I struggled to finish this book sadly. Partly my fault as I hadn’t realised it was part of a series & the novel assumed a great deal of prior understanding which I obviously didn’t have. The plot & characters rambled a bit which led to confusion as to who was who & why they were behaving as they were. I persevered to the end as I wanted to find out what happened in the end only to discover that I hadn’t reached the end & the story will probably be continued in the next book.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this new novel.

I never, ever in my wildest fantasy thought the day would come when I didn't like an Armand Gamache-novel but here we are... I'm so disappointed in the plot. I wanted to spend more time in Three Pines...

This was one of many books that I read over the festive period, but the first by Louise Penny, who deserves all the praise I've since seen in reviews of her novels.

From the start this story, set in Canada, moves at pace with compelling characters and a very strong plot. In style it reminded me of the Da Vinci code, with hooks and twists that made it difficult to stop reading. I think it would make a great film, as its terrifying concept is all too realistic.

Even though the novel is part of a series I didn't feel that affected my enjoyment as I got to know the characters of Inspector Gamache and his likeable team.

A preposterous plot and increasingly unbelievable characterisations based on previous books and even changes in the back story.
The only good thing is we didn't hear much from the ridiculous duck or any of Ruth's execrable "poetry".

When it comes to at-times sinister small-town mysteries full of quirky characters, Canadian author Louise Penny is a modern master. Since 2005’s Still Life she’s been entertaining readers around the world with the investigations of Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, recently portrayed by Alfred Molina in Prime Video adaptation Three Pines.

Now in The Grey Wolf, the 19th instalment in Penny’s more-ish mysteries, the action begins in the hard-to-find Quebec village that gave the TV show its name, with Gamache interrupted by repeated phone calls. A break in. A mysterious package. A café meeting that leads to murder. Is a terrorist group targeting Canada’s water supply? Gamache, his long-time 2IC and son-in-law Jean-Guy Beauvoir, and Inspector Isabelle Lacoste must traverse from Quebec to the White House and the Vatican in order to prevent disaster.

Perhaps Penny has been inspired by co-writing a 2021 political thriller, State of Terror, with Hillary Clinton. Regardless, while The Grey Wolf’s plotline may lean more broad thriller than intimate mystery, Penny still infuses her tale with character moments and underlines her storytelling mastery

The Grey Wolf is the 19th book in the Chief Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny.
In short, it all begins with a sequence of strange events and then a murder which propels Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his team to realise something much more sinister is fast approaching, a threat unlike anything they’ve seen before. As Gamache says, it was one of the great dangers as an investigator, turning guesses into fact & interpreting slim evidence to fit a convenient theory…they needed to trust their instincts but rely on proof, which they had precious little! And this was a race against time!
There’s a lot going on in this frantic case and one which I’m glad is fiction! It’s a well crafted tale with a gripping plot with many twists and turns…another riveting nail-biter by Louise Penny, I’m really looking forward to reading the next book, The Black Wolf.
Big thanks to Louise Penny, Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for this eARC which I chose to read in return of my honest review.

I love Gamache series and love novels set in Two Pines as the sense of community, the setting are delightful.
Gamache is a great characters and when I read this series I cannot help thinking of beloved authors like Simenon or Bellairs.
This a page turner that kept me hooked and I read in one day (I'm a fast reader) as I was involved in the stories and the twists kept me hooked.
Well plotted, great storytelling and solid mystery
This story can be read as a stand-alone beware because there's a sort of follow up in the next book (already pre-ordered)
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This is book 19 in the series and a very welcome return to Chief inspector Armand Gamache, Head of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec. Gamache lives in the small village of Three Pines with his wife Reine-Marie and one quiet Sunday, his phone rings when he is at home. Although he initially ignores it he eventually answers but just tells the caller to go away! This is quite a long book, with a lot of characters, but it’s most definitely worth investing the time if you enjoy a well brilliant, slow building complex and compelling police procedural.

Briefly, a series of strange events take place that culminate in the death of a marine biologist who Gamache has just had a meeting with in a restaurant. It appears there is a serious threat to Quebec City and the person who could have told them more is now dead!

I love Gamache, definitely one of my favourite detective series with one of my favourite characters, and this time out even his little grey cells had to work extra hard to ensure his grey wolf overcomes the black wolf. Or does it? Not so much Three Pines this time and in fact the team, just the three of them (Armand Gamache, Jean-Guy Beauvoir and Inspector Isabelle Lacoste because who else can he trust), go further afield than ever - I liked that. This felt a bit different to previous books, I enjoyed the changes but oh goodness that cliffhanger! A police procedural with thriller vibes and a chilling plotline. Very enjoyable.

A very scary plot.

Armand Gamache, Head of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec, is spending some well-deserved quality time with his wife Reine-Marie when his phone starts ringing. He tries to ignore it, but the person continues to call him until he answers it. He doesn’t wait to hear what the person has to say, as he tells them “to go to hell.” Their Sunday is ruined. This is going to be the beginning of an extremely complicated and difficult case.

When he reaches his office the next day, he’s told that someone has delivered his jacket, stolen the previous night from his flat in Quebec. Inside the jacket is a random list of herbs and spices. Gamache then receives a message inviting him to meet with the person who had stolen the jacket. They meet in a restaurant, surrounded by members of the police. However, the man is terrified and will not discuss or repeat what he knows about the threat facing Quebec. Gamache walks out of the restaurant with the man, having plans to meet up again, when a car appears at speed and runs them down, killing this stranger and only slightly injuring Gamache. This shocking accident puts the whole team on red alert to discover the truth about what could be a potential threat to the entire city.

The storyline leads Gamache and his team to visit far flung monasteries, trying to ascertain what the role the herbs and spices have with the case, or are they a red herring?

It was an interesting plot in that it’s plausible and could happen, with devasting consequences, anywhere in the world.

I listened to the audible version of the book. The narrator, Adam Sims did a truly brilliant performance. There was no doubt as to which character he was portraying; sometimes narrators don’t manage to portray the different voices of males and females , Adam Sims’ narration was excellent.

Rony

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book to review from NetGalley.

Louise Penny has done it again with *The Grey Wolf*! This latest installment in the Armand Gamache series is an absolute triumph, blending intricate mystery with sharp contemporary social and political observations. Penny's talent for creating twisty, thought-provoking plots is unmatched, and her ability to weave these mysteries into the deeply human stories of Gamache, his family, friends, and colleagues is what truly sets her apart.

Over the course of the series, you come to genuinely care about these characters—they feel like old friends. Gamache himself remains one of the most thoughtful, compassionate, and quietly powerful protagonists in modern crime fiction. His moral complexity and nuanced leadership make him endlessly compelling.

Fans of Martin Walker’s Bruno Courrèges or Tim Sullivan’s George Cross series will find much to love here: the same intelligence, charm, and emotional depth, paired with clever, twist-filled storytelling. Louise Penny smashes it out of the court every time, and *The Grey Wolf* is no exception. This is crime fiction at its finest—don’t miss it!

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Another brilliant Chief Inspector Gamache story from Louise Penny. A series of annoying phone calls and mysterious minor incidents puzzle the eminent detective and reignite his animosity for an old adversary. As usual, the author builds the suspense while reminding us of the decency and integrity of Gamache. Penny has the unique ability to create an environment of mounting fear interspersed with a story of the love shared by the Gamache family. And of course there is once again a full cast of the wonderful residents of Three Pines. A really enjoyable read.

My thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this publication which I requested because I'd noticed this author for some time and from descriptions of her books it seemed as if she might write my sort of detecftive story. The novel has a gentle idylic opening with a slow literary pace that I wasn't expecting. But unfortunately I soon found that I xcouldn't believe in the characters or their situations. No senior police officer would have or be allowed to have his son-in-law as his deputy He also shares every move in the case with his wife. Would this have happened in real life?

This can be read as a stand alone novel, but it is in fact well into the series and there is obviously considerable back story which is often alluded to and is briefly and unsatisfactorily explained. I admit this is my fault for not reading the books from the beginning. The idylic rural hamlet where the main character, the chief of homicide, lives with his wife, sounds too good to be true. Could this exist, even function in real life? It's big enough to have a library and a cafe, but not big enough to be shown on a map. Perhaps I just don't understand life in rural areas of Canada, but they do seem to be in driving distance of Montreal. Such a paradise would surely have been exploited by more city folk. But the sketch map of the settlement was appreciated. There are too few of these helpful drawings in novels.The action is often disjointed. At one point the three senior officers are confering in the settlements small church at night. Then next a new chapter starts inthe middle of a potentially fatal weather storm ina small aircraft, which of course the police officers survive. There is an attempt to bridge the narrative gap, but to me this is unsatisfactory.

I'm afraid that I didn't finish the book. I hate to critisise an author's hard work but I was getting bogged down in an increasingly unrealistic tale and having to force myself to read it. I'm sorry but it just wasn't for me. Probably my fault. So many do enjoy these novels.

A superb thriller from Louise Penny. I've not read her books before and really enjoyed this book. Full of twists and turns, good characterisation and I loved the depths of the characters especially Chief Inspector Gamache and his team. Well plotted story that will have you hooked from start to finish. Thanks to Hodder and Stoughton and Netgalley for this review ARC

It's been great to read the latest Inspector Gamache book, I've missed him! But well worth the wait; what a story and OMG, what an ending!! No spoiler alerts as it just had me looking further in the book to see if I had missed anything.

Lovely to return to all of the characters in Three Pines, although I did find it a formidable plot, but a relatable subject of environmental terrorism - what an awful thing to contemplate, but Louise made this plausible and of course frightening!

How long do we have to wait for number 20? Not too long I hope.

I love Gamache ..head of surete in his village in France .. he's thoughtful, probing and has finely tuned moral sense yet he's unscrupulous in finding eays to discover murderers and crooks. In this case it's very delicate: there might be a 'mole' in police hierarchy. His informant is killed before his eyes; was he reliable anyway? It's a crafty case since he has to watch what he says yet comply with police structures. I'd say the opening section is slow in establishing his usual paths to the truth with family + work colleagues. The characters of three pines who we know from previous volumes in this series are introduced.. but it's pretty adept and lightly done. I have to say I love this series; but this can stand alone!!

I love this series, it just keeps getting better and better. Every time we return to the familiar faces of Three Pines while also following Gamache and Beauvoir around Quebec, all vividly brought to life throughout. This time we’re brought along as a plot to poison Quebec’s drinking water connects Gamache with old foes and friends. This book is adventure and heroism wrapped in a warm hug. Thank to you Netgalley for the advance reader copy, can’t wait for the next one.

A complex and complicated mystery. I enjoyed the plot and the investigation although some of the similarities in the French names was a little confusing at times.
This is a book that is well into the series and so the characters are firmly established with strong back stories but although references are made to past events these are explained within the book where necessary.
This was by no means a predictable book and there was a lot to take on board with various surprises along the way, right up to the very end.

With a kaleidoscope of interesting and intriguing characters, a gentle and subtle style, Louise Penny draws the reader into complex and all-too-possible terrorist activity. With frightening dexterity the author takes the reader through the complexities of issues of confrontation in the world: Machiavellian politics, greed, power, loyalty and treachery, with reassuring family values underpinning the threatened devastation. Using the Indian story of two wolves, one grey (good) and one black (evil), as an analogy, Armand Gamache is challenged and desperate to establish who is the black wolf. His search takes him to the Vatican and into closed orders as well as the corridors of power.
I haven’t read other books by this author and although it is a series, this novel stands alone, with tantalising references to other cases – and an equally titillating denouement.

Another fine episode in the life of Armand Gamache .

He is relaxing at home in Three Pines when he gets recurring phone calls, which he chooses not to answer. He has the sense he needs to avoid what they might tell him.

Then there is an alarm call on his city flat, which he ignores. This is the start of a series of seemingly insignificant clues which lead to something far more threatening. Armand must act.

Satisfying read as always with the Three Pines series. This is number 19 and recommended. I read an ARC from NetGalley.