I’m a fan of Louise Penny’s Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novels (this is the 17th in the series). I rate every book in this series highly. So when I say I consider The Madness of Crowds her best yet, you can tell it had a strong impact on me.
I usually can’t wait to get my hands on a print copy of a new Louise Penny book so I always buy an ebook. The Madness of Crowds was released on 24 August and I finished reading it in a couple of days.
The story is set in the aftermath of the pandemic. The world is still adjusting to the shock of Covid and the impact it had on all societies. In the midst of these huge adjustments, people are grappling with big questions about what they value and the ways they want to live.
Without posting a spoiler here, I know some of those same questions are being asked in our real world now as we try to make sense of the disruptive influence of the pandemic. I see the results here in Australia as the actions – not the words – of the Government show how they truly view the value of life.
At its essence, The Madness of Crowds is still a detective story where Inspector Gamache solves a murder case. But this novel is so much more than that. It’s a novel that forces you to confront the big questions.
Read more about The Madness of Crowds on Goodreads.