The Madness of Crowds

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache returns to Three Pines in #1 New York Times bestseller Louise Penny’s latest spellbinding novel YouΓÇÖre a coward. Time and again,as the New Year approachesthat charge is leveled against Armand Gamache. It starts innocently enough. While the residents of the Qu├⌐bec village of Three Pines take advantage of the deep snow to ski and tobogganto drink hot chocolate in the bistro and share meals togetherthe Chief Inspector finds his holiday with his family interrupted by a simple request. HeΓÇÖs asked to provide security for what promises to be a non-event. A visiting Professor of Statistics will be giving a lecture at the nearby university. While he is perplexed as to why the head of homicide for the S├╗ret├⌐ du Qu├⌐bec would be assigned this taskit sounds easy enough. That is until Gamache starts looking into Professor Abigail Robinson and discovers an agenda so repulsive he begs the university to cancel the lecture. They refuseciting academic freedomand accuse Gamache of censorship and intellectual cowardice. Before longProfessor RobinsonΓÇÖs views start seeping into conversations. Spreading and infecting. So that truth and factreality and delusion are so confused itΓÇÖs near impossible to tell them apart. Discussions become debatesdebates become argumentswhich turn into fights. As sides are declareda madness takes hold. Abigail Robinson promises thatif they follow her├ºa va bien aller. All will be well. But notGamache and his team knowfor everyone. When a murder is committed it falls to Armand Gamachehis second-in-command Jean-Guy Beauvoirand their team to investigate the crime as well as this extraordinary popular delusion. And the madness of crowds.