Louise Penny and the Armand Gamache series.

       I am a reader of what one might say compulsion. It's frankly exciting and at the same time frustrating. When I find an author who totally entrances me I tend to jump right in and read every single one of their novels back to back. Great for me in the beginning but the time comes when I have read every book they have written and then await impatiently their next novel. I can read a series in a month or less and obviously authors do not write that quickly, nor should they. As I wrote in a previous blog, Louise Penny and her series of mysteries set mostly in Three  Pines, Canada  with the erudite and sartorial Armand Gamache as the main protagonist have become my newest addiction. I honestly can not get enough of these books. They are so well written as to almost be unbelievable. So many authors today punch out best sellers that are neither well researched nor well written. Louise Penny, in her writing, has resisted the tendency to pen tales based solely on the idea of making money and cashing in on a literary trend. Her novels are so intricate with their poetry, knowledge of the art world, Canadian history and character development that each one when finished just makes the reader want to jump into the next book. This is a rare ability. Only a few modern authors accomplish this, a few being Dana Stabenow, Nevada Barr, James Lee Burke and Laura Lippman. There is nothing better than discovering a new author and I would urge everyone who appreciates a well written mystery with engaging characters to immediately buy Louise Penny's books.