The Gilbertine order of Catholic monks was thought to have been extinct for 400 years, but then a mysterious recording of Gregorian chants appears and soon becomes a popular sensation. Fans and pilgrims track down the chanting monks to a remote monastery in the Quebec wilderness, only to be politely but firmly turned away by the Abbot. You see, these cloistered monks did not want to be found. But the recording they made in hopes of earning much needed money to care for their crumbling fortress has brought them much more than they realized. Yes, money from sales of the wildly popular chants was pouring in, allowing for updated heating, electrical and plumbing, but the allure of fame and recognition was creeping into the hearts of some of the brothers. In essence, the recording had spawned a civil war between the Abbot, who wanted to remain cloistered, and the Prior, who believed the recording and its benefits were a miracle from God, meant to be shared with more recordings. Conflict is not good in a group of 24 isolated men, and murder is the result.
Chief Inspector Gamache and his right-hand man Jean-Guy Beauvoir travel into the wilderness to the abbey, becoming the first lay people to cross the threshold. Once inside they find peace and chaos, angels and demons, and the answers to an almost perfect crime. I love Louise Penny's books because they take me into a world very different from mine, and The Beautiful Mystery takes us one step beyond different to otherworldly.
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