by Louise Penny
St. Martin’s Press ebook.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Acknowledgments
Also by Louise Penny
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
First published in the United States by Minotaur Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group
THE MADNESS OF CROWDS. Copyright © 2021 by Three Pines Creations, Inc. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
www.minotaurbooks.com
Excerpt from “Waiting” from Morning in the Burned House: New Poems by Margaret Atwood. Copyright © 1995 by Margaret Atwood. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. In Canada: Copyright © 1995 by O. W. Toad. Reprinted by permission of McClelland & Stewart, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited.
Excerpts from Vapour Trails by Marylyn Plessner (2000). Used by permission of Stephen Jarislowsky.
Cover design by David Baldeosingh Rotstein
Cover art: abstract painting © Agsandrew / Shutterstock.com; pine tree © Ovchinnkov Vladimir / Shutterstock.com
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Penny, Louise, author.
Title: The madness of crowds / Louise Penny.
Description: First Edition. | New York: Minotaur Books, 2021. | Series: Chief Inspector Gamache novel; 17
Identifiers: LCCN 2021015666 | ISBN 9781250145260 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781250836557 (international, sold outside the U.S., subject to rights availability) | ISBN 9781250145284 (ebook)
Subjects: GSAFD: Mystery fiction.
Classification: LCC PR9199.4.P464 M33 2021 | DDC 813/.6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021015666
eISBN 9781250145284
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First U.S. Edition: 2021
First International Edition: 2021