All the Devils are Here is the 16th episode in the Armand Gamache/Three Pines series. These books are usually set in rural Quebec, in an area known as the Eastern Townships, which lie southeast of Montreal and just north of Vermont. For many years, Armand Gamache has led homicide investigations for the Surete du Quebec, the provincial police force. We have followed Gamache through various administrative roles in the Surete, and we have seen him and his second-in-command (and now son-in-law), Jean-Guy Beauvoir, through some tough times and some tragic situations. We have followed Armand and his wife Reine-Marie as they retired to the village of Three Pines, to live among their new-found friends. Now Armand has returned to his long-time position as Chief Inspector with the Surete. What will come next?

Well, for this story, the action moves to Paris -- a move that we avid readers could have anticipated. Armand and Reine-Marie keep an apartment here, and both of their children are here now. Daniel has been in Paris with his wife Roslyn and their daughters, Florence and Zora, for a number of years. Annie just moved here five months ago with Jean-Guy and their son Honore, and they are expecting a new daughter any day. Armand and Reine-Marie have flown over for the birth of their fourth grandchild. And their extended family also includes Stephen Horowitz, Armand's 93-year-old godfather. (We first met Stephen in book #14, Kingdom of the Blind, when Armand was investigating investments made by members of the Baumgartner family. Remember?) Stephen happens to be a well-known business magnate and a billionaire who owns homes in both Montreal and Paris. Anyway, it's a great place and a good time for a family reunion.

But the jovial feelings don't last long. Stephen soon becomes the victim of a hit-and-run accident that seems to have been deliberate. It throws him into the hospital and into a coma, and throws Armand Gamache into action, jurisdiction notwithstanding. What was Stephen involved in, and why would someone want to stop him? For Armand and Jean-Guy, concern and action quickly escalate and take over. It's almost amusing, how easily these two men fall into their familiar roles, even though they are not necessarily in familiar or even official territory. Handily, Armand knows the prefect of police in Paris, Claude Dussault. (Of course he does.) Dussault launches an investigation and passes much of its work to his second-in-command, Irena Fontaine. But ironically, Fontaine is just as wary and suspicious of Quebecois as Jean-Guy Beauvoir is of Anglos. And while both teams are working on the case -- one, albeit unofficially -- neither side quite trusts the other, and neither side shares everything with the other.

The Parisians are in charge. Or are they part of the scheme? It's difficult to know the difference. But Armand and Jean-Guy have personal stakes in the situation: not only because of Stephen's ties with the Gamaches, but also because the uncovered criminal activity may have ties to GHS Engineering, Jean-Guy's current employer. Alas, he's so new to this job, he's not sure what to think. The tension between the two sets of investigators keeps everyone on their toes but also slightly off balance. Can either team figure out exactly what's really been going on in Stephen's business life? And will Stephen and the rest of the Gamache family survive this ordeal?

Away from the main action (although we're never truly very far away from it), this book gives us a chance to learn more about the Gamache family. One special focus is the relationship Armand has with Daniel. It's clear that they have "a history," and we don't know what it is. Will this stressful situation bind father and son closer together, or will it force them even farther apart?

Readers who don't know Paris or who aren't up to snuff on major artists may be inclined to look up references to museums, hotels, painters and Rodin statues. Stephen is an art collector, and Armand is an art and museum aficionado, and they don't have to explain themselves to each other when such names come up in conversation. But we may need a little more help. What good is reading a book if you don't learn something from it, anyway? Even a fictional mystery can be educational.

Unfortunately, it's not until we reach the end of the book that we find a handy-dandy map of the 19 main sites of Armand's Paris. Hey, Minotaur Books! We could have used this guide 440 pages ago.

As usual, Louise Penny knows how to weave a complex and compelling story, based on concepts and situations that are, in many ways, foreign to us. In fact, I'm considering doing something I've never done before: go back and read the book I just finished, again, immediately. The plot is intricate enough that I know I would benefit from going through it another time, while the main components are still fresh in my mind. Although the book is bereft of the other main characters of Three Pines that we've come to know and love, Louise adds a few references to them every so often to connect us -- and to connect the Gamaches -- with "home." Maybe we'll get back there someday.

The lingering question of this story is: Can anyone truly know another person, even if they've been friends for decades? Does everyone keep crucial secrets, even away from family and friends? Is it possible to trust anyone at all? Or should we just trust without judgment? These are puzzles to ponder. Thanks again for the mental workout, Louise! You and your books are indeed worth every penny.