The Madness of Crowds : A Novel

While the residents of the Québec village of Three Pines take advantage of the deep snow to ski and toboggan, to drink hot chocolate in the bistro and share meals together, the Chief Inspector finds his holiday with his family interrupted by a simple request.

He’s asked to provide security for what promises to be a non-event, a visiting professor's lecture at the nearby university.

While he is perplexed as to why the head of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec would be assigned this task, it sounds easy enough. That is until Gamache starts looking into Professor Abigail Robinson and discovers an agenda so repulsive he begs the university to cancel.

They refuse, citing academic freedom, and accuse Gamache of censorship and intellectual cowardice. Before long, Professor Robinson’s views start seeping into conversations, spreading and infecting until truth and fact, reality and delusion, are so confused it’s near impossible to tell them apart. Discussions become debates, which turn into fights. As sides are declared, a madness takes hold.

Abigail Robinson promises that, if they follow her, ça va bien aller--all will be well. But not, Gamache and his team know, for everyone.

When a murder is committed it falls to Armand Gamache and his team to investigate the crime as well as this extraordinarily popular delusion.

And the madness of crowds.