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Louise Penny is a Canadian bestselling author who is most known for her Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series of books, featuring the CI in Three Pines, a small village south of Montréal.If you enjoy reading crime mystery novels set in small towns or villages with lots of secrets buried and lots of skeletons laying around, you will love reading these books.
Here are the Louise Penny books in order for her world-famous Chief Inspector Armand Gamache books.
Louise Penny Books In Order Amazon
New Louise Penny Books
Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny (Chief Inspector Gamache #14), 2018
The Best American Mystery Stories 2018 by Louise Penny, 2018
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache Series
- Still Life (Chief Inspector Gamache #1), 2005
- A Fatal Grace aka Dead Cold (Chief Inspector Gamache #2), 2006
- The Cruelest Month (Chief Inspector Gamache #3), 2007
- A Rule Against Murder (Chief Inspector Gamache #4), 2008
- The Brutal Telling (Chief Inspector Gamache #5), 2009
- Bury Your Dead (Chief Inspector Gamache #6), 2010
- The Hangman (Chief Inspector Gamache #6.5) 2010 (novella)
- A Trick of the Light (Chief Inspector Gamache #7), 2011
- The Beautiful Mystery (Chief Inspector Gamache #8), 2012
- How the Light Gets In (Chief Inspector Gamache #9), 2013
- The Long Way Home (Chief Inspector Gamache #10), 2014
- The Nature of the Beast (Chief Inspector Gamache #11), 2015
- A Great Reckoning (Chief Inspector Gamache #12), 2016
- Glass Houses (Chief Inspector Gamache #13), 2017
- Kingdom of the Blind (Chief Inspector Gamache #14), 2018
- A Better Man (Chief Inspector Gamache #15), 2019
Other Louise Penny Books
- The Best American Mystery Stories, 2018 (anthology edited by Louise Penny)
Louise Penny Biography
The Canadian author Louise Penny – and not Louise Perry as some readers call her was born in 1958 in Toronto, Ontario. Growing up, she cultivated a fondness for reading crime mystery books which were instilled tinher by her mother who loved reading such books.
Attending the Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, Louise graduated in 1979 with a BA in Radio and Television, following which, at the age of 21, she began working as a radio host and journalist with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, a job that she held for over 20 years.
One of the dark spots in her life, to which she admitted at the age of 35 was that she was an alcoholic. However, as soon as she outed her problem to the world, she stopped drinking for good. Not long after, she met her future husband, a doctor and head of hematology at Montreal Children’s Hospital, Michael Whitehead.
Around the same time, Louise Penny began writing books and quit her long-term job at the CBC. While her first novel – an attempt at writing a historical novel – was a bust, she soon found her niche in writing crime mystery books.
Still Life, the author’s debut novel, was a major success and it won several awards, including the Anthony Awards for Best First Novel, the Barry Awards for Best First Novel, and the Dilys Awards for Best Book. It also won several awards in the UK, where she presented the novel in the “Debut Dagger” competition, earning a second place out of a total of 800 entries in the competition.
Soon, the first book was followed by A Fatal Grace, also in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series, and as more books followed, most of them being nominated and also receiving some well-deserved awards.
In fact, in 2009, Louise Penny herself helped create a new award, called the Unhanged Arthur for Best Unpublished First Novel, which aims at helping aspiring Canadian mystery writers get better known in the world.
Currently, there are 13 main Louise Penny books in her series, plus a short novella.
Reading the Louise Penny Gamache books in order is one of the joys of the series’ lovers (which includes me as well). Inspector Gamache is a French-Canadian character who lots of readers can easily identify with. He is real and not an idealistic supersleuth who knows it all. Gamache values teamwork above all. Most of the cases are solved with the help of the entire team. If Gamache needs help, he is not shy to ask for it.
Still Life introduces us to the Inspector, who is requested to travel to the small town of Three Pines in order to investigate the apparent accident of a sweet old lady, Jane Neal. The more he investigates, the clearer it becomes that this was no accident at all.
The second book in the series, A Fatal Grace, takes us back to Three Pines once again, to investigate the murder of CC de Poitiers, a hated person by the whole village. The book can be viewed as a Christmas mystery, one that is extremely cold, in the typical fashion of a Canadian winter.
In Glass Houses, we are in Autumn again, in November, back in Three Pines. Everyone in the village, including Gamache, who is now Chief Superintendent of the Surete du Quebec, is confused. There is an ominous presence in the village, an unmoving figure staring ahead. Right until the figure disappears and a dead body is discovered.
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Several months later, as the trial is underway for the killer of that person back in November, there is much more at stake than just the fate of the accused. Because Gamache realizes that he might just be a culprit in all of this himself.
In the following book, Kingdom of the Blind, Inspector Gamache is enjoying his relative peace of being retired. His neighbor, Clara Morrow, wants him to help find her missing husband, who didn’t appear for the first anniversary of their separation. Clara knows that something is wrong with him. Gamache doesn’t want to help, initially, but eventually, he does leave his sanctuary to try to solve this case on his own. And what he finds could change his life forever.
The first book in the series, Still Life, sparked the creation of a TV movie with the same title featuring Nathaniel Parker in the role of Inspector Gamache. The movie was aired in 2013.
Currently, the author Louise Penny lives in the small Quebec village Knowlton, where she works on her next book. Her husband of many years, Michael, died in 2016.
Praise for Louise Penny
An excellent, subtle plot full of understanding of the deeper places in human nature, and many wise observations that will enrich the reader long after the pages are closed (Anne Perry on Still Life)
Still Life is a lovely, clever book and I hope I shall be reading a lot more by Louise Penny! (Ann Granger)
Georges Simenon kept Maigret going for over a hundred books. It will be a delight for all of us who love detective fiction if Louise Penny can stay around long enough to do the same for Gamache. (Reginald Hill)
Many mystery buffs have credited Louise Penny with the revival of the type of traditional murder mystery made famous by Agatha Christie (Sarah Weinman)
The cozy mystery has a graceful practitioner in Louise Penny. (The New York Times book review)
Arthur Ellis Award-winner Penny paints a vivid picture of the French-Canadian village, its inhabitants and a determined detective who will strike many Agatha Christie fans as a 21st-century version of Hercule Poirot. (Publishers Weekly)
Ms. Penny has a gift for linking the mundane to the mythic (Tom Nolan)
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Who is the Chief Inspector Gamache?
Inspector Gamache or Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, if you prefer, is the main character in a series of books written by Canadian author Louise Penny.
Armand Gamache is working for the Sûreté du Québec, the provincial police force for Quebec. Usually, the stories take place in the village of Three Pines where Gamache investigate murders.
Inspector Gamache Books in Order:
- Still Life – Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his team are called in to the scene of a suspicious death. Jane Neal, a local fixture in the tiny hamlet of Three Pines, has been found dead in the woods. The locals are certain it’s a tragic hunting accident and nothing more, but Gamache smells something foul in these remote woods.
- A Fatal Grace (Dead Cold) – No one liked CC de Poitiers. Not her quiet husband, not her spineless lover, not her pathetic daughter―and certainly none of the residents of Three Pines. CC de Poitiers managed to alienate everyone, right up until the moment of her death. When Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is called to investigate, he quickly realizes he’s dealing with someone quite extraordinary.
- The Cruelest Month – When some villagers decide to celebrate Easter with a séance at the Old Hadley House, they are hoping to rid the town of its evil—until one of their party dies of fright. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec is called to investigate.
- A Rule Against Murder (The Murder Stone) – The beautiful Manoir Bellechasse might be surrounded by nature, but there is something unnatural looming. As the heat rises and the humidity closes in, some surprising guests turn up at the family reunion, and a terrible summer storm leaves behind a dead body. It is up to Chief Inspector Gamache to unearth secrets long buried and hatreds hidden behind polite smiles.
- The Brutal Telling – With those words the peace of Three Pines is shattered. Everybody goes to Olivier’s Bistro―including a stranger whose murdered body is found on the floor. When Chief Inspector Gamache is called to investigate, he is dismayed to discover that Olivier’s story is full of holes.
- Bury Your Dead – Violent death is inescapable, even in the apparent sanctuary of the Literary and Historical Society–where an obsessive historian’s quest for the remains of the founder of Quebec, Samuel de Champlain, ends in murder. Could a secret buried with Champlain for nearly four hundred years be so dreadful that someone would kill to protect it?
- A Trick of the Light – Found among the bleeding hearts and lilacs of Clara Morrow’s garden in Three Pines, shattering the celebrations of Clara’s solo show at the famed Musée in Montreal. Chief Inspector Gamache is called to the tiny Quebec village where nothing is as it seems. And even when facts are slowly exposed, it is no longer clear to Gamache and his team if what they’ve found is the truth.
- The Beautiful Mystery – Gamache is investigating the death of a monk who was a member of what was believed to be an extinct order. Gamache and his partner must travel by airplane and boat into the remote forests of northern Quebec to investigate the mystery.
- How the Light Gets In – When Gamache receives a message from Myrna Landers that a longtime friend has failed to arrive for Christmas in the village of Three Pines, he welcomes the chance to get away from the city. He soon discovers the missing woman was once one of the most famous people in the world, and now goes unrecognized by virtually everyone except the mad, brilliant poet Ruth Zardo.
- The Long Way Home – Happily retired in the village of Three Pines, Armand Gamache has found a peace he’d only imagined possible. But his neighbor Clara Morrow wants his help to find her artist husband who failed to show up as promised on the first anniversary of their separation.
- The Nature of the Beast – Hardly a day goes by when nine year old Laurent Lepage doesn’t cry wolf. His tales are so extraordinary no one can possibly believe him. But when the boy disappears, the villagers are faced with the possibility that one of his tall tales might have been true.
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- A Great Reckoning – When an intricate old map is found stuffed into the walls of the bistro in Three Pines, it at first seems no more than a curiosity. But the closer the villagers look, the stranger it becomes. Given to Armand Gamache as a gift the first day of his new job, the map eventually leads him to shattering secrets.
- Glass Houses – When a mysterious figure appears in Three Pines, Armand Gamache and the rest of the villagers are at first curious. Then wary. From the moment its shadow falls over the village, Gamache suspects the creature has deep roots and a dark purpose. But when the figure vanishes overnight and a body is discovered, it falls to Gamache to discover if a debt has been paid or levied.
- Kingdom of the Blind – When a peculiar letter arrives inviting Armand Gamache to an abandoned farmhouse, he discovers that a complete stranger has named him one of the executors of her will. Gamache accepts and soon learns that the other two executors had ever met the elderly woman. When a body is found, the terms of the bizarre will suddenly seem less peculiar and far more menacing.
- A Better Man – It’s Gamache’s first day back as head of the homicide department, a job he temporarily shares with his previous second-in-command, Jean-Guy Beauvoir. Flood waters are rising across the province. In the middle of the turmoil a father approaches Gamache, pleading for help in finding his daughter. As crisis piles upon crisis, Gamache tries to hold off the encroaching chaos, and realizes the search for Vivienne Godin should be abandoned. But with a daughter of his own, he finds himself developing a profound, and perhaps unwise, empathy for her distraught father.
Related
Cover art for Still Life, the first book in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache book series. | |
Author | Louise Penny |
---|---|
Language | English |
Genre | Mystery |
Publisher | Minotaur Books |
Published | 2005–present |
Media type | Print (hardcover, paperback), Audiobook, Ebook |
No. of books | 13 |
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is the main character in a series of mystery novels written by Canadian author Louise Penny. The series is set around the life of Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of Sûreté du Québec, the provincial police force for Quebec. Books in the series have been nominated and received numerous awards.[1]
The first book in the series, Still Life, was released in 2006 and won the New Blood Dagger award, Arthur Ellis Award, the Dilys Award, 2007 Anthony Award, and the Barry Award. All subsequent novels in the series have won major crime-writing awards in three countries.[2] Many have also made the New York Times Best-Seller List, debuting as high as #1.[3][4]
Summary[edit]
The Chief Inspector Armand Gamache book series is written by Louise Penny. Prior to writing full-time, she worked 20 years as a radio journalist and host for CBC Radio in Thunder Bay, Ontario and Winnipeg, Manitoba.[2] Penny originally began writing a historical novel, but changed to mystery writing after finding trouble finishing. She entered the first book of the series, Still Life, in the 'Debut Dagger' competition in the United Kingdom, placing second out of 800 entries.[5]
The series is based on the character of Chief Inspector Armand Gamache.[6] The stories take place usually in the village of Three Pines, with Gamache investigating the murders of various people in each novel. The native French speaker Gamache speaks English with a British accent. In the first book Still Life, he is said to have learned English while he was an undergraduate at Christ's College, Cambridge[7], where according to A Great Reckoning he read for a degree in History.
The books have been described as 'character-driven' mysteries that explore the relationships between characters with each book in the series.[6] Three Pines is a fictional location set in the province of Quebec, with Penny setting up the characters using the history of old Canada to show their personalities and backgrounds.[1] In the series, a few of the plots are set outside of Three Pines.[1]
The Chief Inspector Armand Gamache book series contains little or no sex or violence and has been referred to as a kinder and gentler alternative to modern crime fiction.[8]
Books[edit]
There are a total of 14 books in the series, all published by Minotaur Books, an imprint of St. Martin's Press. The first book was released in 2005, in the U.S., with the most recent in 2018. There is also a short novella called The Hangman which features Inspector Gamache and is set in Three Pines. This does not form part of the series and was written as a simple story for adults learning to read English.[9]
No. | Title | Publisher | Year | ISBN | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Still Life | Minotaur Books | 2005 | ISBN978-1410448972 | ||||||
Still Life is the debut novel in the series and introduces the character Chief Inspector Armand Gamache.[10] The story takes place in the town of Three Pines and one of the beloved residents, Miss Jane Neal, was shot in the heart with an arrow.[10] Neal is an archery enthusiast and retired school teacher and Gamache must investigate to solve the murder.[10] The novel was the winner of several awards, including the New Blood Dagger award, Arthur Ellis Award, the Dilys Award, 2007 Anthony Award, and the Barry Award.[2](This book was adapted as a 2013 film starring Nathaniel Parker as Gamache.) | ||||||||||
2 | A Fatal Grace (Dead Cold), Canadian title | Minotaur Books | 2007 | ISBN978-0312352561 | ||||||
Inspector Gamache investigates after CC de Poitiers, a sadistic socialite, is fatally electrocuted at a Christmas curling competition in the small Québécois town of Three Pines. CC, who had a 'spiritual guidance' business based on eliminating emotion, was hated by seemingly everyone, including her husband, lover, and daughter. The crime links to a vagrant's recent murder as well as to the pasts of several other villagers. | ||||||||||
3 | The Cruelest Month | Minotaur Books | 2008 | ISBN978-1585366040 | ||||||
The novel, set in the small Canadian town of Three Pines, takes place around the Easter season. A group of friends visits a haunted house, hoping to rid it of the evil spirits that have haunted it, and the village, for decades. One of them ends up dead, apparently of fright. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his team from the Sûreté du Québec investigate the old house and the villagers of Three Pines. The novel also gives us more insight into a past case and its aftermath. | ||||||||||
4 | A Rule Against Murder (The Murder Stone), Canadian title | Minotaur Books | 2009 | ISBN978-0312614164 | ||||||
Gamache is visiting Manoir Bellechasse to celebrate Canada Day.[11] After solving his previous murders in the Spring, Fall, and Winter, he must now face the hot Summer while on vacation. As soon as Gamache settles into his hotel, a murder takes place when a statue falls on its victim.[11] Despite the bloody body, the statue has no blemish, leaving Gamache to investigate it as a homicide. Nominated for an Arthur Ellis Award as Best Novel for 2009.[11] The book was also the first in the series to make the New York Times Bestseller List. | ||||||||||
5 | The Brutal Telling | Minotaur Books | 2009 | ISBN978-1410423047 | ||||||
The Brutal Telling takes place in Three Pines with a body being discovered on the floor of the local bistro.[12] No one in the town claims to know the victim who was bludgeoned to death. Gamache discovers the victim lived deep in the woods and suspects one of the locals as the suspect.[12] The book was the winner of the 2009 Agatha Award and the 2010 Anthony Award, as well as reaching the New York Times Best-Seller List.[4] | ||||||||||
6 | Bury Your Dead | Minotaur Books | 2010 | ISBN978-1585366040 | ||||||
Gamache is in Quebec City to enjoy the winter carnival.[1] He is on leave after being involved in a shootout with a terrorist gang.[13] While there, the body of an amateur archaeologist draws Gamache into investigating his death. He also revisits the murder he solved in The Brutal Telling, the previous novel in the series.[13] The book won the 2010 Agatha Award, the 2011 Anthony Award, the 2011 Macavity Award, the 2011 Arthur Ellis Award, and the 2011 Nero Award. It was also a bestseller on the New York Times, London Times, and USA Today lists to name a few.[14] | ||||||||||
7 | A Trick of the Light | Minotaur Books | 2011 | ISBN978-1410441072 | ||||||
Gamache finds himself investigating the murder of Lillian Dyson, an artist who is found dead.[15] her childhood friend Clara Morrow is the main suspect, an artist herself who spent most of her life in the shadows of her husband.[8] The book was nominated for a Macavity Award, Anthony Award, and the Agatha Award.[8] It also reached #4 on the New York Times Bestseller List.[16] | ||||||||||
8 | The Beautiful Mystery | Minotaur Books | 2012 | ISBN978-0312655464 | ||||||
The Beautiful Mystery has Gamache investigating the death of a monk.[17] The monk is a member of the Gilbertine Order which was believed to be an extinct order.[17] Gamache and his partner must travel by airplane and boat into the remote forests of northern Quebec to investigate the mystery.[17] The book won the 2013 Macavity Award for Best Mystery and the 2013 Anthony Award.[18] The book also reached #2 on the New York Times Bestseller List. | ||||||||||
9 | How the Light Gets In | Minotaur Books | 2013 | ISBN978-0312655471 | ||||||
Gamache comes to Three Pines looking for a safe haven.[19] He is isolated by his corrupt supervisor and winds up luring two of his friends to Three Pines after their safety becomes an issue in an undercover operation.[19] The book was nominated for an Edgar Award and an Agatha Award, as well as debuting at #1 on the New York Times Best-Seller List.[3][18] | ||||||||||
10 | The Long Way Home | Minotaur Books | 2014 | ISBN978-1250022066 | ||||||
Gamache has retired from the force amid corruption within the department. He is summoned by Clara Morrow, one of the main characters in the book A Trick of the Light, whose husband has gone missing.[20] The book reached #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List.[21] | ||||||||||
11 | The Nature of the Beast | Minotaur Books | 2015 | ISBN978-1250022080 | ||||||
Gamache has retired and settled to live in Three Pines. He is drawn out of retirement by the death of Laurent Lepage, a nine-year-old boy known best in the town for crying wolf.[22] His most recent claim was finding a gun with a winged monster on it in the woods. Gamache is allowed to work on the case, even though he is no longer officially a detective.[22] It also reached #3 on the New York Times Bestseller List.[23] | ||||||||||
12 | A Great Reckoning | Minotaur Books | 2016 | ISBN978-1250022134 | ||||||
When an intricate old map is found stuffed into the walls of the bistro in Three Pines, it at first seems no more than a curiosity. But the closer the villagers look, the stranger it becomes.Given to Armand Gamache as a gift the first day of his new job, the map eventually leads him to shattering secrets. To an old friend and older adversary. It leads the former Chief of Homicide for the Sûreté du Québec to places even he is afraid to go. But must. | ||||||||||
13 | Glass Houses | Minotaur Books | 2017 | ISBN978-1250066190 | ||||||
When a mysterious figure appears in Three Pines one cold November day, Armand Gamache and the rest of the villagers are at first curious. Then wary. Through rain and sleet, the figure stands unmoving, staring ahead. From the moment its shadow falls over the village, Gamache, now Chief Superintendent of the Sûreté du Québec, suspects the creature has deep roots and a dark purpose. Yet he does nothing. What can he do? Only watch and wait. And hope his mounting fears are not realized. But when the figure vanishes overnight and a body is discovered, it falls to Gamache to discover if a debt has been paid or levied. | ||||||||||
14 | Kingdom of the Blind | Minotaur Books | 2018 | ISBN978-1250308122 | ||||||
When a peculiar letter arrives inviting Armand Gamache to an abandoned farmhouse, the former head of the Sûreté du Québec discovers that a complete stranger has named him one of the executors of her will. Still on suspension, and frankly curious, Gamache accepts and soon learns that the other two executors are Myrna Landers, the bookseller from Three Pines, and a young builder. None of them had ever met the elderly woman. The will is so odd and includes bequests that are so wildly unlikely that Gamache and the others suspect the woman must have been delusional. But what if, Gamache begins to ask himself, she was perfectly sane? When a body is found, the terms of the bizarre will suddenly seem less peculiar and far more menacing. But it isn't the only menace Gamache is facing. The investigation into what happened six months ago—the events that led to his suspension—has dragged on, into the dead of winter. And while most of the opioids he allowed to slip though his hands, in order to bring down the cartels, have been retrieved, there is one devastating exception. Enough narcotic to kill thousands has disappeared into inner city Montreal. With the deadly drug about to hit the streets, Gamache races for answers. As he uses increasingly audacious, even desperate, measures to retrieve the drug, Armand Gamache begins to see his own blind spots. And the terrible things hiding there.[24] | ||||||||||
15 | A Better Man | Minotaur Books | 2019 | ISBN978-1250066213 |
Awards and recognition[edit]
In addition to numerous books making it to the New York Times Bestseller List, Penny has won multiple awards for the book series. She has won the Anthony and the Agatha Awards 5 times each and the Canadian Arthur Ellis Award twice. She was also a finalist for the Edgar Award for How The Light Gets In. The books have also earned her numerous Macavity Awards, and been nominated for numerous others.[25]
References[edit]
- ^ abcdSankovitch, Nina (27 September 2012). 'Reading the Beautiful Mysteries of Louise Penny'. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ^ abcKirchhoff, H.J. (9 September 2011). 'Everyone loves author Louise Penny's Armand Gamache'. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ^ abFallow, Allan (12 September 2013). 'Woman on Fire: Louise Penny Hits #1'. AARP Blog. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ^ abPicker, Lenny (30 August 2010). 'Good Fortune Leads to Great Crime'. Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ^'Louise Penny's second chance'. Quill and Quire. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ^ abO'Donnell, Lisa (7 July 2015). 'Debut novels, nonfiction highlight Clemmons library reading list'. Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ^'A murder by any other name'. Beyond Words - Canada's Official Languages Newsletter, May 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
- ^ abcAnderson, Patrick (4 September 2011). 'Louise Penny's 'A Trick of the Light' A cozy mystery'. The Washington Post. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ^'THE HANGMAN - grade 3 level novella'. Louise Penny. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
- ^ abcStasio, Marilyn (23 July 2006). 'Unhappy Families'. The New York Times. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ^ abc'The Murder Stone - Mysterious Reviews'. Mysterious Reviews. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ^ abShapiro, Ellen (12 October 2009). 'Picks and Pans: Books'. People Magazine. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ^ abKirchhoff, H.J. (10 August 2010). 'An intricate blend of history and mystery'. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ^'Bestsellers October 17, 2010'. The New York Times. 17 October 2010. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ^Craig, James (7 October 2011). 'Book Review: A Trick of the Light'. Washington Times. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ^'Bestseller List'. The Daily Herald. 18 September 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
- ^ abcCorrigan, Maureen (9 September 2012). 'Book World: The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny'. The Washington Post. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ^ abWilliams, Wilda (23 September 2013). 'Bouchercon 2013: Louise Penny Goes on a Crime Award Spree'. Library Journal. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ^ abStasio, Marilyn (30 August 2013). 'Winter's Blame - Louise Penny's how the Light Gets In and More'. The New York Times. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ^Isherwood, Charles (28 August 2014). 'Trailing an Artist Who Lost His Way'. The New York Times. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ^SaSvari, Joanne (14 August 2015). 'Mystery writer Louise Penny mapping out her future'. The Vancouver Sun.
- ^ ab'The Nature of the Beast - Book Review'. Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ^Cowles, Gregory (4 September 2015). 'Inside the List - Sunday Book Review'. The New York Times. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
- ^'Kingdom of the Blind - Chief Inspector Gamache Series'. Retrieved 14 January 2019 – via www.gamacheseries.com.
- ^'Louise Penny Award List'. Stop, You're Killing Me. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
External links[edit]
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chief_Inspector_Armand_Gamache&oldid=905069611'
At a Glance
Last Updated -
Reading the Louise Penny books in order involves picking up the popular Canadian crime mystery series involving Chief Inspector Armand Gamache living in Quebec.Here is the list of the Louise Penny Gamache books in order publication, starting with Still Life, her first book in the series, up to the current Kingdom of the Blind, published in 2018. Do note that some of the books have been published under different names in different countries. If the case, then I will list both names for the same novel. The publication year is listed next to each book in the Gamache series.
New Louise Penny Books
Kingdom of the Blind (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #14), 2018
Louise Penny Armand Gamache Books In Order
- Still Life (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #1), 2006
- A Fatal Grace (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #2), 2006
- The Cruellest Month (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #3), 2007
- A Rule Against Murder (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #4), 2008
- The Brutal Telling (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #5), 2008
- Bury Your Dead (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #6), 2010
- The Hangman (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novella #6.5), 2011
- A Trick of the Light (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #7), 2011
- The Beautiful Mystery (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #8), 2012
- How the Light Gets In (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #9), 2013
- The Long Way Home (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #10), 2014
- The Nature of the Beast (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #11), 2015
- A Great Reckoning (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #12), 2016
- Glass Houses (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #13), 2017
- Kingdom of the Blind (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #14), 2018
Other Louise Penny Books
- The Best American Mystery Stories, 2018 (anthology)
Should we read the Louise Penny books in order?
Having read most of the Louise Penny books a while ago, and the latest two only recently, I don’t feel it’s essential to read the Louise Penny books in order – well unless you’re a stickler to reading the book list in chronological order like me, no matter what. They do stand on their own nicely, each with their own plot.
The author makes a good job of explaining in each book if anything is important from the past, so you don’t feel overwhelmed with lots of stuff that you should have read before reading the current book.
However, for the sake of character development and getting to know them a bit better, I’d say why not – if you can pick up the Louise Penny book list and read each book in order, do it, even if just to learn more about Armand Gamache, his wife, and the Three Pines village a bit more in each book.
If you get them out of order though, not such a biggie. As Louise Penny herself put it, it’s not necessary to read previous books – but it is recommended. So check out the Louise Penny reading order above and follow it, including the short novella.
About Louise Penny
Louise Penny was born in 1958 in Toronto, Canada. The love of reading crime mystery books was in the family as her mother would live such novels all the time.
Louise enrolled at the Ryerson Polytechnical Institute from where she earned a Bachelor of Applied Arts (Radio and Television).
After graduation, she began working as a radio broadcaster for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, a position that she had for 18 years. After she got married to Michael Whitehead, head of hematology at Montreal Children’s Hospital, she stopped working, choosing instead to devote her time to writing.
The author’s first book would have been a historical novel, but as she didn’t feel any calling for the genre, she soon switched to crime mystery, a genre that is working for Louise Penny very well even after all these years.
In 2013 author Louise Penny was made a Member of the Order of Canada for her important contribution to Canadian culture. This order is only second to the Order of Merit in Canada.
The author currently lives in a small village just south of Montreal called Knowlton alone, since her husband died in 2016. Her books won her numerous awards over the year. From 2006 onward she won at least an award, if not more, every single year. Only her first novel, Still Life, won all these awards: the New Blood Dagger award, the Arthur Ellis Award, the 2007 Anthony Award, the Barry Award, and the Dilys Award. Some books have also earned Louise Penny the Agatha Award and the Macavity Award, and many were nominated for the Edgar Award and the Agatha Award.
The Louise Penny books show that serious psychological books can easily hide inside a commercial genre. There is a deeper faith and hope that the author’s book radiate from within.
About the Louise Penny Books
In Louise Penny’s new book, Glass Houses, Armand Gamache, who is by now a Chief Superintendent of the Quebec Provincial Police (Sûreté du Québec), encounters a tall, hooded figure standing unmoving in the greens of the village for three days, a foreboding of something dark and sinister, and a murder of a body discovered by Armand’s own wife, Reine-Marie Gamache, in the church basement. Armand couldn’t do anything to remove the figure because no crime has been committed with regards to it.
Next, we meet Armand at the stand testifying about a murder that was committed about the same time the dark figure appeared at the doors of the village. he Three Pines, the idyllic village will be soon shaken by murder, revenge and dark secrets that Armand Gamache must uncover before it’s too late.
I loved Glass Houses by Louise Penny, but I have to admit that the first half of the book was not up to the author’s usual standards. However, much to my delight, the pace picked up soon after and I, once again, became enthralled by the Louise Penny’s usual flowing style.
Not sure if I mentioned it before, but just recently I got a chance to watch the 2013 Louise Penny movie adaptation by CBS based on her first novel, Still Life. The movie has the same title as the book. The movie featured the village Three Pines, just like the Armand Gamache books, and Armand, of course, was there as well in a leading role cast by Nathaniel Parker.
The Still Life movie adaptation turned out to be great, it was a fine translation of the author’s first book in the series. However, for some reason, I expected something a bit more. I can’t put my finger on what that was – maybe the main character’s British accent, which I didn’t feel that was belonging in Canada all that much. Still, it was a darn good movie. And the author Louise Penny being an executive producer for the film I’m sure helped with making it as close as possible to the book a lot.
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This is a series reading order list for all of Louise Penny's books. Each list includes: the book title, the publication date and links to Amazon to help you find the books.
This list includes the following:
HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN
THE BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY
A TRICK OF THE LIGHT
THE HANGMAN
BURY YOUR DEAD
STILL LIFE
&
MANY MORE!
BOOK CITY strives to provide the most thorough..more
This list includes the following:
HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN
THE BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY
A TRICK OF THE LIGHT
THE HANGMAN
BURY YOUR DEAD
STILL LIFE
&
MANY MORE!
BOOK CITY strives to provide the most thorough..more
Published November 8th 2015
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Not complete. I wanted a list this is not it. Don't waste your money. What a disappointment. Use google!
Not complete. I wanted a list this is not it. Don't waste your money. What a disappointment. Use google, really!
Not complete. I wanted a list this is not it. Don't waste your money. What a disappointment. Use google, really!
Reading order
I will be using this in the new year when I start reading Canadian authors. This little booklet was very informative.
I will be using this in the new year when I start reading Canadian authors. This little booklet was very informative.
Useless
Great source
Good resource for the series order of Louise Penny's books. Anxious to start reading the books from this author. Thanks!
Good resource for the series order of Louise Penny's books. Anxious to start reading the books from this author. Thanks!
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