Reviews with content warning for Drug abuse - Glass Houses

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Glass Houses by Louise Penny

18 reviews

cathepsut's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

My first Gamache, but the 13th of the series, so I am most likely missing some context.

Gamache, the chief of police of the province of Quebec, is in the witness stand of a murder trial. The chief prosecutor is pretty hostile towards his main witness. Through the questioning we are told the story of the murder that happened in the village of Three Pines. So much for the beginning. There is more to it, with a pretty modern problem.

Slow. A lot of talking and reminiscing. Set-up for the community that lives in Three Pines and its guests. More talking. Little doing. The murder only happens a third into the book. And the accused sitting on that bench during the trial is never named, which in my opinion is a pretty lame gimmick to create suspense. Of which there was little to none. The last 30% are a bit more speedy, but the wrap-up is quite repetitive.

Some of the characters stay one-dimensional, I struggled to keep them apart until the end. The woman with the duck was just a silly caricature.

Many of my reading buddies love Gamache, but this was way too cozy for me. And the plot was a little silly. It is very unlikely that I will pick up another one of the series or by this author, unless I come by it very cheaply. Maybe #14…

2.5 pine cones, rounded up to 3 for the tears-inducing ending.

PS:
– Initially bought for my mum, who did not finish it. I should have listened to her reasons.
– I don‘t read many straight mysteries anymore and never in German, so this was a bit of an an uphill struggle.
– Reading a novel in German again wasn‘t as much work as I had feared.
– The first book of the series, Still Life, was made into a movie and I would watch it.
– The English original is called Glass Houses: A Novel, which is more meaningful for the book than the German title „Behind the Three Pines“.

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laurenleigh's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

In the 13th Inspector Gamache novel, Louise Penny really mixes it up! The non-linear story structure was quite different from previous books in the series. It was tricky to do, starting at the trial but not revealing the killer/the defendant until the very end. Penny totally pulled it off, as expected! This series continues to feel fresh and exciting, even this far in, because Penny isn’t really writing about murder mysteries. She’s writing about larger concepts. In this case, the conscious. How do we depend on a conscious to steer us the right way when each person’s consciousness is so different? If our conscious tells us a law is immoral, which code do we follow? There is certainly a lot of gray area here, and it was interesting to watch Gamache struggle with these questions himself.

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luveloise3's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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cpachet's review

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This is my first time reading a Louise Penny, recommended by a colleague of my sister’s. She and I randomly chose this book and halfway through I was like “I probably should’ve started with the first Gamache instead of the 13th”. So many characters to keep track of (some that brought little/nothing to the story). The plot was surprisingly thin/simple despite being drawn out for 400 pages. Penny relies heavily on talking around a subject (specifically the identity of the suspect, even though the book starts with the trial) and while the trope can be an effective one to hook a reader, the reveal took a very long time and wasn’t that surprising or exciting. Would I try reading another Louise Penny? Probably not.

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mixyplixl's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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katypicken's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The tension in this one is incredible. It's told to and fro in time, with a court case in the height of summer flashing back to events in a freezing and wet November. The story centres on a murder, but there is so much more at stake, both personally and professionally for Gamache, his family and the whole of Three Pines.
One of my favourites in the series so far (though I love them all).

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maplegreen's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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markedwithanm's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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