The Beautiful Mystery

Louise Penny, “The Beautiful Mystery: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel”, Minotaur Books (2012) 373 pp.

This novel is another recommended by my friend Gerry.  The author, Louise Penny, has written many mystery novels in this series that have been New York Times best-sellers.  This current novel involves the monastery of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups, hidden in the wilderness of Quebec.  Two dozen cloistered monks live in the monastery growing vegetables, tending chickens, and making chocolate.  And they sing, even though they’ve taken a vow of silence.  Amazingly, the monks have become world-famous for their ancient Gregorian chants whose effect on both singer and listener is known as “the beautiful mystery.”

Chief Inspector Gamache and his assistant Jean-Guy Beauvoir are admitted to this monastery to investigate the murder of the choir director.  

Nuff said.

My Notes:

Pg. 159:  Beauvoir knew that the root of all evil wasn’t money.  No, what created and drove evil was fear.  Fear of not having enough money, enough food, enough land, enough power, enough security, enough love.  Fear of not getting what you want, or losing what you have.

Pg. 331:  Scientists explain the calming effect of Gregorian chants on alpha waves, the Church calls it ‘the beautiful mystery.’