Re: All The Devils Are Here by Louise Penny

Alter Ego · ‎03-12-2010

Finished last night. I really liked the change in scenery, but I still have a love/hate relationship with the author. Seriously, how often do we need to read about the lines on Armand's face - will this latest story cause more lines of worry or happiness?!?!?!?! Spoiler alert - both! But I did like the story and his wife being more central; definitely one of the better in the series for me even though it too often strains credibility. Brought back someone I was happy to be rid of, but I've always thought Penny loved that particular character anyways so I should have known I wouldn't be so lucky.

Petty comment - did anyone else keep getting pulled out of the story every time they read Mrs McGillicuddy's name? I ended up having to skip the word; otherwise I was transported to a nightclub in NYC, trying to sneak into my Cuban husband's show with the help of my best friend Ethel! Seriously, I do wonder why she used the name as it is so evocative of another character. I didn't read her acknowledgments at the end of the book, but glossed over them seeing if I could see a reference to Lucille Ball - does anyone know if she had a reason for using the name?

sassenach1 · ‎03-09-2010

I finished it, too. It is the 16th book in the series and I am growing weary of the repetitive descriptions of Armand and some of the others. We know and love Gamache. No need to keep telling us who he is. I did like the change of scenery with Paris almost a central character. Very glad Reine Marie had a more prominent role. This book was much better than her last few. I’ll give the next one a shot.

sassenach1 · ‎03-09-2010

@Alter Ego
Yes! Lucy and Ethel indeed!!LOL

dawg lover · ‎03-15-2010

I liked the beginning and the end sections. The middle, with a complex engineering and financial plot, was boring to me, and I skipped over a lot of it. While I enjoyed the Paris location, I missed all the folks in Three Pines. I thought it was okay, but it is not my favorite book of hers at all.

smoky22 · ‎05-30-2010

@dawg lover I completely agree. The plot was a little too convoluted for me, boring actually. I did like the Paris setting, but there were too many characters.