All the Devil's are Here

​Author:  Louise Penny
Publisher: Sphere
Reviewer: Beryl Eichenberger
A Chief Inspector Gamache mystery
A quote from Shakespeare ‘Hell is Empty and All the Devils are Here’ is not only the inspiration for the title but opens this, the 16th Chief Inspector Gamache murder mystery as he and his godfather , nonagenarian Stephen Horowitz, catch a few quiet minutes in the garden of the Musée Rodin in Paris. It is a favourite quote of Horowitz and one that is about to become all too real.

​Louise Penny has created an empathetic, intelligent character in the Sûreté du Quebec, CI Armand Gamache and he is endearing in his patience, intelligence, culture and passion. He is a compassionate and loving man but not without his own devils. 
It is no wonder that Penny is continually on the best seller list and ‘All the Devils are Here’ is yet another success. Clear, concise writing and a calmness that belies the content vie with intriguing, cleverly constructed plots with no shortage of imagination. But realism is at the helm and she takes contemporary situations to bring a story that oh, so resonates.  
Set this time in Paris, not in their normal locale of Three Pines in Quebec, the family are gathered for the birth of a new grandchild from daughter Annie married to Gamache’s former second-in-command Jean-Guy Beauvoir, now settled in a job in Paris. Son Daniel and his family are also living in the City of Light and, with his wife Reine- Marie and Horowitz a family dinner is a treat Gamache is looking forward to.  As they stroll back to their respective residences a driver ploughs into the frail old man and Gamache is sure this is not an accident. A strange key in Stephen’s possession starts a search for truth which involves and threatens the whole family.
It turns out to be not only a race against time but also a race across Paris from the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and into the bowels of the Paris Archives where Reine-Maire, takes a leading role. Penny sets the scene of the back streets and beloved monuments of this magical city, which this time is revealing its devils; devils of human making as trust turns to suspicion to deception, and there is almost no place to turn.
Billionaire Horowitz is the master of manipulation, of finding and whistleblowing on corruption. But what is it that he has been up to that has caused this mayhem? As he lies critically injured it is up to Gamache to unravel the mystery that surrounds the engineering company where his son-in-law works and of who his godfather really is.
Penny is masterful in using suspense and relationships to continually make you ask who can be trusted? Is old friend Préfect Claude Dessault really to be trusted, what is the cause of Gamache and Daniel’s estrangement, on whose side is the haughty Sevérine Arbour? The family and their dynamics play a crucial role as from side to side we are hurled; and always under the hovering hand of truth-seeker Horowitz. 
It is a fast moving plot but with a depth that takes it beyond many other thrillers.  Although i have not read all of Penny’s books I enjoy the intricacy and clarity with which she writes.  I always read the acknowledgements when i finish a book as i think they can be very revealing; Penny tells another beautiful story which underlines her love of Paris.  An absorbing read and one that will make you an Inspector Gamache fan.