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Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #19
Le loup gris [The Gray Wolf]: Armand Gamache enquête, Book 19 [Chief Inspector Gamache Novel, Book 19]
Des appels téléphoniques incessants perturbent la tranquillité d’une chaude matinée d’août à Three Pines. Armand Gamache s’obstine à ne pas répondre, bien qu’il sache qui est à l’autre bout du fil. Et lorsqu’il répond enfin, sa colère gâche pour de bon l’ambiance de ce dimanche matin. Ce n’est que le premier d’une série d’événements insolites qui mènent le chef des homicides de la Sûreté et son équipe vers une terrifiante évidence : quelque chose de bien plus tragique que n’importe quel meurtre se prépare. Pour dénouer l’imbroglio, Armand Gamache, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, son gendre et second, et l’inspectrice Isabelle Lacoste ne peuvent que se fier l’un à l’autre. De vieux amis agissent comme des ennemis, tandis que des ennemis de longue date apportent leur aide. Déterminés à débusquer la menace, ils parcourent le Québec et traversent même les frontières. Leur chasse est de plus en plus désespérée, voire frénétique, à mesure que le danger devient imminent. S’ils échouent, les conséquences dévastatrices se feront sentir dans les plus grandes cités comme dans les plus petits villages. Y compris à Three Pines.
Please This audiobook is in French.
Please This audiobook is in French.
Audible Audio
First published October 29, 2024
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About the author
Louise Penny
83 books26.1k followersLOUISE PENNY is the author of the #1 New York Times and Globe and Mail bestselling series of Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novels. She has won numerous awards, including a CWA Dagger and the Agatha Award (seven times), and was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Novel. In 2017, she received the Order of Canada for her contributions to Canadian culture. Louise lives in a small village south of Montréal.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 5,728 reviews
March 13, 2025
Somewhere along the way, maybe after the loss of her husband, Louise Penny's books lost their charm. I managed the whole Gamache unroots corruption in the Surete story arc, but in recent times the books have turned Gamache into a sort of superhero,the only one who can save us all,and the plots have gotten more and more ridiculous. It adds insult to injury that Penny leaves you here on a cliffhanger, and of course the next book won't be out for ages.
Getting back to the charm of Penny's books. The early books focused on the town of Three Pines and its inhabitants. No matter what the mystery, whether it tied directly into the townspeople or not, you always had the chance to visit at the bistro with characters who had become your friends. Here, those characters barely step onto the stage as Gamache, Beauvoir and Lacoste travel around trying to figure things out.
Truthfully, by the time the mystery of the evil plot was , hoping that Gamache can save the world, then go back to enjoying the beauties of Quebec and solving more realistic cases!
Note: the sequel to this one is coming out in the summer. Hopefully it will have some sort of "previously" introduction that might help
us all sort out this book before we try to read the next one!
Getting back to the charm of Penny's books. The early books focused on the town of Three Pines and its inhabitants. No matter what the mystery, whether it tied directly into the townspeople or not, you always had the chance to visit at the bistro with characters who had become your friends. Here, those characters barely step onto the stage as Gamache, Beauvoir and Lacoste travel around trying to figure things out.
Truthfully, by the time the mystery of the evil plot was , hoping that Gamache can save the world, then go back to enjoying the beauties of Quebec and solving more realistic cases!
Note: the sequel to this one is coming out in the summer. Hopefully it will have some sort of "previously" introduction that might help
us all sort out this book before we try to read the next one!
September 25, 2024
I have read all of the books and I am a fan but this may be my last for two reasons. First it was very complicated and confusing especially at the end. And second, and I have made this compaint before, the appeal of this book besides the mystery is the wonderful Three Pines residents. I don't know why they are not included in the novels more. I think that is the reason the tv series wasn't successful. There is a phrase - don't mess with success and think Louise Penny has sadly done that. In short, too many red herrings and not enough Three Pines.
October 31, 2024
I loved the early Gamache novels, but after Penny wrapped up the overarching plot about corruption in the Sûreté du Quebec, and dealt with the aftermath in the next volume or two, the series lost its sense of direction. I've kept reading because I like the characters, but I've been increasingly disappointed in the last 4 or 5 novels. I remember Penny saying that she modeled Gamache on her husband. I was not surprised to find that the first two books after her husband's death were well below the standard she had set. I kept reading, hoping that as she came through the first waves of grief she would get her writing focus back. It feels like what has happened instead is that she has turned Armand into a shrine to her husband. Armand has transformed from a plausibly good man into a too-good-to-be-true bit of emotional candy. This may be a helpful way for Penny to process her loss, but it does not make for good fiction.
I am giving up. In this volume, the prose is even more ponderous, and the pacing is glacial. The moral dilemma Armand faces is very heavy handed. And just in case we didn't get it, it is repeated. Penny seems to be recycling plot ideas from some earlier books, and she's made major changes to the timeline and backstory of the Gamache family that just do fit what has gone before. Armand has gone back to being in his late 50's, his aged godfather Stephen Horowitz, whom I remember as having died in All the Devils Are Here, is alive and well and living some distance from Montreal, and suddenly we hear that Daniel had a major drug problem in his teens that he barely survived.
Not only that, but Penny has switched narrators. She announces that she is very happy to have found a Quebecois actor to narrate, and while that may be "authentic", he voices Armand in a way that is jarringly at odds with how the earlier two narrators did--narrators whom I had understood Penny had chosen.
It's all just too much. I am afraid that Three Pines and I part company here. I'm sorry, because those early books really were a delight, but that faded delight can no longer carry me through this mess.
I am giving up. In this volume, the prose is even more ponderous, and the pacing is glacial. The moral dilemma Armand faces is very heavy handed. And just in case we didn't get it, it is repeated. Penny seems to be recycling plot ideas from some earlier books, and she's made major changes to the timeline and backstory of the Gamache family that just do fit what has gone before. Armand has gone back to being in his late 50's, his aged godfather Stephen Horowitz, whom I remember as having died in All the Devils Are Here, is alive and well and living some distance from Montreal, and suddenly we hear that Daniel had a major drug problem in his teens that he barely survived.
Not only that, but Penny has switched narrators. She announces that she is very happy to have found a Quebecois actor to narrate, and while that may be "authentic", he voices Armand in a way that is jarringly at odds with how the earlier two narrators did--narrators whom I had understood Penny had chosen.
It's all just too much. I am afraid that Three Pines and I part company here. I'm sorry, because those early books really were a delight, but that faded delight can no longer carry me through this mess.
November 7, 2024
Sweet heavens that was bad! The relief of being finished is immense. I would never have bothered if I wasn’t so invested in the series. I love the character set in the village of Three Pines. Since this book mostly played out elsewhere, they barely figure.
The plot itself is clear pretty much from the start: there is a plot to poison the drinking water of Montreal. The people who know anything end up dead, including the biologist trying to warn Gamache in the vaguest of terms.
The unraveling of the story is insanely long winded with lots of sentence length variation and endless Gamache wisdom. I wanted to scream in frustration and tear at my hair, but since this isn’t advisable on public transportation, it was mostly kept to sighs and eye-rolls.
There was no twist that I could find. It was just a sorting out of initial suspicions. Plus it ends with a cliff hanger. Well, I am not coming back for more. Goodbye Three Pines!
The plot itself is clear pretty much from the start: there is a plot to poison the drinking water of Montreal. The people who know anything end up dead, including the biologist trying to warn Gamache in the vaguest of terms.
The unraveling of the story is insanely long winded with lots of sentence length variation and endless Gamache wisdom. I wanted to scream in frustration and tear at my hair, but since this isn’t advisable on public transportation, it was mostly kept to sighs and eye-rolls.
There was no twist that I could find. It was just a sorting out of initial suspicions. Plus it ends with a cliff hanger. Well, I am not coming back for more. Goodbye Three Pines!
December 16, 2024
I feel like the story drifted too far away from what one would expect in this series. It felt more like an espionage or spy thriller written by Brad Thor or Kyle Mills than a Three Pines story. I hope that Louise Penny shifts away from the political topics she had leaned towards the last few books and returns to what were once good mysteries with beautiful insights into the human condition.
November 1, 2024
I’m so sad…
After waiting the longest amount of time for this book it was by far my least favorite.
Nearly no Three Pines or the people who live there.
A plot that was more Robert Ludlum than Louise Penny.
A huge crime thought up and solved by Superman Gamache and his hunches.
So many characters - many of whom didn’t need to be there at all.
I hated the part where his kids, who are raising young families, hand over thousands of dollars of credit card debt on yet another hunch.
Reine Marie as a babysitter.
So very flowery and wordy.
I pre-ordered this one because I loved #18 so much. I’ll read #20, but I’ll wait until it’s available at the library.
After waiting the longest amount of time for this book it was by far my least favorite.
Nearly no Three Pines or the people who live there.
A plot that was more Robert Ludlum than Louise Penny.
A huge crime thought up and solved by Superman Gamache and his hunches.
So many characters - many of whom didn’t need to be there at all.
I hated the part where his kids, who are raising young families, hand over thousands of dollars of credit card debt on yet another hunch.
Reine Marie as a babysitter.
So very flowery and wordy.
I pre-ordered this one because I loved #18 so much. I’ll read #20, but I’ll wait until it’s available at the library.
November 5, 2024
It pains me to say this but in my opinion the plot was ridiculous. Way over the top. I do not recommend it.
November 15, 2024
Did Louise Penny find a ghostwriter for this installment of the Three Pines series? What was going through her head here?
Grey Wolf is, in a word, awful. I cannot believe I finished this atrocious, contrived, overly complicated and basically idiotic novel. Penny obviously had an ending in mind and then created an unlikely story to fit her plan. Fine. I am sure that is how novels work, but this one required leap after unlikely leap and more coincidences than seem likely. And she missed one very important impossibility.
I cannot even summarize this story. It is that convoluted and unlikely, but this all stems from one character who breaks into Gamache’s apartment, steals a coat, and puts a note inside before returning it. Huh? This same character left behind notebooks which reveal all the perpetrators. The problem is that Penny never explains how he came by that information which is a giant loophole in the story. Obviously, she could not come up with a sensible way to figure out the criminals so just fudged it.
Plus, this story starts in Montreal then ends up at the monastery from a previous novel. Jean-Guy goes to Washington. Isabelle goes to Rome and then to another monastery in France. Clues involve a mission for homeless people, a bad alcoholic drink and pieces of torn paper which Gamache use to make a leap to an attack on the water system. What?
Moreover, I listen to these books because the reader was amazing. A new voice artist was chosen for this installment rendering the book impossible to understand. Listeners have no idea who is speaking. Dialogue blends from one character to another without differentiation. He goes from one scene to another as if they are the same scene. The original reader and his replacement, Robert Bathurst (who jilted Lady Edith at the alter in Downton Abbey), were fabulous. They used different voices for each character making Penny’s writing easy to understand. They played Gamache perfectly. It was made clear early on that Gamache had a slight British accent after being schooled in England. Now he has a French accent and sounds like everyone else, male or female. This reader read Gamache’s lines with no understanding of his character and made him sound like a completely different person from the Gamache in the previous novels.
I was so excited for this novel.
I am beyond disappointed.
Penny needs to go back to solving homicides, not national security and international intrigue issues. Please.
Grey Wolf is, in a word, awful. I cannot believe I finished this atrocious, contrived, overly complicated and basically idiotic novel. Penny obviously had an ending in mind and then created an unlikely story to fit her plan. Fine. I am sure that is how novels work, but this one required leap after unlikely leap and more coincidences than seem likely. And she missed one very important impossibility.
I cannot even summarize this story. It is that convoluted and unlikely, but this all stems from one character who breaks into Gamache’s apartment, steals a coat, and puts a note inside before returning it. Huh? This same character left behind notebooks which reveal all the perpetrators. The problem is that Penny never explains how he came by that information which is a giant loophole in the story. Obviously, she could not come up with a sensible way to figure out the criminals so just fudged it.
Plus, this story starts in Montreal then ends up at the monastery from a previous novel. Jean-Guy goes to Washington. Isabelle goes to Rome and then to another monastery in France. Clues involve a mission for homeless people, a bad alcoholic drink and pieces of torn paper which Gamache use to make a leap to an attack on the water system. What?
Moreover, I listen to these books because the reader was amazing. A new voice artist was chosen for this installment rendering the book impossible to understand. Listeners have no idea who is speaking. Dialogue blends from one character to another without differentiation. He goes from one scene to another as if they are the same scene. The original reader and his replacement, Robert Bathurst (who jilted Lady Edith at the alter in Downton Abbey), were fabulous. They used different voices for each character making Penny’s writing easy to understand. They played Gamache perfectly. It was made clear early on that Gamache had a slight British accent after being schooled in England. Now he has a French accent and sounds like everyone else, male or female. This reader read Gamache’s lines with no understanding of his character and made him sound like a completely different person from the Gamache in the previous novels.
I was so excited for this novel.
I am beyond disappointed.
Penny needs to go back to solving homicides, not national security and international intrigue issues. Please.
November 5, 2024
I have been a loyal reader of the whole series, and I continue to love all the characters/residents of Three Pines. But the plots have become increasingly convoluted, and I felt like I had to slog my way through the book. Disappointed.
January 24, 2025
The latest installment of the beloved Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series, begins in the idyllic town of Three Pines —where everyone knows your name — and ends on a cliffhanger.
The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny, has Gamache and his cohorts investigating a possible bio-toxin terrorist attack on Montreal.
The trio travel from Québec to the US Capitol to the Vatican to the secluded Chartreuse Mountain monastery, where Carthusian monks have been producing the famed green liqueur since 1737, and oooooh boy, it's a page-turner of a journey.
For those not familiar with the series, fear not: Penny provides enough background info along the way to quickly get you up to speed.
As someone who reads a lot of mystery-thrillers — it’s one of my fave genres — I’ve become pretty astute at sleuthing. The fact that I was scratching my head up until the very end is a testament to Penny’s superb plot line (not to mention her use of red herrings). Great fun!
Read
November 18, 2024What a privilege: both to receive an ARC of this book and, at the time of writing this review, to be the top review on this page! While that’s likely to change as popular reviewers pick up this book, it’s been really wonderful connecting with you folks and sharing in the excitement for the much anticipated 19th Gamache story. The Three Pines Community (both in the books and its readership) have long been a source of comfort and joy to me since I discovered the books in college. ♡
Folks familiar with the Gamache story so far will know that sometimes the books are bigger than a murder to solve. This is one of those stories. Yes, there’s a murder but it’s far, far, bigger this time. Our story takes us across Québec, to the Vatican, and even to rural France with little time being spent in Three Pines itself. The plot is ambitious, complex, and brings in some familiar faces and threads from previous books while introducing new ones (including a timely climate breakdown theme). In ways, it reminded me of How the Light Gets In and, more recently, State of Terror. Louise’s writing is on top form with a slow burn start and a heart-racing ending.
My concern for the future is
I enjoyed the time I spent with this book and felt bereft to be leaving Gamache’s world when I finished! While this book could work as a standalone, I would recommend readers start a bit earlier as folks new to Three Pines would be missing some vital context and wonderful characters and story arcs if they jump in here. Geez, after 19 stories, even I could do with re-reading the series to refresh my memory on some of the nuance!
I can’t wait to receive my Canadian edition of the book and read it again with you all in October! As long as Louise Penny keeps writing books, I’ll be reading them!
Hodder & Stoughton, you made my week with this ARC - thank you so, so much! ✨
---
Pre-Read Updates:
I am so ready for this. I can't describe how thrilled I am to “go home” to Three Pines this fall! 🌲🌲🌲
Edit: We have a cover!
Edit: OMG - ARC Received! ♥️
Folks familiar with the Gamache story so far will know that sometimes the books are bigger than a murder to solve. This is one of those stories. Yes, there’s a murder but it’s far, far, bigger this time. Our story takes us across Québec, to the Vatican, and even to rural France with little time being spent in Three Pines itself. The plot is ambitious, complex, and brings in some familiar faces and threads from previous books while introducing new ones (including a timely climate breakdown theme). In ways, it reminded me of How the Light Gets In and, more recently, State of Terror. Louise’s writing is on top form with a slow burn start and a heart-racing ending.
My concern for the future is
I enjoyed the time I spent with this book and felt bereft to be leaving Gamache’s world when I finished! While this book could work as a standalone, I would recommend readers start a bit earlier as folks new to Three Pines would be missing some vital context and wonderful characters and story arcs if they jump in here. Geez, after 19 stories, even I could do with re-reading the series to refresh my memory on some of the nuance!
I can’t wait to receive my Canadian edition of the book and read it again with you all in October! As long as Louise Penny keeps writing books, I’ll be reading them!
Hodder & Stoughton, you made my week with this ARC - thank you so, so much! ✨
---
Pre-Read Updates:
I am so ready for this. I can't describe how thrilled I am to “go home” to Three Pines this fall! 🌲🌲🌲
Edit: We have a cover!
Edit: OMG - ARC Received! ♥️
November 3, 2024
Yet another winner in this beloved series. Not enough Three Pines for me (but is there ever?) This isn’t my favorite entry of the nineteen, but Gamache always makes me happy. My mother and I must make a pilgrimage to the town Three Pines is based on and I can say that I am sure I will never watch any TV series or movie that uses the books as a source. I have my own, very clear, idea about what the characters and Three Pines look like and those are sacrosanct.
February 15, 2025
I feel much the same about this book as I did with the previous one - it was okay but not what I was hoping for.
The Grey Wolf is a rather slow-moving tale about a plot to poison Montreal's water supply. The logic for this was weak, the investigation was much too convoluted for me, and Gamache's personality has become that of a slightly flawed Saint. Who would have guessed that I would ever come to find him annoying!
On the plus side we did get to go to Three Pines for a few quick visits which was nice. I hope I will enjoy the next book more.
The Grey Wolf is a rather slow-moving tale about a plot to poison Montreal's water supply. The logic for this was weak, the investigation was much too convoluted for me, and Gamache's personality has become that of a slightly flawed Saint. Who would have guessed that I would ever come to find him annoying!
On the plus side we did get to go to Three Pines for a few quick visits which was nice. I hope I will enjoy the next book more.
November 5, 2024
I have loved Penny’s Gamache books, although I was disappointed in the last one. However, Grey Wolf was silly and preposterous in the development of the story and boring in its use of a constantly reused theme. Maybe it’s time to get back to Three Pines and its endearing characters.
November 20, 2024
“Noli timere.
Be not afraid.”
Or should we?
For anyone who has not read this series, please start at the beginning. For those who have, one thing will become immediately clear throughout the pages… can you imagine yourself tasting the freshly baked pastries and enjoying the smell of café au lait? As we travel through the pages of this book, there is always something tempting to be eaten or sipped. 😋 Besides the scenic beauty that surrounds the characters, this truly is a mystery, suspense-thriller story to be savored.
But these small beautiful moments of sitting out at a café eating a croissant enjoying the countryside doesn’t always last, as Penny takes us immediately into her suspense-built story, which also feels like a puzzle to be solved.
And, there is the legend of the grey wolf. (page 205 hardcover) (Hence: the title of the book!)
“…a grey wolf, wanted the old man to be strong and compassionate. Wise and courageous enough to be forgiving. The other, a black wolf, wanted him to be vengeful. To forget no wrong. To forgive no slight. To attack first. To be cruel and cunning and brutal to friends and enemies alike. To spare no one. …Which wolf will win, the grey or the black?...The one that I feed.”
So, who or what is the grey wolf in this story? Who is going to be eventually fed? Who is Armand Gamache, head of homicide at the Surete, chasing down, trying to find that is causing all this harm, to the good people that he is hired to protect? What is the puzzle he must solve? And, is there anybody besides his own team that Armand can trust?
As readers travel the many miles with Armand and his team, readers attempt to catch their breath along the way. We are expected to also catch the clues along with Armand, as he and his team race to figure out the mystery and save the people and possibly the country from a catastrophic event.
Will there be devastating betrayal and loss? (No spoilers from me.)
“We will feel him in the rain, in the wind, in the bite of snow, in the scent of autumn leaves, and in deep and penetrating silence. We might miss him terribly but will never be away from him. …returns to joy. As we all will, one day.”
(Learn more about this quote in the author’s acknowledgements.)
And as we read along, we can’t help but feel as unsettled about the various events that occur as Armand. As well as wonder why everything that happens appears to make no sense. Is anything that is happening connected? How will it all come together? Are readers being thrown red herrings? Or, do we need to pay particular attention to all these various clues? Who is behind this vicious plot? And, why? Will this puzzle ever be solved?
Readers will be turning pages so fast, that by the end, they will find themselves out of breath, but most likely pleased by this action-packed thriller. Oh, and readers must never underestimate Armand, because there is always “The Black Wolf” to consider when it is released in 2025.
But still, back to this book. I wouldn’t be surprised if other readers might wonder if something like this could possibly happen in our “real” world if power were put in to the wrong hands.
Be not afraid.”
Or should we?
For anyone who has not read this series, please start at the beginning. For those who have, one thing will become immediately clear throughout the pages… can you imagine yourself tasting the freshly baked pastries and enjoying the smell of café au lait? As we travel through the pages of this book, there is always something tempting to be eaten or sipped. 😋 Besides the scenic beauty that surrounds the characters, this truly is a mystery, suspense-thriller story to be savored.
But these small beautiful moments of sitting out at a café eating a croissant enjoying the countryside doesn’t always last, as Penny takes us immediately into her suspense-built story, which also feels like a puzzle to be solved.
And, there is the legend of the grey wolf. (page 205 hardcover) (Hence: the title of the book!)
“…a grey wolf, wanted the old man to be strong and compassionate. Wise and courageous enough to be forgiving. The other, a black wolf, wanted him to be vengeful. To forget no wrong. To forgive no slight. To attack first. To be cruel and cunning and brutal to friends and enemies alike. To spare no one. …Which wolf will win, the grey or the black?...The one that I feed.”
So, who or what is the grey wolf in this story? Who is going to be eventually fed? Who is Armand Gamache, head of homicide at the Surete, chasing down, trying to find that is causing all this harm, to the good people that he is hired to protect? What is the puzzle he must solve? And, is there anybody besides his own team that Armand can trust?
As readers travel the many miles with Armand and his team, readers attempt to catch their breath along the way. We are expected to also catch the clues along with Armand, as he and his team race to figure out the mystery and save the people and possibly the country from a catastrophic event.
Will there be devastating betrayal and loss? (No spoilers from me.)
“We will feel him in the rain, in the wind, in the bite of snow, in the scent of autumn leaves, and in deep and penetrating silence. We might miss him terribly but will never be away from him. …returns to joy. As we all will, one day.”
(Learn more about this quote in the author’s acknowledgements.)
And as we read along, we can’t help but feel as unsettled about the various events that occur as Armand. As well as wonder why everything that happens appears to make no sense. Is anything that is happening connected? How will it all come together? Are readers being thrown red herrings? Or, do we need to pay particular attention to all these various clues? Who is behind this vicious plot? And, why? Will this puzzle ever be solved?
Readers will be turning pages so fast, that by the end, they will find themselves out of breath, but most likely pleased by this action-packed thriller. Oh, and readers must never underestimate Armand, because there is always “The Black Wolf” to consider when it is released in 2025.
But still, back to this book. I wouldn’t be surprised if other readers might wonder if something like this could possibly happen in our “real” world if power were put in to the wrong hands.
December 2, 2024
During my pre Thanksgiving stop at the library, I mentioned that I have only read three mystery series during my adult life. A series has to contain just the right mix of the detective and crimes with his/her personal life and the cast of characters that go with it. When I completed Faye Kellerman’s Decker/Lazarus series, it took me almost a year until I discovered Still Life in my mom’s paper bag of books she brought with her for her winter in Florida. Because I was in Florida at the time, I overlooked the fact that this book and subsequent series takes place in a small village outside of Montreal. I detest winter with a passion except for that week in Florida, so I can only imagine if someone suggested to me to pick up Still Life in the middle of a midwestern winter. No can do, sorry. As it was, I was hooked on Three Pines and its quirky cast of characters and knew that it would be my next mystery series. Having caught up earlier this year, I am now reading in real time, waiting ever so impatiently for each book to drop. Wolves are majestic, so I thought, when I first saw the cover reveal for book 19, now known as The Grey Wolf. How fortunate I am that my library got me my copy right in time for a long holiday weekend where I had nothing but time to cozy up and return to Three Pines.
One Sunday in August, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache receives a disturbing phone call from an old adversary that sets off a chain of events that is this novel. Later the same day, the Gamaches’ pied-a- terre in Montreal is broken into and he can’t help but think that these two events are related. The peaceful life that the Gamaches enjoy in Three Pines had been compromised, an opponent sullying their home. Almost immediately, home and what it means to people becomes an overarching theme throughout the narrative. Penny noted that she took a year off between A World of Curiosities and The Grey Wolf because she wanted to both focus on her home and give the series its justice. This is book 19, and at this point in a series, plots can become formulaic, characters become archetypes. No one can fault a writer if this is the direction he/she chooses to go in once a series becomes successful; it is why we see mystery and thriller series reaching fifty books in one series. Not so Louise Penny. Yes, Inspector Gamache and the Three Pines community has enjoyed more success than even she initially believed; however, she did not create her characters to become sketches of themselves, so she needed time between books to create new, exciting, and unique plots so that the series could essentially begin to reinvent itself. Once the phone call set events in motion, I knew that the Grey Wolf would be one of those special books in a series that a reader would not guess is now nineteen books in.
Water. It is a valuable resource that has taken center stage in the 21st century. What if a terrorist plot or cell wanted to poison the water of a major city? Instantly, thousands of people could lose their lives and the city and nation would be in chaos, setting off martial law. A coup would follow and a once democratic nation could fall into a dictatorship. This is the scenario that Gamache is up against when his Montreal apartment is broken into and he meets clandestinely with a young marine biologist who has uncovered this very plot. Gamache at first does not know if this is a legit concern or the work of a green nonprofit agency to get funding for their work. He suspects the latter until this young man is murdered at their meeting and his work goes missing. The only clue left for Gamache: family. At this point, the only people Gamache can trust are the members of his own family, which includes the Three Pines community and Inspector LaCoste, who is essentially an extra daughter. The family convenes in Three Pines in case the threat to Montreal’s drinking water is real because Three Pines is both off the grid and receives its water from wells and springs. Like old times, Gamache, Beauvoir, and LaCoste sit on the terrace or in the Bistro to plan out their case, one that will take them across two continents and involve the help of old, supposedly trustworthy friends.
The only clues Gamache has to go by are two notes left in his coat, one of which is the recipe for chartreuse that is only made at the Chartrusian monastery in France. This message had been left by Dom Phillipe, the abbot of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups, located in a remote location in northern Quebec, even more off the grid than Three Pines. Gamache and Beauvoir return to the monastery, their last visit being the low point of the entire series when Beauvoir was grappling with his addiction to pain medication and not yet married to Annie. Once at the monastery, they find few clues other than information about the abbot, which will take Beauvoir to Washington, DC, Gamache to Blanc Lablon, a fishing village on the coast, and LaCoste to the Vatican. One of these locations should provide the key to why this young man was killed, why Dom Phillipe would have left his monastery, and why an adversary would disturb Gamache at home. Some readers note that this read more like a thriller than a cozy mystery featuring Three Pines residents. In truth, that it what it is; however, what became a turn-off for a lot of readers worked for me because I love action and rarely read cozy mysteries outside of Miss Marple. Penny does not need for an entire book to take place in Three Pines or feature long running dialogue between characters for readers to know that the village is home. Yes, even after this many books a joke between Clara and Myrna in the bistro is touching, but it does not need to be the focal point of the entire book. As long as the denouement ends up back in Three Pines, I am fine with it as long as plenty of action takes place in between, and here it definitely did.
The plot to poison Montreal’s drinking water was real. Gamache, Beauvoir, and LaCoste do have to trust only themselves. Although the threat is real and alarming, Gamache says Noli timere- do not be afraid. He quotes poetry and evokes his love for Rodin’s art, reminding readers that he would be just as an effective English professor as a homicide investigator. Reine Maria realizes that Armand’s place is to use empathy to catch criminals. Had he chosen the route of attorney or professor, it would have been a safer choice, but then he would not have met Beauvoir in this life and he would not have met Annie, giving them two adorable grandchildren. It just so happens that Gamache is the best at what he does even if his methodology has resulted in a number of political adversaries during his career. What is Gamache- the grey wolf or the black, the question posed during the climax of the book when Gamache explains to Beauvoir how Saint Gilbert Entre les Loups got its name from the Cree. In each individual, the good and bad war inside, like yin and yang. Many cultures believe in something similar and the side that prevails, in this case wolf, grey or black, is the one that is fed. Poignant and deep words for a police procedural, proving yet again that Gamache would be the most sought after English professor in Montreal had he chosen that route. In this instance, the grey wolf prevails, or perhaps it doesn’t. After a year’s absence, Penny hints as much, noting that The Black Wolf will be published at this time next year. A cliffhanger, a stunning way to keep a long running series relevant. I will giddily await the thrilling conclusion to this case and in the interim imagine myself in Three Pines.
4.9 stars
One Sunday in August, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache receives a disturbing phone call from an old adversary that sets off a chain of events that is this novel. Later the same day, the Gamaches’ pied-a- terre in Montreal is broken into and he can’t help but think that these two events are related. The peaceful life that the Gamaches enjoy in Three Pines had been compromised, an opponent sullying their home. Almost immediately, home and what it means to people becomes an overarching theme throughout the narrative. Penny noted that she took a year off between A World of Curiosities and The Grey Wolf because she wanted to both focus on her home and give the series its justice. This is book 19, and at this point in a series, plots can become formulaic, characters become archetypes. No one can fault a writer if this is the direction he/she chooses to go in once a series becomes successful; it is why we see mystery and thriller series reaching fifty books in one series. Not so Louise Penny. Yes, Inspector Gamache and the Three Pines community has enjoyed more success than even she initially believed; however, she did not create her characters to become sketches of themselves, so she needed time between books to create new, exciting, and unique plots so that the series could essentially begin to reinvent itself. Once the phone call set events in motion, I knew that the Grey Wolf would be one of those special books in a series that a reader would not guess is now nineteen books in.
Water. It is a valuable resource that has taken center stage in the 21st century. What if a terrorist plot or cell wanted to poison the water of a major city? Instantly, thousands of people could lose their lives and the city and nation would be in chaos, setting off martial law. A coup would follow and a once democratic nation could fall into a dictatorship. This is the scenario that Gamache is up against when his Montreal apartment is broken into and he meets clandestinely with a young marine biologist who has uncovered this very plot. Gamache at first does not know if this is a legit concern or the work of a green nonprofit agency to get funding for their work. He suspects the latter until this young man is murdered at their meeting and his work goes missing. The only clue left for Gamache: family. At this point, the only people Gamache can trust are the members of his own family, which includes the Three Pines community and Inspector LaCoste, who is essentially an extra daughter. The family convenes in Three Pines in case the threat to Montreal’s drinking water is real because Three Pines is both off the grid and receives its water from wells and springs. Like old times, Gamache, Beauvoir, and LaCoste sit on the terrace or in the Bistro to plan out their case, one that will take them across two continents and involve the help of old, supposedly trustworthy friends.
The only clues Gamache has to go by are two notes left in his coat, one of which is the recipe for chartreuse that is only made at the Chartrusian monastery in France. This message had been left by Dom Phillipe, the abbot of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups, located in a remote location in northern Quebec, even more off the grid than Three Pines. Gamache and Beauvoir return to the monastery, their last visit being the low point of the entire series when Beauvoir was grappling with his addiction to pain medication and not yet married to Annie. Once at the monastery, they find few clues other than information about the abbot, which will take Beauvoir to Washington, DC, Gamache to Blanc Lablon, a fishing village on the coast, and LaCoste to the Vatican. One of these locations should provide the key to why this young man was killed, why Dom Phillipe would have left his monastery, and why an adversary would disturb Gamache at home. Some readers note that this read more like a thriller than a cozy mystery featuring Three Pines residents. In truth, that it what it is; however, what became a turn-off for a lot of readers worked for me because I love action and rarely read cozy mysteries outside of Miss Marple. Penny does not need for an entire book to take place in Three Pines or feature long running dialogue between characters for readers to know that the village is home. Yes, even after this many books a joke between Clara and Myrna in the bistro is touching, but it does not need to be the focal point of the entire book. As long as the denouement ends up back in Three Pines, I am fine with it as long as plenty of action takes place in between, and here it definitely did.
The plot to poison Montreal’s drinking water was real. Gamache, Beauvoir, and LaCoste do have to trust only themselves. Although the threat is real and alarming, Gamache says Noli timere- do not be afraid. He quotes poetry and evokes his love for Rodin’s art, reminding readers that he would be just as an effective English professor as a homicide investigator. Reine Maria realizes that Armand’s place is to use empathy to catch criminals. Had he chosen the route of attorney or professor, it would have been a safer choice, but then he would not have met Beauvoir in this life and he would not have met Annie, giving them two adorable grandchildren. It just so happens that Gamache is the best at what he does even if his methodology has resulted in a number of political adversaries during his career. What is Gamache- the grey wolf or the black, the question posed during the climax of the book when Gamache explains to Beauvoir how Saint Gilbert Entre les Loups got its name from the Cree. In each individual, the good and bad war inside, like yin and yang. Many cultures believe in something similar and the side that prevails, in this case wolf, grey or black, is the one that is fed. Poignant and deep words for a police procedural, proving yet again that Gamache would be the most sought after English professor in Montreal had he chosen that route. In this instance, the grey wolf prevails, or perhaps it doesn’t. After a year’s absence, Penny hints as much, noting that The Black Wolf will be published at this time next year. A cliffhanger, a stunning way to keep a long running series relevant. I will giddily await the thrilling conclusion to this case and in the interim imagine myself in Three Pines.
4.9 stars
July 20, 2024
Gamache suspects something is amiss when he gets a call from an old enemy. His pied a terre is broken into, and for some reason his coat is taken. Could someone really be plotting to poison the water in Montreal? Why is no one doing anything? Could the plot come from the highest offices in Ottawa? Terrorists? The Surete itself? Who can Gamache trust besides Jean-Guy and Isabelle? What is the relationship to an isolated monastery which got its name from the legend of the two wolves. (Each person “has two wolves inside. One of them, a grey wolf, wanted us to be strong and compassionate, wise and courageous enough to be forgiving. The other, a black wolf, wanted us to be vengeful. To forget no wrong. To forgive no slight, To attack first. To be cruel and cunning and brutal to friends and enemies alike. To spare no one.” Which wolf will win? The one that we feed). To stop this plot, the black wolf people, Gamache and his team travel far and wide to find the evidence they need. This is an edge of your seat thriller with not many of our Three Pines friends, and this is the first time I’ve seen a cliffhanger ending in Louise Penny’s books. Thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for the ARC.
February 17, 2025
Whenever I pick up a new Louise Penny book I also pick up a croissant or pain un chocolat and come home and make myself a cappuccino before sitting down to begin the novel. Much of my love for this series is entwined in my love of the characters, their humanity and their relationships, and their times in the bistro.
In the nineteenth installment,The Grey Wolf, most of this charm is missing. Penny sends me careening on a fast paced thriller ride. Alas, this story doesn't totally work for me. While I am willing to stretch a little in the service of a tale, the plot is too over the top for my taste. The tropes feel stale and the dialogue uninspired. Gamache is frequently presented more as a caricature rather than the deeply nuanced man I look for in these works.
There are instances when the aspects of her work that I love shine through--a moment between Armand and Reine-Marie, the presentation of the duality of light and dark, the desire to believe in the goodness of humanity. I am invested enough that I did care about the outcome of the story. It ends on a cliffhanger so I will read the follow on novel next year to see how it resolves.
I hope this is just a blip (I know that we are all uneven in our work), and that Penny will soon return in top form.
Publication 2024
In the nineteenth installment,The Grey Wolf, most of this charm is missing. Penny sends me careening on a fast paced thriller ride. Alas, this story doesn't totally work for me. While I am willing to stretch a little in the service of a tale, the plot is too over the top for my taste. The tropes feel stale and the dialogue uninspired. Gamache is frequently presented more as a caricature rather than the deeply nuanced man I look for in these works.
There are instances when the aspects of her work that I love shine through--a moment between Armand and Reine-Marie, the presentation of the duality of light and dark, the desire to believe in the goodness of humanity. I am invested enough that I did care about the outcome of the story. It ends on a cliffhanger so I will read the follow on novel next year to see how it resolves.
I hope this is just a blip (I know that we are all uneven in our work), and that Penny will soon return in top form.
Publication 2024
September 18, 2025
4.5 🍇🍇🍇🍇
This recent trip to Three Pines is seriously terrifying and politically relevant.
Some fans are not pleased as Penny has veered away from the semi-coziness of the earlier novels and started tackling serious motifs with complicated plots and characters.
I am not one of them. Series books sticking to familiar turf eventually lose my interest. Bob Dylan going electric at the Newport Folk Festival comes to mind. some people walked out but for the rest of us the music was richer.
While this is definitely not a comfort read, coping mechanisms do abound.
Cocktails
Grilled artisan cheese sandwiches
Éclairs
Croissants
Cannoli
Mille-feuille
Applewood smoked bacon
Lemon meringue pie
Café au lait
In 1945 a bottle of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti sold for about $50. No doubt it was quite delectable but passing years turned it into the nectar of gods.
In 2018 a bottle sold for $558,000.
For me Penny’s more recent books are like fine aged wine. Sure you can drink and enjoy it when it’s young but maturity imparts all the rewards and pleasure grapes are capable of.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KrnB...
This recent trip to Three Pines is seriously terrifying and politically relevant.
Some fans are not pleased as Penny has veered away from the semi-coziness of the earlier novels and started tackling serious motifs with complicated plots and characters.
I am not one of them. Series books sticking to familiar turf eventually lose my interest. Bob Dylan going electric at the Newport Folk Festival comes to mind. some people walked out but for the rest of us the music was richer.
While this is definitely not a comfort read, coping mechanisms do abound.
Cocktails
Grilled artisan cheese sandwiches
Éclairs
Croissants
Cannoli
Mille-feuille
Applewood smoked bacon
Lemon meringue pie
Café au lait
In 1945 a bottle of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti sold for about $50. No doubt it was quite delectable but passing years turned it into the nectar of gods.
In 2018 a bottle sold for $558,000.
For me Penny’s more recent books are like fine aged wine. Sure you can drink and enjoy it when it’s young but maturity imparts all the rewards and pleasure grapes are capable of.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KrnB...
November 4, 2024
Armand Gamache, head of homicide at the Sûreté in Quebec, was relaxing with his wife, Reine-Marie, when his phone rang. As he ignored it, and it continued to ring, Armand, along with Reine-Marie, had no idea what was ahead. With his second in command, also his son-in-law, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, and Inspector Isabelle Lacoste, by his side, Armand stepped into the mire which would terrorise them all as they tried to make sense of what was happening. Murder, secrets, lies, mysterious lists, a stolen coat, notebooks, a map - what was happening? When Armand, Jean-Guy and Isabelle came to the terrible realisation, they knew they were working against the clock. They also had no idea who they could trust...
The Grey Wolf (don't you love that cover!) is the 19th in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series by Louise Penny and it was phenomenal! How does the author continue with her outstanding and original plots? And keep the characters fresh and heartwarming? I enjoyed reading the Acknowledgments at the end, and learning about her dedication. Also the small village of Knowlton in Québec, which is the inspiration for Three Pines. The Grey Wolf is an outstanding addition to the series, and I'm looking forward to #20 The Black Wolf coming in 2025. Highly recommended.
With thanks to Hachette AU for my ARC to read and review.
The Grey Wolf (don't you love that cover!) is the 19th in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series by Louise Penny and it was phenomenal! How does the author continue with her outstanding and original plots? And keep the characters fresh and heartwarming? I enjoyed reading the Acknowledgments at the end, and learning about her dedication. Also the small village of Knowlton in Québec, which is the inspiration for Three Pines. The Grey Wolf is an outstanding addition to the series, and I'm looking forward to #20 The Black Wolf coming in 2025. Highly recommended.
With thanks to Hachette AU for my ARC to read and review.
January 2, 2025
This makes me so happy. :) Beyond thrilled to return to Three Pines! (←this was a prepub comment)
Finished! While I definitely love the earlier books in this series more, I still very much enjoy this series. For me, the book slowed down slightly in the middle, but I couldn't tell why. Perhaps this book, unlike the others, felt mildly repetitive within itself? Either way, I love the characters and I loved returning to a location from a previous book. Was this the best in the series? No. But I still loved it, so it still gets 5* from me.
Finished! While I definitely love the earlier books in this series more, I still very much enjoy this series. For me, the book slowed down slightly in the middle, but I couldn't tell why. Perhaps this book, unlike the others, felt mildly repetitive within itself? Either way, I love the characters and I loved returning to a location from a previous book. Was this the best in the series? No. But I still loved it, so it still gets 5* from me.
November 2, 2024
I love this series but this book was a miss for me. All over the map with characters, and largely missing the cozy environment of Three Pines. It also felt redundant to one of the other books in the series but I can’t remember which one. Anyway, a little disappointing but I’ll still tune in for the next one.
Want to read
August 22, 2024hmmm. i really think this series should have ended 2-3 books ago. sigh. wish she would just let gamache retire and enjoy his grand-kids. i will read this, of course, but still think the series should end.
April 8, 2024
Unfortunately this is my least favorite in the series. It was very slow to start and should have been about 100 pages shorter. I also thought parts of the twist were very obvious and wasn't thrilled with how Armand was portrayed in certain aspects. The last fifth was excellent, though, and the cliff hanger has me very curious about the next book. I liked the discussion on dictatorship and environmental justice. Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for the ARC.
October 14, 2024
4.0 Stars
This series has quickly become one of the best mystery series I have read. I haven't read every book, but I have loved many of the entries.
The mystery is always the right balance between being dark and cozy. The story is comforting yet still does not shy away from the darkness of humanity.
Also, I love the Quebec French settings. This audiobook had a different narrator. I liked the last one but I appreciate that this narrator is local to the area.
The best element continues to be the characters. I adore Garmache and Bouvier, who have grown and developed so much over the course of the series.
I loved the specific plot of this one and found it to be one of the best storylines I have read in this series.
I highly recommend this series to anyone who loves well written character driven mysteries.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
This series has quickly become one of the best mystery series I have read. I haven't read every book, but I have loved many of the entries.
The mystery is always the right balance between being dark and cozy. The story is comforting yet still does not shy away from the darkness of humanity.
Also, I love the Quebec French settings. This audiobook had a different narrator. I liked the last one but I appreciate that this narrator is local to the area.
The best element continues to be the characters. I adore Garmache and Bouvier, who have grown and developed so much over the course of the series.
I loved the specific plot of this one and found it to be one of the best storylines I have read in this series.
I highly recommend this series to anyone who loves well written character driven mysteries.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
November 22, 2024
This series is losing the charm of what originally appealed to me. The book started out on a perfect note - in the cozy village of Three Pines, with my favorite eclectic characters, but soon thereafter Penny leaves the village behind like so many of her later installments in the series. By the end, I didn’t really care who the suspects were.
I have to say, I was rather disappointed.
I have to say, I was rather disappointed.
November 18, 2024
Back with another stellar piece, Louise Penny brings Chief Inspector Armand Gamache into the mix for another mystery. The head of Homicide for the Sûreté du Québec, Gamache is always forced to be on his game. When Gamache is called to Montreal, where his city house has tripped its alarm, the Chief Inspector is led on a rat race that includes his stolen coat, a cryptic message, and the death of a biologist. What Gamache soon discovers is that someone has a plan to target Quebec’s drinking water, though there are those in positions of power who might be part of the problem. As Gamache and his team work to solve the case, it will take them to numerous locations for shards of intel, all of which will lead to the assembling of a troubling puzzle. Gamache will have to watch out or face significant blowback, though he tends to care little about himself when it comes to public safety. Penny delivers another great novel that had me hooked from the opening pages until all comes together.
It is the ringing of a telephone that breaks the bucolic nature of Three Pines, a small Quebec community, home to Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, his wife, and a handful of others. While Reine-Marie is curious who has found her husband and what repeated calls might mean, Gamache is not interested in the calls or messages. Head of Homicide for the Sûreté du Québec, Gamache is not one to dodge a phone call, but something has him bent out of shape.
When Gamache and Reine-Marie head into Montreal after their city home has its alarm tripped, they discover nothing missing. However, Gamache is called to a local coffee shop by a mysterious man who apparently has his coat and a message in the pocket. While Gamache grills him, the lies pile up and Gamache loses his temper. However, it is only when they are leaving that the man is run over and dies at the scene. Gamache must wonder what this man knew and how he might play a role. It is only after some sleuthing by the Homicide Team that Gamache and others learn that the victim had been working on an apparent threat to Quebec’s drinking water. Gamache soon learns that political figures across Quebec and all the way up to Ottawa might be involved. Domestic terrorism could becomes headline news if Gamache does not get some answers.
Tracing the clues from Montreal, to a small monastery, and even to the large cities of power, Gamache amasses some clues about the potential attack and who knew what. Learning that no one is free from suspicion, Gamache entrusts his son-in-law and second in command, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, and Inspector Isabelle Lacoste to help him uncover the truth and who could be to blame. With politics, religion, and criminal elements all clawing to rise to the surface, Chief Inspector Gamache will have to make risky choices to protect the population of his beloved Quebec and its drinking water. Louise Penny offers up this chilling story that is so full of intensity and Canadiana. A brilliant addition to the series that has me hooked and eager for more!
I remember when first I discovered the work of Louise Penny and her stubborn protagonist. I was captivated by both the writing and attention to detail that Penny included, especially her Canadian backdrop and the specifics of a small community in Quebec. Since then, Three Pines has been a favourite fixture of mine as I delve deeper into the series and discover its nuances. Penny develops a stellar narrative that both describes the story and creates a more visual setting for the reader to enjoy. The story gains momentum in many ways, soon clipping along like the wind of a Quebec winter storm. Characters are unique in their own way, providing flavour and shaping the larger piece for all to enjoy. The plot points are both subtle and in your face, leaving Penny much with which to work as she creates realistic issues and finds solutions in a timely, yet not too swift, manner. Three Pines and Armand Gamache has to be one of my favourite series and I always find myself quite excited to see a new novel appear from the publisher. I can only hope to inspire others to find Louise Penny at their bookstore (virtual or actual), library, or wherever books are transactioned, and to spread the word to others.
Kudos, Madam Penny, for another great story that had me enthralled.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
It is the ringing of a telephone that breaks the bucolic nature of Three Pines, a small Quebec community, home to Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, his wife, and a handful of others. While Reine-Marie is curious who has found her husband and what repeated calls might mean, Gamache is not interested in the calls or messages. Head of Homicide for the Sûreté du Québec, Gamache is not one to dodge a phone call, but something has him bent out of shape.
When Gamache and Reine-Marie head into Montreal after their city home has its alarm tripped, they discover nothing missing. However, Gamache is called to a local coffee shop by a mysterious man who apparently has his coat and a message in the pocket. While Gamache grills him, the lies pile up and Gamache loses his temper. However, it is only when they are leaving that the man is run over and dies at the scene. Gamache must wonder what this man knew and how he might play a role. It is only after some sleuthing by the Homicide Team that Gamache and others learn that the victim had been working on an apparent threat to Quebec’s drinking water. Gamache soon learns that political figures across Quebec and all the way up to Ottawa might be involved. Domestic terrorism could becomes headline news if Gamache does not get some answers.
Tracing the clues from Montreal, to a small monastery, and even to the large cities of power, Gamache amasses some clues about the potential attack and who knew what. Learning that no one is free from suspicion, Gamache entrusts his son-in-law and second in command, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, and Inspector Isabelle Lacoste to help him uncover the truth and who could be to blame. With politics, religion, and criminal elements all clawing to rise to the surface, Chief Inspector Gamache will have to make risky choices to protect the population of his beloved Quebec and its drinking water. Louise Penny offers up this chilling story that is so full of intensity and Canadiana. A brilliant addition to the series that has me hooked and eager for more!
I remember when first I discovered the work of Louise Penny and her stubborn protagonist. I was captivated by both the writing and attention to detail that Penny included, especially her Canadian backdrop and the specifics of a small community in Quebec. Since then, Three Pines has been a favourite fixture of mine as I delve deeper into the series and discover its nuances. Penny develops a stellar narrative that both describes the story and creates a more visual setting for the reader to enjoy. The story gains momentum in many ways, soon clipping along like the wind of a Quebec winter storm. Characters are unique in their own way, providing flavour and shaping the larger piece for all to enjoy. The plot points are both subtle and in your face, leaving Penny much with which to work as she creates realistic issues and finds solutions in a timely, yet not too swift, manner. Three Pines and Armand Gamache has to be one of my favourite series and I always find myself quite excited to see a new novel appear from the publisher. I can only hope to inspire others to find Louise Penny at their bookstore (virtual or actual), library, or wherever books are transactioned, and to spread the word to others.
Kudos, Madam Penny, for another great story that had me enthralled.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
November 11, 2024
Mystery novels truly don't get much better than this. The plot winds through a multitude of settings from Three Pines to Montreal to isolated costal monasteries to the US to Italy and beyond. The excitement and pace never lets up. I often wonder at the sheer amount of research Louise Penny must do before she even begins to type chapter one. I loved the historical information about the liquor Chartreuse, it's famous recipe, and how it factored into the murder case/terrorist plot. By now thousands of reviews have been written, so I'll just say in brief that this is an excellent novel which readers can pick up and follow even if they've never read Louise Penny before. I greatly admire that aspect of her work--there's never a need to have read prior novels in the series. You can start enjoying them any time at any point.
January 20, 2025
The first book I read in Louise Penny’s Armand Gamache series was #8, The Beautiful Mystery. I was intrigued by the setting, a monastery in the remote Canadian wilderness, and the story was so well told that I immediately began reading the series from the beginning. As it turned out that was a good way to begin because I found the first two books to be pretty weak, and it was only having the advance knowledge of what I could look forward to that kept me going.
As any devout reader of the series knows, all of the books touch on the tiny village of Three Pines, hidden away in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, between Montreal and the US border. In some the plots are centered on characters who live in Three Pines, many of whom are deeply flawed, and in others the plots are more wide ranging and Three Pines serves only as a touchstone, a refuge from the greater political and social evils of the world.
In this volume Penny returns to one of her favorite topics: corruption within the government and the Surete, the provincial police. It also circles back to that monastery and characters Gamache previously encountered there.
I have to admit that this time around I found the treatment of greed and corruption to be uninspired. The idea that Gamache and his two closest associates can place their trust in no one in the Surete or the provincial government felt tired. The crime that must be stopped by Gamache & Co. to avoid thousands of deaths and the indirect triggering of the launch of an authoritarian government is in this instance the poisoning of the Montreal water system. A legitimately scary idea, but the extreme measures Penny takes to construct her plot diminish the actual fear factor.
While Gamache travels from the Atlantic end of Quebec to Ottawa and back, his sidekicks head out to Washington DC, the Vatican, and a different monastery in France trying to unravel not only the details of how and when the poisoning will happen, but who is involved. It’s a lot, and at times felt more like an action thriller (maybe something by Greg Hurwitz) than what I’ve come to love about this series.
The book ends with a cliffhanger, and the follow-up, The Black Wolf, is set for publication in 2025. I don’t think I’ll be preordering that one. It may be that the series has reached its natural end.
As any devout reader of the series knows, all of the books touch on the tiny village of Three Pines, hidden away in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, between Montreal and the US border. In some the plots are centered on characters who live in Three Pines, many of whom are deeply flawed, and in others the plots are more wide ranging and Three Pines serves only as a touchstone, a refuge from the greater political and social evils of the world.
In this volume Penny returns to one of her favorite topics: corruption within the government and the Surete, the provincial police. It also circles back to that monastery and characters Gamache previously encountered there.
I have to admit that this time around I found the treatment of greed and corruption to be uninspired. The idea that Gamache and his two closest associates can place their trust in no one in the Surete or the provincial government felt tired. The crime that must be stopped by Gamache & Co. to avoid thousands of deaths and the indirect triggering of the launch of an authoritarian government is in this instance the poisoning of the Montreal water system. A legitimately scary idea, but the extreme measures Penny takes to construct her plot diminish the actual fear factor.
While Gamache travels from the Atlantic end of Quebec to Ottawa and back, his sidekicks head out to Washington DC, the Vatican, and a different monastery in France trying to unravel not only the details of how and when the poisoning will happen, but who is involved. It’s a lot, and at times felt more like an action thriller (maybe something by Greg Hurwitz) than what I’ve come to love about this series.
The book ends with a cliffhanger, and the follow-up, The Black Wolf, is set for publication in 2025. I don’t think I’ll be preordering that one. It may be that the series has reached its natural end.
November 6, 2024
I love Louis Penny. I think she is an amazing mystery writer who has created an amazing world.
However…
I am feeling weary of all the overarching evil plots Gamache is faced with. All the corruption with the Surete. I would love it if the books veered back to a more straightforward mystery plot without all the world is ending stress of a government conspiracy. And more time in Three Pines please. I miss my favorite community of characters. There was not nearly enough of them in this one.
That being said…
This is still a page-turner. Intricately plotted and as well-written as always.
However…
I am feeling weary of all the overarching evil plots Gamache is faced with. All the corruption with the Surete. I would love it if the books veered back to a more straightforward mystery plot without all the world is ending stress of a government conspiracy. And more time in Three Pines please. I miss my favorite community of characters. There was not nearly enough of them in this one.
That being said…
This is still a page-turner. Intricately plotted and as well-written as always.
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