him by the barely disguised contempt of his second-in-command, Séverine Arbour. Why was the position offered to him? His talents lie in detection. Has he been placed in the company in order to ferret out some sort of wrongdoing? If he has, he doesn’t really know enough about the business to be able to spot any type of corruption that might be going on. Jean-Guy is frustrated; never a good situation.

Annie isn’t the only member of the Gamache family resident in France‘s capital city. Their son, Daniel, also lives there, working for a bank in the field of venture capital. It has been apparent throughout the series that, much to Armand’s distress, there is an estrangement between father and son but, unable to fathom the cause, Gamache has been able to do nothing about it.  While Annie is delighted her parents are there, you get the feeling that Daniel would rather they were anywhere else on Earth.

The final member of the Gamache “family“ greets Armand on the night that he and Reine-Marie first arrive in Paris. Stephen Horowitz is Armand’s godfather. Now in his 90s, this immensely rich man, has been very much a father to the Chief Inspector after his parents died in a car accident when he was nine. Although German by birth Horowitz was a member of the French Resistance and has spent most of his life since then outing corruption in financial and business enterprises around the world. Leaving a restaurant where the family have been dining on that first night, Horowitz is the victim of a hit-and-run attack, clearly targeted at him and equally clearly intended to kill. When Armand and Jean-Guy then visit Stephen’s apartment and find a body there, it becomes apparent that mischief is afoot and that somehow it is linked to the upcoming GHS board meeting.

Of course, Gamache has not always been a “lowly“ Chief Inspector. His career has taken him to the very top and as a result he knows other top policeman around the world, including Claude Dussault, the Prefect of Paris Police so, when he feels that the assigned officers are not taking his insistence that Stephen was deliberately targeted seriously, Armand calls on his friend for assistance.  But is Dussault to be trusted? Is it possible that the Prefect himself has been corrupted? Are Stephen’s claims of his part in the war valid? And, most troubling of all, can Gamache place his faith in those who are closest to him of all? Much of the novel turns on the question of who can and who cannot be trusted with Gamache really only able to depend entirely on Reine-Marie and Beauvoir.  

You have to keep your wits about you during what is quite a substantial novel. There are many twists and turns before the reasons behind the murders and attempted murders are revealed and answers to the question of who is on whose side are fluid right up until the very dramatic conclusion. Big business and those who sit on the boards of such institutions do not come out of it well. I may never getting a lift again! After Penny’s previous novel, A Better Man, which I thought was a disappointment, this is a very welcome return to form. If you are already a fan then I think you’ll enjoy it; if you have yet to meet Gamache and Beauvoir then I suggest you go back to the start of the series with Still Life, rather than beginning here, knowing that you have some very fine books ahead of you. 


With thanks to Sphere and to NetGalley for a review copy.

I was really captivated by 'All the Devils Are Here'. It seemed like a great whodunit set in Paris and at its heart an extended Canadian family. A hit and run and murder most foul form the focus but what we don't know is the motive. Many suggestions are posited but when the actual one is identified, the whole kudos for the story disappeared. Yes corporations try and cover things up, even resorting to violence at times but all this over a lanthanide whose properties (from 1885) are well established, beggars belief. As indeed does the magnetic screw which has powers greater than an MRI machine and an apparent intelligence in its search for something to break. Why couldn't it have been about a bad cement formula? Bridges and buildings falling down after only a decade or two of service? Factual and believable, definitely worthy of a corporate cover-up. As to scoring it, well I did enjoy at least sixty percent, it held such promise but then along popped a lanthanide and planes fell out of the skies, elevators plummeted and computers malfunctioned, thousands killed. The conclusion was a little schmaltzy too. So I'm afraid it's three stars from me.

I'm always wary of picking up a book that is part of a series, unless it is the first of that said series. It has its advantages and disadvantages - character development is often done really well, with well-rounded characters and fully-fleshed out back stories.. The disadvantages are that there are often references to things that have happened in previous books.

Anyway, this book focuses on the positives on a book with characters having appeared in several books previously. I wasn't left wondering too much about what had happened in the novels that had gone before.

It is a typical crime/detective novel with enough going on to keep you interested, although at times it was a little complicated for me. Worth persisting with and a satisfactory ending.