ARE YOU LISTENING? THE BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY: A GUEST REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

WELCOME TO BOOKIN' WITH BINGO'S" 
ARE YOU LISTENING? DAY" 
I AM EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE TODAY'S 
AUDIO BOOK CHOICE...

GIVEAWAY ENDED
THE BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY

A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel

BY LOUISE PENNY

READ BY RALPH COSHAM

ABOUT THE BOOK:

No outsiders are ever admitted to the monastery of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups, hidden deep in the wilderness of Quebec, where two dozen cloistered monks live in peace and prayer. They grow vegetables, they tend chickens, they make chocolate. And they sing. Ironically, for a community that has taken a vow of silence, the monks have become world-famous for their glorious voices, raised in ancient chants whose effect on both singer and listener is so profound it is known as “the beautiful mystery.”

But when the renowned choir director is murdered, the lock on the monastery’s massive wooden door is drawn back to admit Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir of the Sûreté du Québec. There they discover disquiet beneath the silence, discord in the apparent harmony. One of the brothers, in this life of  prayer and contemplation, has been contemplating murder. As the peace of the monastery crumbles, Gamache is forced to confront some of his own demons, as well as those roaming the remote corridors. Before finding the killer, before restoring peace, the Chief must first consider the divine, the human, and the cracks in between.

AN EXCERPT FROM THE BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY:

As the last note of the chant escaped the Blessed Chapel a great silence fell, and with it came an even greater disquiet.

The silence stretched on. And on.

These were men used to silence, but this seemed extreme, even to them.

And still they stood in their long black robes and white tops, motionless.

Waiting.

These were men also used to waiting. But this too seemed extreme.

The less disciplined among them stole glances at the tall, slim, elderly man who had been the last to file in and would be the first to leave.

Dom Philippe kept his eyes closed. Where once this was a moment of profound peace, a private moment with his private God, when Vigils had ended and before he signaled for the Angelus, now it was simply escape.

He closed his eyes because he didn’t want to see.

To finish reading this excerpt, visit the Macmillan Audio Book website HERE.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

LOUISE PENNY is the New York Times and Globe and Mail bestselling author of seven previous novels featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. Her debut, Still Life, won the John Creasey Dagger and the Arthur Ellis, Barry, Anthony, and Dilys Awards, and was named one of the five Mystery/Crime Novels of the Decade by Deadly Pleasures magazine. Penny was the first author ever to win the Agatha Award for Best Novel four times—for A Fatal Grace, The Cruelest Month, and The Brutal Telling (which also received the Anthony Award for Best Novel), and Bury Your Dead (which also won the Dilys, Arthur Ellis, Anthony, Macavity, and Nero Awards). She lives in a small village south of Montréal.

ABOUT THE NARRATOR:

Ralph Cosham is a film, stage, and voice actor who has lent his narration to over 100 audiobooks, including Frankenstein, Around the World in Eighty Days, Alice in Wonderland, and Watership Down. Several of his works have been awarded “Audio Best of the Year” by Publisher’s Weekly. In film he has played Supreme Court Justice Jensen in Pelican Brief and a Marine Lieutenant in Starman, and in television he played the part of Braddock’s Captain in the mini TV-series George Washington. 

A GUEST REVIEW:

WELCOME A NEW REVIEWER TO BOOKIN' WITH BINGO!

I am so thrilled to introduce a New Reviewer today. Ann Dailey is a big fan of Louise Penny's Inspector Armand Gamache and agreed to review this newest installment. Ann lives in Los Angeles where she is a sociologist and a Hospice volunteer. When not working, she enjoys reading and embroidery. Her dog, Lady, wants to go to Quebec and visit Armand Gamache. Thank you, Ann, and I hope you will let us all know what happens when Lady does finally meet the Inspector! :)

Louise Penny’s The Beautiful Mystery audio book by Ann Dailey.

Louise Penny has written an intriguing mystery which is chock full of suspense.  In some ways, this book is more psychologically intense than her earlier Chief Inspector Gamache mysteries.  She has interwoven an additional dimension into The Beautiful Mystery by giving music a central role in the story. 

The reader, Ralph Cosham, has a distinctive voice which is initially somewhat distracting from the story. However, Mr. Cosham has a lovely singing voice which is used at key points in the mystery.  He also excels at portraying the various characters in different voices.  Given the central role of music in the plot, this is one Chief Inspector Gamache book where it is beneficial to hear the audio book rather than reading it in print.

The mystery is set in a Canadian monastery where the monks have taken vows of silence except for their singing of Gregorian chants.  The wonderful Chief Inspector Gamache and the less spiritually grounded Jean-Guy Beauvoir move forward with their investigation in the isolated monastery.  The more they progress with their investigation, the more their own pasts come back to haunt them. 

At several pivotal points in the story, either Armand Gamache or Jean-Guy Beauvoir has to make a decision whether to follow his principles and be his best self or to succumb to the temptation to take matters in his own hands, giving in to his more animalistic desires.  It is not at all clear which path Armand and Jean-Guy will take.

The resolution of the story is both heart-breaking and ambiguous.  Hopefully, we won’t have long to wait for Ms. Penny’s next Chief Inspector Gamache mystery.  I, for one, cannot stand not knowing what will happen to Armand Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir.

   GIVEAWAY 

THANKS TO ESTHER AND MY FRIENDS AT

MACMILLAN AUDIO, I HAVE ONE COPY OF 

THE BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY, BY LOUISE PENNY

TO GIVE AWAY TO ONE LUCKY FOLLOWER

 

--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES, PLEASE
--INCLUDE EMAIL ADDRESS IN COMMENT
--ALL ENTRIES/COMMENTS MUST BE
SEPARATE IN ORDER TO COUNT
AS MORE THAN ONE ENTRY

HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: READ ABOUT THE AUDIO BOOK ABOVE AND COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FOUND INTERESTING ABOUT THE BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY THAT WOULD MAKE YOU WANT TO WIN THIS AUDIO BOOK 

+1 MORE ENTRY:  COMMENT ABOUT SOMETHING YOU ENJOYED ABOUT ANN'S REVIEW SO WE CAN MAKE HER FEEL WELCOME AT BOOKIN' WITH BINGO

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND LEAVE A LINK I CAN FOLLOW IN THE ENTRY

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FIND INTERESTING AT LOUISE PENNY'S WEBSITE HERE

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE CURRENT GIVEAWAY OF MINE YOU HAVE ENTERED. IF YOU ENTERED MORE THAN ONE, COMMENT SEPARATELY FOR EACH AND YOU WILL GET AN ENTRY FOR EACH ONE

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT IF YOU ARE AN EMAIL SUBSCRIBER (THIS IS IMPORTANT IF YOU ARE FOLLOWING BOOKIN' WITH BINGO AND YOU WILL SEE WHY IN JUST ABOUT TWO WEEKS)

 

GIVEAWAY ENDS AT

 6 PM, EST, AUGUST 30

GOOD LUCK!