Louise Penny novels

 I wish I could remember how I found my first Louise Penny book, but I can’t, sad to say. She is now one of my favorite authors, and I even attended a book event for A Better Man in Washington, DC, in 2019. It was actually my first post-retirement adventure during the 2019-2020 school year. Oh, Canada, you have a gem in Ms. Penny. 

Update!!

https://deadline.com/2021/09/alfred-molina-amazon-three-pines-left-bank-1234826095/

Still Life. Book 1

This first novel introduces Armand Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir, first and second in command in the homicide division of the Sûreté. They are called to the Brigadoon-esque village of Three Pines when the body of a blossoming artist, Jane Neal, is found shot by an arrow in the woods. Not on any map, Three Pines’s denizens include famous but foul-mouthed poet Ruth, married artists Peter and Clara, psychologist turned bookstore owner Myrna, and gay couple and bistro/b&b owners Gabri and Olivier. Gamache and his team work to solve the murder, in the process becoming enchanted with this village. But there’s a simmering undercurrent related to a previous case involving corruption in the Sûreté and a house that holds many secrets.

A Fatal Grace. Book 2 

Will Three Pines become the Cabot Cove of Quebec? Another murder occurs, this time involving narcissistic self-help guru wannabe CC, who has moved to the village with her sad sack husband and her morbidly obese daughter. It’s Christmas time, and artist Clara heads to Montreal to do some shopping; while looking at a decorated store window, the homeless woman sitting by the window tells her that she always loved Clara’s art. Both CC and the homeless woman are murdered in very different ways — and there’s a mysterious connection. More murkiness surrounding the Surete corruption festers as well.

The Cruelest Month. Book 3. Louise Penny

It’s Easter time, and somehow two seances occur over the religious weekend in Three Pines, with one ending in death — maybe Madeleine, the victim, was frightened to death. Gamache’s team again sets up shop in order to determine the cause of death and eventually to find the murderer. At the same time, things are ramping up in the covert attempt by others in the Surete to totally discredit Gamache. As the team works towards solving the murder, Gamache and his closest allies also work to discover the person who hates Gamache so much that his family becomes the main target. 

 A Race Against Murder. Book 4. Louise Penny

After the craziness at the end of the previous novel, Armand and Reine-Marie are heading for a peaceful holiday, spending their anniversary in the beautifully old school Manoir Bellechasse, an auberge not too far from Three Pines. As they try to relax in this bucolic setting, a family reunion ends up intruding on their time. A bizarre murder occurs along with the surprise entrance of friends of the Gamaches. Armand and his team must discover family secrets and deal with unreliable perceptions of various family members as well as members of the staff at the inn in order to solve the murder and prevent any other tragedies.

The Brutal Telling. Book 5. Louise Penny

Back in Three Pines, new owners of the haunted Hadley house plan to renovate it to open a spa/hotel. Olivier and Gabri, followed by the rest of the village, are not very welcoming to their new neighbors, Dominique and Marc. Clara is also preparing to meet an art entrepreneur for a possible solo show. And then a body shows up in the village bistro, which leads to an isolated cabin in the woods and a treasure trove. Gamache and the team work to discover both the identity of “the Hermit” and his murderer, who must be a village denizen.

130 Bury Your Dead. Book 6. Louise Penny

This novel was the impetus for our 45th anniversary trip to Quebec City in November of 2017. Chief Inspector Gamache is staying in that beautiful city at the home of his mentor, Émile Comeau, while researching a long ago battle in the Library of the Anglo Literary and Historical Society Building. He’s recovering from a horrific encounter with domestic terrorists, which has left both he and Jean-Guy wounded and Agent Paul Morin dead along with three other officers. During Gamache’s stay, a body is discovered in the basement of the library, and the local police ask for his help in finding the murderer. Jean-Guy, also recovering, is tasked by Gamache to, undercover, re-look at the murder of the Hermit from the previous novel. So much Quebec history, so much delving into the aftermath of a tragedy. Another excellent novel by Louise Penny.

A Trick of the Light. Book 7. Louise Penny 

The day of Clara Morrow’s solo art show at the Musee d’Art Contemporain in Montreal has finally arrived. But with that triumph comes murder. A woman dressed in red is found in the Morrow garden, and it turns out that she and Clara were “friends” from childhood through university — a friendship that turned out to be toxic for Clara. Gamache was part of the celebration of Clara’s achievement, and now he and his team are tasked with discovering why Lillian Dyson, the dead woman, showed up at Clara’s gathering after many years of estrangement. I love how revelations about the main stable of characters in Penny’s books occur in almost every one of her novels. 

The Beautiful Mystery. Book 8. Louise Penny

Armand Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir find themselves investigating the murder of a Gilbertine monk in a well-hidden monastery that has recently been in the news because of the success of its Gregorian chant CD. Frére Mathieu, found dead in the Abbot’s garden, was the choir director and leader of a movement to change the monastery’s code of silence and isolation in order to make money for the upkeep of the nineteenth century building. A split has developed, and Gamache and Beauvoir must determine who was so incensed by the proposed change that murder was the result. Also, Chief Superintendent Francoeur, Gamache’s corrupt nemesis, shows up mid-investigation, sowing seeds of discord between Armand and Jean-Guy. Another fascinating read, complete with explanations of the earliest forms of musical notations. 

How the Light Gets in. Book 9. Louise Penny

I love how Louise Penny intertwines Canadian history with her intricate plots involving murder and misperception. This time the murder victim turns out to be the last surviving sister of a family of female quintuplets. She just happens to have been a patient of Myrna Landers, retired psychologist and current Three Pines bookstore owner. And Jean-Guy and Armand haven’t spoken since their parting at the end of the previous novel — so sad. The Homicide Division of the Sûreté has been decimated by the evil Francoeur; the only person left of Gamache’s original team is Isabelle Lacoste. Nastiness ensues with Gamache trying to solve the murder and deal with the ongoing corruption in his department. 

The Long Way Home. Book 10. Louise Penny

We journey in this novel from Three Pines to various places in Eastern Canada to follow the path taken by Peter Morrow, who seems to have disappeared. It’s the one-year anniversary of his departure from Three Pines. He is due to return to his wife Clara on a certain day, but he never shows up. Gamache and his wife, Reine-Marie, have now moved to Three Pines and are enjoying the new routine of their lives and the happiness of their children. Having retired from the Sûreté, Gamache, along with Jean-Guy, soon finds himself helping Clara in her quest to find Peter. From the art college the Morrows attended in Toronto to the beautiful Charlevoix, they discover more about Peter, the nature of art, and of themselves along the way. 

The Nature of the Beast. Book 11.  Louise Penny

Back in Three Pines, Gamache and his wife are enjoying retirement and the quirky residents of their village.  Laurent Lepage, a nine-year-old with a vivid imagination, is found dead with his bicycle nearby, making it look like an accident.  However, this is Three Pines, so the “accident” is really a murder.  Gamache and the entire village look for clues to discover which one of Laurent’s fantastic tales is actually the truth and why this little boy must be silenced.  Incorporating another fascinating bit of Canadian history, the novel serves up surprises right until the end.  

A Great Reckoning. Book 12. Louise Penny

Not content with the state of the Sûreté and especially its new cadets, Gamache becomes the new commander of the Academy in the hopes of weeding out rot from its very inception.  Within 2 weeks of taking over, he becomes a suspect in the murder of one of the professors, a man he had kept on to keep watch over. And there’s a map of Three Pines that has mysterious roots -- he tasks four students with discovering its mysteries. Moving back and forth from the Academy and its professors to Three Pines and that enigmatic map, Gamache uses his talents to not only figure out the map’s secrets but also to catch the murderer.  

Glass Houses. Book 13. Louise Penny

Winter is coming, and on a cold day in late autumn, a robed figure stands motionless on the green in Three Pines for a few days, stirring up first curiosity and then fear. Why is it there? Who is under the mask? And how does it fit in with a murder committed the day after the figure disappears? We move back and forth from the trial during a steamy summer week back to the precipitating actions leading up to the trial. Another spell-binding read from Louise Penny.

Kingdom of the Blind. Book 14. Louise Penny 

Armand Gamache, unexpectedly named a co-executor of a will made by a woman he doesn’t know, sets out to discover more about her and her seemingly random choice of executors. There’s also a subplot involving the last shipment of opioids in Montreal that have yet to be sold. Who is really betraying Gamache and who is really helping him? An interesting history lesson comes along with this one. 

A Better Man. Book 15. Louise Penny

Inspector Gamache has been reinstated after the opiate debacle of the previous novel. His son-in-law is his interim boss until his move to private security in Paris. Along with rising flood waters, there is a missing pregnant woman, whose body is eventually found after the waters recede. Anonymous tweets are also trashing Clara Morrow’s new exhibit of miniatures as well as targeting Gamache.  Tantalizing descriptions of Reine-Marie’s and the B&B’s food are interspersed with attempts to identify the tweeter and the murderer.

All the Devils are Here. Book 16. Louise Penny

I’m finally caught up with the Inspector Gamache books. This most recent entry is set in Paris, where Gamache’s children and families now live. He and Reine-Marie are accompanied by Stephen Horowitz, Armand’s godfather, who is looking forward to the birth of Gamache’s newest grandchild. This novel explores the rift between Gamache and his son while fleshing out Gamache’s childhood visits to Paris. And when Horowitz is the victim of a hit-and-run, the entire family is sucked into a race for time to find the perpetrator and discover deep secrets of the business where Jean-Guy works. 

The Madness of Crowds. Book 17. Louise Penny 

Written during the pandemic, this novel actually opens after the pandemic has ended, but vestiges of that time color the present-day events. It’s Christmas time, and Inspector Gamache and his team have been assigned to security for a lecture being given by statistics professor Abigail Robinson, which is happening close to his home in Three Pines. There’s also Haniya Daoud, a visiting Nobel Peace Prize candidate who has come to Three Pines to thank her friend Myrna for her support of Daoud’s human rights campaign. During the lecture, an attempt is made on Professor Robinson’s life, and it’s up to Gamache and his team to find the gunman. The situation is complicated by Robinson’s message, which uses statistical analysis to promote a kind of eugenics to possibly be implemented in Canada. I read this book in one night. Enough said.