A review by chantale
A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

More of a dark thriller. Good but a challenging book some Louise Penny fans of her cozy mysteries may not welcome or be able to handle. I enjoyed the book. It is more fast paced than her typical books. 

This isn’t your typical Louise Penny, don’t go in assuming it is. If you’ve watched the TV show and found the underlying theme of indigenous and murdered women difficult then you will find the theme of violence against women and children difficult in this book.  

Read my further explanation of the book with spoilers highlighted for you to skip if you are on the fence and need to decide if this book in the series is suitable for you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Sexism, and Violence

If you don’t like descriptions of body mutilation and serial killers, the parts describing a past and merging current case with an offender Gamache kept being bars is difficult. This might be a Louise Penny book you skip some sections of , and won’t lose context of the plot, character development. But also, skip this one entirely and read the gentle publisher book description and skip this one. If you don’t like reading about women accused of being witches or don’t read about witchcraft for personal /religious reasons, this book may also not suit you.

I had flashbacks to the horror movie The Human Centipede. If the title alone of this movie disturbs you it should; the book has a similar dark past crime.

If the Ecole Polytechnic Massacre in Montreal difficult Gamache is portrayed as involved in this event going back in time in his career. He also attends a graduation for graduates of the school’s engineering program.