Louise Penny

[Anonymous]

I have seen her books recommended a few times on this site. I like mysteries! But I am 4 pages in to one of her novels and don’t know if I can continue. The sentences are so short and oddly choppy. Should I try to power through? Is the story likely to make up for the writing style if it’s not my favorite?

[Anonymous]

I'd give it a few more than 4 pages!

[Anonymous]

I love her books. They are so complex and character driven. I am also very picky about writing and these pass my muster. Are you starting with the first book in her series. Definitely need to start at the beginning.

[Anonymous]

I didn’t fall in love till about 1/3 of the way into the first one. Stick it out they are great!

[Anonymous]

I would give it a chance. I have read a few of her books, though not in order, and even the ones that start out a little slow really grab me in not too long. I'd give it a few chapters and see.

Also, she is like a lot of prolific mystery authors in that some books are much more dear to me than others. I also feel this way about Laura Lippman and Tana French. Sometimes I key into the core mystery and other times it's not as compelling. They are good enough that I'm always willing to give the next one a try. Because when they are very good, there are few things more satisfying than a very well plotted and written murder mystery.

[Anonymous]

Op here - they only had a few at the library so I googled the list and got the earliest one they had - think it is called Glass Houses. I’ll definitely try at least a bit more but the choppy sentences are leading me to skim more than read, if that makes sense.

Maybe I should hold off until I can get the first one? I really wanted to like these books!

Side rant, it’s impossible to get any real books at the library these days without putting on a hold and waiting. I prefer to browse and select something almost by happenstance and it seems the current setups don’t really allow for that!

[Anonymous]

I love them, so I’d say power through. Start with the first one if you think you might read a few. If you’re on the fence, maybe get recommendations or look for side topics that might interest you. One of my favorites is The Beautiful Mystery. It’s set in a monastery, so there are nice descriptions of a type of closed community that most of us will never experience ourselves.

I think Glass Houses is one of the later ones in the series. A few of those seem repetitive, and more aimed at catching readers up on the characters than introducing them in the way that stand alone novels would. If you can’t get the first one, at least check out some from earlier in the series.


https://www.amazon.com/Beautiful-Mystery-Chief-Inspector-Gamache/dp/1250031125

[Anonymous]

I am a fan of Louise Penny and have read all of her books. I've seen her speak in person a couple of times. She does a great job at those events, so if you are a fan and have a chance to attend one, I recommend it.

However, I read a comment (maybe on Goodreads?) about the short choppy sentences and incomplete sentences, and now I can't unsee those in her writing! The commenter suggested that she's in need of a good editor, and I agree. Here's an example of two consecutive paragraphs from A Better Man (2019):

"His gaze, Tracey saw with some alarm, wasn't angry. Wasn't threatening. Certainly wasn't frightened. It was thoughtful.

Anger, rage, violence Tracey could handle. But this was just confusing. And off-putting. And a little frightening."

This structure is throughout the book; this is not an isolated example. I need to look back and see if she was doing this in the earlier books, and I didn't notice it at the time I read them.

I tried to read her recent book written with Hillary Clinton, and I could not finish it. I will try again at some point.

[Anonymous]

I love Louise Penney but listened to the audiobooks. Both narrators did a great job.

[Anonymous]

I read her book with Hillary Clinton and hated it 😬 The topic was intriguing, but like you said, choppy writing and very little substance. I couldn’t slog through it any more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love her books. They are so complex and character driven. I am also very picky about writing and these pass my muster. Are you starting with the first book in her series. Definitely need to start at the beginning.

Really? Complex? I’m picky about writing as well, and the one I read felt like fluff.

[Anonymous]

I just got one of hers out of the library- Beautiful Mystery. I’m looking forward to giving her a shot. I adore Tana French and have been looking for another absorbing mystery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a fan of Louise Penny and have read all of her books. I've seen her speak in person a couple of times. She does a great job at those events, so if you are a fan and have a chance to attend one, I recommend it.

However, I read a comment (maybe on Goodreads?) about the short choppy sentences and incomplete sentences, and now I can't unsee those in her writing! The commenter suggested that she's in need of a good editor, and I agree. Here's an example of two consecutive paragraphs from A Better Man (2019):

"His gaze, Tracey saw with some alarm, wasn't angry. Wasn't threatening. Certainly wasn't frightened. It was thoughtful.

Anger, rage, violence Tracey could handle. But this was just confusing. And off-putting. And a little frightening."

This structure is throughout the book; this is not an isolated example. I need to look back and see if she was doing this in the earlier books, and I didn't notice it at the time I read them.

I tried to read her recent book written with Hillary Clinton, and I could not finish it. I will try again at some point.

Op here - yes!!! The first few pages of the one I tried reading were exactly like that! Almost as if it were written to be less taxing for the reader…but it’s in some ways more difficult to mentally merge all the mini-sentences into one complete thought.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just got one of hers out of the library- Beautiful Mystery. I’m looking forward to giving her a shot. I adore Tana French and have been looking for another absorbing mystery.

Louise Penny’s books are enjoyable, but they are not at Tana French’s level, either in the quality of the writing or the complexity of the plots and characters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a fan of Louise Penny and have read all of her books. I've seen her speak in person a couple of times. She does a great job at those events, so if you are a fan and have a chance to attend one, I recommend it.

However, I read a comment (maybe on Goodreads?) about the short choppy sentences and incomplete sentences, and now I can't unsee those in her writing! The commenter suggested that she's in need of a good editor, and I agree. Here's an example of two consecutive paragraphs from A Better Man (2019):

"His gaze, Tracey saw with some alarm, wasn't angry. Wasn't threatening. Certainly wasn't frightened. It was thoughtful.

Anger, rage, violence Tracey could handle. But this was just confusing. And off-putting. And a little frightening."

This structure is throughout the book; this is not an isolated example. I need to look back and see if she was doing this in the earlier books, and I didn't notice it at the time I read them.

I tried to read her recent book written with Hillary Clinton, and I could not finish it. I will try again at some point.

Op here - yes!!! The first few pages of the one I tried reading were exactly like that! Almost as if it were written to be less taxing for the reader…but it’s in some ways more difficult to mentally merge all the mini-sentences into one complete thought.

A Different PP: I read very quickly -- so, not quite skimming, but close, so I'm fine with her style. I've wondered if she's doing talk to text for some of it, since to me, a lot of it doesn't quite read like something that someone is writing out or even typing. I decided that if she and her editor were fine, I would just roll with it. If I were a slower, more careful reader though, I think this type of style would be more than a bit frustrating, because I would be trying to read for complete sentences that aren't actually there.