Kingdom of the Blind is Louise Penny’s fourteenth installment in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache mystery series. With a phenomenal cast of characters that come to life on the pages, a setting that is both brutal and beautiful, and a mystery that is skillfully and artfully woven, Penny’s latest is a winning addition to the popular series.

Armand Gamache is a refreshing protagonist for the genre. He is wounded and haunted without being a damaged hero. He is a diligent and sensitive man, kind, unfailingly thoughtful, astute to human nature but not infallible, and possessing a relentless faith in humanity. And in this latest tale, he finds himself named as the liquidator for the will of a woman he has never met. An eccentric woman who left behind a crumbling home and a garden filled with poisonous plants, and who bequeathed her children a title, property, and money she apparently did not possess. Gamache sets himself to the task of untangling the web of history, family, feuds, and jealousies.

Penny never fails to write with heart and with a depth of emotion that is profound and poignant but never sentimental or saccharine. Her style is intelligent, pointed, and literary. The dark subject matter is handled humanely and sensitively, but never in a way that lessens the blow. This is a psychological mystery filled with literary references and a poetic stream of consciousness that drive the reader ever-closer to an answer. The plot is a layered one, the characters unique and lively, the dialogue pithy and slyly funny.

Kingdom of the Blind is a grim story, but it is also clever and witty, permeated with a feeling of warmth and community and family. It is the epitome of chiaroscuro, a brilliant play of light and dark that lingers in the mind long after the last page is turned.

Highly recommended for fans of intelligent mysteries with heart and grit.