Since beginning Louise Penny’s debut novel, Still Life, in mid-August I have been almost exclusively stepping out with Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his investigative team from the Surete du Quebec. After three reviews in a row I became fearful of reader burnout (yours, dear readers, not mine) and decided to do something different with the next two novels as far as reviews go. Two turned into four and I find myself today having read books four through seven of the series without having shared anything about how wonderful they are. And they are wonderful.
As I sat thinking about how I wanted to approach discussing these books, the mini-review came to mind. But as I mulled over how to summarize each book in brief from I realized that doing so would reveal small hints to the reader of things to come that may in some way spoil things for those who have yet to make their way through the series. For though each of Louise Penny’s tales of Inspector Gamache contains its own self-contained murder, the relationships between Gamache and his team, and between that team and the people of the village of Three Pines, grow and change and that growth gives rise to spoilers.
Rather than a proper review of each book, this post will instead be a discussion of reasons why I have been so taken with these novels. Why I have for the first time in my life grabbed an author’s entire series and read virtually straight through it (I am on the latest book now). Louise Penny has held me deeply in her grasp for the past thirty days, and I want to tell you why. And I will do so without spoiling the series for anyone, hoping that those of you who have read any of her work at all will chime in on the discussion and that those of you who have not will recognize similarities to authors’ work that you adore and will share about that as well.
1. Comfort without the cookie-cutter
One of the reasons that this type of murder mystery is so popular in book and screen form is that it gives the person partaking what they expect. There is a sense of comfort in knowing that you can find a story that is going to hit the right emotional notes that you want it to hit. And Louise Penny does that marvelously. She sets an expectation in the first novel, Still Life, and then builds on that expectation with each subsequent novel. What she also does is bring balance by adding or subtracting various ingredients in each novel to keep the story fresh.
Where the first three books have a continuing story arc in the back ground, things change up in A Rule Against Murder when Penny not only takes Gamache and his team out of Three Pines, but she spends a great deal of the beginning of the novel focusing on familial relationships with the eventual murder coming much later in the book than in previous stories. In The Brutal Telling Penny introduces local folklore, story elements that collectors of all kinds would enjoy, and includes unexpected surprises. In Bury Your Dead, my favorite thus far, Penny deftly balances an off screen tragedy with events from the previous book and weaves in a fascinating storyline focusing on a figure prominent in Quebec history.
And it isn’t just the introduction of various elements, Penny provides interesting variations in cadence and character focus that bring something different to each novel, if you look for them.
2. A non-stereotypical protagonist
Now the moment I put this out there you will be able to name for me example after example of similar characters, but one of the things Mary and I were talking about in regards to Penny’s Armand Gamache is that he is an exception to the rule of what we see in so many other detective stories that we read or watch. He is not inept, nor does anyone working with him make the mistake of considering him inept. He embraces life rather than being tortured by the weight of his calling. He has a strong marriage and a deep devotion to his children. He trusts his team members to handle important aspects of the investigation rather than being the lone brilliant mind. He is kind, yet firm. He earns respect, he doesn’t demand it. I could go on and on and as I said there are certainly other fictional police characters who fit the same mold, but I find it refreshing that Armand Gamache is a fictional character who goes through struggles but is not an anti-hero. He genuinely feels the pain of the trauma that he is involved with as part of his career but does not let it drive him into the bottle, or into the arms of another woman, or into bitterness and anger. He makes mistakes and yet is the kind of leader that inspires. Do I sound like I have a bit of a crush? Fair enough. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is one of the few fictional examples I’ve ever seen of the kind of boss I want to be to my employees.
3. True romance
I shared this quote in the review of the first book, but it bears repeating here:
“He told her everything. In this he was unusual, but he couldn’t quite see how he could have a deep partnership with Reine-Marie and keep this part of his life secret. So he told her everything, and she told him everything. So far, after thirty-five years, it seemed to be working.”
Reine-Marie does not figure prominently in any of the novels and yet to varying degrees she is ever-present. Whether she is an active part of the story or simply on the mind of Armand Gamache, there is an authentic passion and devotion between Armand and Reine-Marie that adds a special dimension to these novels. It is something I can relate to. Though I am younger than Penny’s Chief Inspector I have a two-plus decades of marriage under my belt. I’ve been married more years than I was unmarried. I cannot imagine life without my wife Mary and wouldn’t want to. When Armand misses his wife, I know that feeling. When Armand talks of telling his wife everything, I can relate. I love having a true life partner, someone to share the mundane and the magical. I’m thrilled that we are sharing a passion for these books.
I am a hopeless romantic and it impresses me greatly that Louise Penny manages to create such a believable relationship that is not overly sentimental and that adds flavor and nuance to each novel.
4. The artistic touch
Penny’s small Canadian village is a haven for those who can discover it, as Three Pines is not located on any map. Among those who populate the village are artists of various kinds, be they artists with food, paint, wood-working, music, poetry. It is an ideal village to be sure, but whether or not we are in the village or elsewhere in Canada, Penny works in art, history, the culinary arts, the beauty of the written word, and other interests that engage the reader. Or at least I find them engaging. I never read a Louise Penny novel without being both hungry for the delectable food described and left with a desire to explore more art, poetry, music, etc. It may be a small thing, but I find that it adds something special in the same way that Charles de Lint brings the arts into his novels and short stories.
5. Relationships
And finally, I am increasingly impressed with the intricacies of the relationships between the members of Gamache’s investigative team, between the villagers of Three Pines, and between both groups. Louise Penny is not afraid to show us the darker and lighter sides of long-term relationships between spouses, neighbors, friends, co-workers, etc. We are continuously exposed to the inner thoughts and motivations of the characters that cross from novel to novel. And that exposure is sometimes very uncomfortable, because we see that even characters that we like have parts of their personality that we don’t. Sort of life real life, eh? My feelings about certain characters are complicated and that is because Louise Penny is not shy about showing just how complex the human animal is. These are characters with dimension. And that complicated, authentic dimension allows for some very meaningful connections between characters, connection that can result in both joy and pain for the characters and for the reader.
I think I’ve used the word ‘impressed’ often in this post, but to my mind not often enough. I am so glad that I took the advice of all of you who were talking about Louise Penny last year and decided to give her work a try for myself. I am one novel away from being in the same sad state with all other Louise Penny fans–that of having to wait until the next book comes out. It will be an exquisite agony to be sure, but one I’ll happily embrace for the opportunity to spend more time with Armand Gamache and all of the other special characters who inhabit the imagination of Louise Penny.
I’ve never read a Louise Penny book–never felt inclined. But you certainly do make her sound intriguing.
I suppose it depends on whether or not you like this kind of mystery novel, but even if you don’t normally, the cumulative effect of these books are great. Very character driven.
Thank you, Carl! OK, I’m definitely ordering the first book now 🙂
That is awesome, Missy. I hope you enjoy it.
I’m intrigued because she’s from Quebec and that’s where the books take place (it’s where I’m living). It’s rare to find a book written in English like this!
I bet you would love these, then. Especially Bury Your Dead which has such a nice historical and current events look at Quebec. But don’t read ahead, these are best enjoyed in order.
I really must read this series… I have wanted to try it for a while.
You should Kailana. I’d love to hear some Canadian perspective on her works.
After reading your fine reviews on Louise Penny (and Rick Robinson’s, too) I plan to travel over the Rainbow Bridge next week, drive to St. Catherines, and stop at the mega-remainder warehouse, BOOK DEPOT. I’ve had very good luck over the years finding Canadian writers’ books there at very good prices. If I’m lucky, I should be able to buy all of Penny’s books in one fell swoop!
Sorry the Chiefs vs. Bills game wasn’t closer. The Bills aren’t that good and the Chiefs aren’t that bad.
So glad to hear it George. The first one has a few rough spots expected from a debut novel, but nothing that I frankly even noticed except in retrospect in comparing how she has grown as a writer. I hope you can track them all down at once and on the cheap. Even more I hope you enjoy them as much as Richard and I have.
Yes, the Chiefs are making the teams they play look like Super Bowl bound juggernauts. It is pitiful. And the Cowboys, a favorite team from my youth, looked every bit as pitiful yesterday.
Great “reviews”. I’m still one book ahead of you, but not for long, I suspect. I’ll be very interested in your comments on The Beautiful Mystery. Email me when you finish it!
I will do so. I’m finishing up The Night Circus and then will be getting right back into The Beautiful Mystery.
Well, all of the above sound like good reasons, and when you put them together, it makes this series sound irresistible. Oh wait–you already did convince me to pick up the first book. 😛 I’ve actually thinking about reading it for Dewey’s Read-a-Thon. Anyway, I’m just mighty impressed that you read the whole series straight through! As much as I love a series, I just never seem to do that. (Well, I guess I did just read Locke and Key straight through to the latest…but it seems easier to do with comics.)
I’ve done that save one. I did start the latest and then decided I wanted to read another book first and savor this one for awhile. But I’ll be getting back to it soon. Hope you enjoy the books when you get to them.
Locke and Key is a good one!
love the way you broke the review down to talk about the books. i am very much looking forward to inhaling what promises to be a very sweet treat of a series.
It really is, and is surprisingly addictive, as I can attest to. 🙂
I really liked this overview of several books. I have only read the first one, and was not that impressed with it. BUT, having said that, I did purchase several of the later books in the series at a book sale and plan to read them, so I will get an opportunity to change my opinion.
I loved the first book, but having read others I think it pales in comparison to those ones. Which makes sense given that you would expect an author to grow in execution as his/her writing progresses. Fatal Grace, the second book, will probably be a good test for you. I would suspect that if you don’t enjoy it you might not enjoy the others, but then again I’ve found each book better than the last (with the exception of the fact that though I liked A Trick of the Light very much, I thought the book before, Bury Your Dead, was the most amazing one yet).
Man, you are really making me want to read her books. I’m going to have to check her out. Thanks!
Just doing my part to spread the word.
I want to get into her series, but I need to knock a few other books off my TBR. I fear I’ll be like you and devour all of them. And all the copies are always checked out at the library. I love a good series.
I was so glad I was able to snag all of these from my closest library branch without even having to order them. I went ahead and bought the latest to support the author given that she’s brought me so much pleasure this past month.
That’s very kind of you. I’m hoping the kind folks in London will return her books soon or I may have to support the author as well 🙂
I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you.
I’m so glad I read the first Penny book after seeing your review. I picked up The Cruelest Month audio book (book three) from my library and was going to start it today, but now I think I’d better wait until I read book two.
There is something joyful about the characters and their embrace of life and each other.
Yes, do. There are important things that happen in book 2 that go forward into book three.
Very happy that you are enjoying them to the point of wanting to continue on. Yay for Gamache!
I love this post and I love this series for all those reasons. I have experienced the series via audiobooks so not only do I have a literary crush on Armand Gamache, I also have a literary crush on Ralph Cosham who narrates the series because to me his voice IS Armand Gamache’s voice.
I am so glad we share the same passion for the books. My daughter is listening to the audio and I agree, he does a great job. I decided the other day after watching a couple of different movies that I’d really like to see Ciaran Hinds play Gamache in a movie-length tv series of the character at some point.
Outstanding review, Carl! I love your approach and appreciate the lack of spoilers. It’s been 6 years since I first read Still Life and I’m not sure why I didn’t continue with the series. I gave Still Life a high rating and enjoyed the characters, but for whatever reason, I stopped with that debut novel. I’ve decided to listen to Still Life on audio, to reacquaint myself with Gamache before moving forward in the series. Thanks for the gentle nudge.
Thanks Les! Yes, it would be a crime on my part to spoil any parts of this great series. I think you’ll enjoy the audio reader, if it is the same guy who does the other books. I’ve heard snatches of him reading as my daughter is listening to the books and he does a good job.
Yeah, what Les said. I really like the idea of evaluating a series from a bird’s-eye-view like this. Of course it works brilliantly because you’ve immersed yourself in the books, but, then, I like that too. I’ve a terrible habit of not following up with series (which is dangerously close to abandoning in some cases, because years and years pass — so many that re-reading is necessary just to get back to series that I truly enjoyed but neglected) which has murked into a kind of dribbling through series (every couple of years instead of a decade or more) once I identified the “bad habit”. I think there is something to be said for this kind of focus, particularly when it comes to discussing the writer’s works, to considering what really makes a series work. It was a pleasure to read your thoughts on these!
What is nice about a series like this as opposed to say something like Jordan’s Wheel of Time series or Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire is that there is not SO much detail that you have the need to re-read all the books every time a new one comes out. There is enough carry over and detail to make each book an interconnected part of a whole and yet these still stand alone. I’m not overly fond of the first kind of series and generally don’t read them, although I did get sucked into Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive series with The Way of Kings and now I’m one of those folks suffering in wait for the next one, hoping I don’t forget too much before it comes out.
Love, love, love this series. I wasn’t thrilled with the newest one though, probably in part because I do like the characters so much.
I’m not very far into the newest one but know that I’ll be sad once it is over and I have to say goodbye to Gamache and Co. for awhile.
Carl,
I’m on my way to commenting on all of your posts today! I can’t read most of this because I just picked up Still Life but I’m way more excited now. Good to know that I expect great things!
I’m so excited you picked up Still Life. I do hope you enjoy it. I snagged a copy from the library for a cousin of mine just the other day because I wanted to get her hooked on this series as well.