HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN

TITLE: HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN

AUTHOR: LOUISE PENNY

Pages: 404

Date: 12/09/2013

Grade: 5+

Details: no. 9 Chief Inspector Armand Gamache

            Received from Sphere

            Through Nudge

Own      

“Ring the bells that still can ring,

Forget your perfect offering

There’s a crack in everything

That’s how the light gets in”

"Anthem", Leonard Cohen

"Service, Integrity, Justice."

It is the motto of the Sûreté de Québec, although these days it seems to be forgotten by almost everybody working for this police force. Almost everybody only though, because for Chief Inspector Armand Gamache it is as true today as it was the day he started his career. But Gamache finds himself nearly alone these days. His hand-picked team has been dismantled around his ears by those higher up and replaced by officers determined to undermine all his efforts to provide a good service.

It is the weeks before Christmas when Gamache is asked to travel to the village of Three Pines to investigate the disappearance of woman. When the woman is found she is dead, murdered. But that isn’t the only mystery surrounding her. This woman turns out to be not quite who she appeared to be. She is one of the most famous Canadians to have ever lived and now it is up to Gamache and his skeleton team to uncover not only the mystery surrounding her death but also the one that was her life.

But bigger and far more devastating forces are at work. Plots, devised decades ago are about to come to fruition, and although Gamache knows who some of his opponents are, he has no idea what there ultimate goal is and how high up the chain the corruption has risen.

By the time all mysteries are solved and all the secrets revealed it may well be too late for Gamache, the few people still loyal to him and the entire village of Three Pines.

I fell in love with Louise Penny’s books over five years ago when I first discovered her Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novels and since then that affection has been growing deeper and deeper. This woman writes complex mysteries, populated with realistic and intriguing characters. She has given her readers the village of Three Pines. A village not to be found on any map; a place where modern technology doesn’t work; a community that would appear fairy-tale-like if it wasn’t for the people who live there. Kind and mean, honest and dishonest, likeable and disagreeable, happy and sad, secretive…; the people living in Three Pines are as multi-facetted as you and me. And, after nine books, they are as real to me as you and I are.

And then there is Armand Gamache. An honourable man who firmly believes that justice is an achievable goal. A police officer who hasn’t become cynical, after decades of service, and still believes that given half a chance most people will choose to do the right thing. A man who would rather sacrifice himself than expose those he loves to danger. Gamache is a man who knows that “Service, Integrity and Justice” and above all love, are the forces that rule his life and his actions, even when all around him appear to have left those values far behind.

It is very hard to say anything beyond what I wrote above about this story without giving the plot away. What I can say though is that this book will provide answers to questions that have been lingering in these books ever since the very first one “Still Life” was published. This book will explain why Gamache is so hated by his superiors, despite – or maybe because of – the quality of his work and his deep rooted integrity. Questions that were asked books ago, only to be apparently forgotten, get their answers in this story in such a satisfying and conclusive way that part of me is afraid that this may be the last Gamache story. (Please let me be wrong.)

The strength of Louise Penny’s writing lies in the beautiful way she uses her words. The prose is almost lyrical and paints a vivid picture of the surroundings and the people in these stories. Neither Penny nor her main character, Gamache, has need for dramatics. Penny doesn’t need to go into graphic detail to show her reader the horrors people are capable of. It is the quiet way in which she tells her story, the love with which she infuses her words, the affection she has for her characters and her superb plotting that bring her readers an unforgettable reading experience. An experience I hope to be able to repeat many times in the future.

THE BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY

TITLE: THE BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY

AUTHOR: LOUISE PENNY

Pages: 373

Date: 11/03/2013

Grade: 5

Details: no. 8 Chief Inspector Armand Gamache

Library

“They (Gregorian chants) had such a profound effect on those who sang and heard them that the ancient chants became known as “the beautiful mystery”.”

For hundreds of years the monastery of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-Les-Loups in northern Québec has been a refuge for a forgotten and thought extinct group of monks. Their existence became known when they released a collection of Gregorian chants of such extraordinary beauty that they captivated the world. But even after their songs became famous the brothers in the community managed to maintain both their isolated existence and their vows of silence. All of that changes when one of them, the prior and choirmaster, is murdered.

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache travels to the secluded monastery with his trusted side-kick Jean-Guy Beauvoir and together they enter a world where songs are far more than something to enjoy listening to. Here music is a way of life, a form of prayer and the most meaningful thing in the brothers’ lives. But now the music that once united the order has become the source of strive and opposing opinions, leaving one man upset enough to commit the ultimate crime. It is up to the two investigators to uncover what caused the division in the order and who committed the murder.

But the monastery isn’t the only community under threat. The ongoing problem in Sûreté du Québec follows Gamache and Beauvoir to the remote monastery in the form of Superintendent Francoeur. And it appears that this time his efforts to undermine Gamache and divide his team may be successful.

Anybody who reads my reviews regularly knows I’m a huge fan of Louise Penny and her Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. Her mysteries are always well plotted and beautifully written while her main character is the sort of person you would like to be your friend. Gamache is a compassionate soul with a huge sense of justice and great loyalty to those who are close to him, both loved ones and colleagues. He isn’t however a saint. He, like all of us, has weaknesses and strengths which make him all the more likeable as a character.

As always in Louise Penny’s books the setting is as much a character as the various humans are. When I started the book and realised that it isn’t set in Three Pines and doesn’t feature any of the inhabitants of that village I was afraid the story would end up disappointing me. I’m very relieved that I’m able to state that I was anything but disappointed. I wasn’t very far into the story before the monastery and the brothers who live there became as real to me as the regular characters in the previous titles are. Just as I’m able to vividly picture Three Pines and those who live there I found myself seeing the monastery and the brothers. And, much to my surprise, I could almost hear the chants described and understand the spell they weave.

This is the 8^th title featuring Armand Gamache and although I would certainly advice anybody to read all of these books – simply because every single one of them is wonderful – it isn’t necessary to have read the previous titles in order to enjoy this one.  There are some ongoing story-lines and references to earlier events but they are integrated in the story in such a way that they don’t interfere with the mystery in this book.

I really enjoyed coming across a Monty Python reference, especially since it was so very unexpected; it is true though, “No one does” expect the inquisition.

If I had to make one complaint about this book it would concern the ending. Although the mystery is solved in a very satisfactory way, the story does end on a bit of a cliff-hanger. I find myself more eager then ever to get my hands on the next book in this series to see how that particular story-line will develop and can only hope that it will be in a positive way.

This is a book for anyone who enjoys a well plotted mystery, featuring interesting characters, a fascinating subject and written in the most beautiful language.