Ponder: The Madness of Crowds

I eagerly awaited the publication of The Madness of Crowds ©2021, novel #17, by Louise Penny in the murder mystery series featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his inspector team of Jean-Guy Beauvoir and Isabelle Lacoste. In the words of Louise Penny in her September newsletter:

This latest book explores what happens when a crazy idea takes on the sheen of legitimacy when voiced by someone in authority. And is repeated. And repeated. What happens when normally rational, decent people accept an indecent proposal? What happens when they lose their good sense? When they lose their minds. When madness is normalized?

The setting was the familiar Three Pines near Montreal; the villagers were a comforting presence but did not play a major role. Although usually best to read Penny's books in order to see how the core characters morph and grow, The Madness of Crowds stands well on its own. Family relationships are key to some extent, but the reader is well informed of pertinent background information. It was more detective work-centric than character development focused. I enjoyed the book greatly and I took my time reading it. Having rushed through three previous books in rapid succession (8/27/21 multi-post) I'd learned to stretch out the reading pleasure. Slowing down was a good call. The murder crime in this book was very convoluted and required concentration to follow and solve.

The novel's time period occurs after the pandemic, thankfully. Since I tend to read for entertainment and escapism, I did not want to be immersed in the COVID viral drama that is still ongoing. Also, seeing that there is a satisfying life after the pandemic gave me hope that normalcy will exist in the future. The story occurs in the time between Christmas and New Year. Hearing the descriptive accounts of rosy-cheeked children and adults tobogganing, skating, and laughing while enjoying snow-filled, winter fun activities is encouraging. In this book the days of isolation and social distancing are over. Toasting  marshmallows over bonfires and waving sparklers at New Years Eve are delightful images. The artistry by MaryAnna Coleman on the endpapers of the hardcover book capture the magical feeling of celebration within the woods of Three Pines. 

However, there remains an after effect addressing economic recovery. One voice spreading economically-promising but morally-repugnant, statistic-based theories gains a foothold in the minds of people renewing their life styles but still shell-shocked from the pandemic. Someone associated with these theories is killed; whether the victim is murdered intentionally with motive, or accidentally due to mistaken identity, is yet to be determined.  I found that The Madness of Crowds proved to be very timely and thought-provoking. It builds heavily on current struggles both international (pandemic related) and American (national divisiveness). I am intentionally being vague about the particulars in this book to avoid divulging spoilers. Character interconnections to each other play key roles in ferreting out the killer. Multiple suspects are under serious consideration, each displaying a strong set of condemning factors associated with credible motive and means.

Crowd responses in some barely credible situations do not seem so far fetched, having seen some disheartening real-life news events on television and internet within the past several years. Some scenarios can't help but bring to mind political rallies and rampages of late. Parts of this book also made me uncomfortable due to some of my personal experiences. Despite some disturbing events – what murder mystery can be devoid of unpleasantness? – I still give The Madness of the Crowds a high five-star rating. As with Penny's works, it is sprinkled with a few lighter nuggets of thought on which to ruminate. View these tidbits as somewhat of a palate cleanse.

• "Having sex did not define an intimate relationship, any more than not having sex prevented one." [Chapter 14]
  
  
• "Beauvoir, who loathed what this woman stood for, quickly searched his feelings for any sign of pleasure at her pain, and found none." [Chapter 21]
  
  
• "Scientists might appear rational, but they were in fact completely at the mercy of their emotions. Because most never learned to face them." [Chapter 45]

★★★★★ Great! Read it!