The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny (2012)

Louise Penny’s fans might try The Beautiful Mystery (eighth in the series) to find Chief Inspector Gamache in a venue other than Three Pines. The Chief Inspector, assisted by Guy Beauvoir, travels to a remote monastery hidden deep in the Quebec wilderness to find which (if any) of the 24 brothers has murdered the choir director. The Brothers all have beautiful voices and are totally committed to performing the Gregorian chants in each office of the day.

A recently released trial CD has brought in good revenue but also conflict among the brothers as to whether or not to pursue commercial success. One group of Brothers welcomes the new revenue while others are afraid notoriety will interfere with their devotions. Other complications arise as Guy is distracted from the hunt by his secret relationship with the Chief Inspector’s daughter and his chemical dependency developed while he was recovering from previous wounds.

The Beautiful Mystery is the winner of the 2012 Agatha Award for best novel, the 2013 Anthony Award for best novel, and the 2013 Macavity Award for best novel.