I am torn. Part of me was so happy to be returning to the magic of those deep brown eyes and the faultless, powerful deductive skills of Gamache’s brilliant mind. And even though I missed more of the story revolving around the secretive landscape and wonderfully drawn inhabitants of Three Pines, I mostly enjoyed the drama of the intense storyline and race to foil the plot to poison Montreal’s water system (revealed very early on so no spoiler). The other part of me really struggled with the large cast of protagonists and their multiple names, the intricacy and confusion of the plot, and the shifting pov’s. Sadly I feel this was not close to being one of my favourite Three Pines stories.

Gamache lives in the suburbs of Montreal with his wife Reine-Marie. They are enjoying a quiet relaxing morning at home when Gamache receives a telephone call. He leaves the call unanswered at first, but the persistence of the caller finally wears him down and Gamache answers. As the reader, we don't know at first who this caller is, but I was intrigued to know why there was such a reluctance from Gamache to answer.

Gamache and his wife then receive a call from the alarm company that the alarm was triggered in their apartment in the city. It doesn't appear there was a break-in or anything stolen, but a surprise package that turns up at Gamache's work, and an invite to a mysterious meeting, sets in place a chain of events that I could not have foreseen unfolding.

There are a lot of characters in this book, and because of that, you really need to pay close attention when reading to make sure you understand how each character fits in. This was not an easy read in that respect, as the story is quite long and complicated. It is a very interesting plot however, and made me think twice about pouring a glass of water from the tap!

I didn't realise before I started reading this book that it is actually part of a series. When I looked later it transpires it is actually book 19 in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series. There are quite a few references to story plots that must have happened in the previous books that are not really expanded upon in this book, which obviously would make a lot more sense if you had read the previous books in the series. This left a few holes for me in the overall picture of the main characters so I would recommend if you haven't read the earlier books, perhaps read some of them first before jumping into this book. It's only to be expected that number 19 in a series, the characters are already quite developed from earlier books.

The story is left on a bit of a cliff hanger which I presume will flow nicely into the next book in the series and as such, I would recommend this book to anyone that is looking for a new series to get their teeth stuck into.

The beginning of this book grabs you immediately. Why has this happened? What does Charles mean? What is the danger? From there, you go on a rollercoaster across countries to uncover a deadly conspiracy. The plot is either incredibly clever or very over-complicated. Either way, it’s worth the ride. The ending leaves you keen for the next instalment, Highly recommended, Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC.

Louise Penny brings us back to our favourite Gamache and three pines. This time with a suspected domestic terrorism plot.
She sure knows her detectives. And I love that each time you get the team we love, but also a fresh new spin.
I assume her characters in these books are so known to her now they are almost real! They are certainly to me. I adore returning to this set of characters. Each year I actually fear Louise will put the series to an end. I do not want that day please, Louise .
Another brilliant addition to the series.

Armand and co stumble across a plot to poison the city's water supply. In an effort to find out who is behind it, the journey takes them to Rome, Washington and Grenoble amongst other places. People previously encountered come under suspicion as does a known enemy high in the political echelons.. It's down to the team to work out who is friend and who is foe when they don't know who to trust .
An interesting read which discusses what could happen in the scenario of this type of domestic terrorism and who would be the winners and losers...This had me gripped.

This is the 19th Armand Gamache novel - it did not disappoint!

A series of strange events lead him alongside his son-in-law, Jean-Guy Beauvoir and Inspector Isabelle Lacoste to suspect a plot to poison the water supply of Montreal. He is unsure who is involved and who to trust and so begins a series of frantic visits across the province to find out who is behind the plot and attempt to stop it.

As usual tightly plotted and involving so many old friends from previous books and a cliffhanger of an ending!

Struggled to finish this. The French names were a challenge (my failing, not the book's), and the plot was oddly contrived. I kept going, only to give a fair review.

Thank you for this ARC. I really enjoyed this book. Armand Gamache and his team from Quebec have a case to solve which goes as they investigate to the very top of the political spectrum! I haven’t read any other books in the series but I will now. Excellent read.

Penny sets out at the centre of the book a tense and terrifying scenario of a crime that combines the lust for power with the use of terrorism in the form of a threat targeting Québec’s water supply. It is truly horrifying to consider the terrible consequences such a crime would have. This gripping narrative alongside the investigation into the murder of a man who, under some rather peculiar circumstances, Gamache had just met with, the other investigative threads that the wider team are working on and the ongoing character storylines simply reel you in and immerse you in a beautifully complex, compelling and engaging story.

As always the Gamache/Three Pines series gives the reader plenty of information into what Gamache and his team are doing, how the investigations are being conducted and what is happening with each of the three main characters in this story – Gamache, Beauvoir and Isabelle – and does this clearly and succinctly. There is a wonderful sense of place to all of the Canadian, Italian and French scenes with Lacoste spending much of her time in Europe tracking down witnesses. There is a real sense of urgency and fear in what becomes a race against time whilst the three of them are having to overcome difficulties which, especially when besides each other they have no idea who can and cannot be trusted, feel almost insurmountable.

In amongst the investigations the community of Three Pines, the wonderful characters that readers have come to know and love are integral to that part of the book which alludes to the overarching themes of love, family, honesty, of good and evil bringing a much needed sense of comfort to both the characters and the reader as each realise the enormity of what is happening and the consequences should Gamache, Beauvoir and Lacoste fail.

The Grey Wolf draws to a close with the investigation providing dramatic scenes of mayhem and death. Other investigators and the prosecutors are left to arrest and charge those responsible for and involved in the political machinations, the diabolical plans and the murders. So Armand, Jean Guy and Isabelle are left to recover both physically and emotionally. However, even with the conclusion to the investigation in The Grey Wolf and much to Gamache, Beauvoir and Lacoste’s dismay the ending is a real cliffhanger. Whether that means the next book will continue on with this storyline or it waits to resurface in a later book we will have to wait and see!

Louise Penny has the ability to draw you into the world of Three Pines and Armand Gamache with her lyrical style which, for those who have read the previous books, captivates you almost before you begin to read. The Grey Wolf is no exception to this. Indeed, the anticipation is as alluring as the reading experience becomes.

Louise Penny, unusually, took two years to write The Grey Wolf and the resulting book has made the wait well worthwhile. I truly enjoyed The Grey Wolf and I’m very much looking forward to reading the next book.


Thanks
Huge thanks to the publishers Hodder & Stoughton, for providing an ebook of The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny via NetGalley.

I loved this book.
Why did I love it when I don't normally like this genre of book?
I love the way that the author doesn't tell the reader the story of what is happening, but tells the thoughts of the protagonists.
We share their lives for that period that the book lives in our mind, we learn to speak French and all of the other languages that the author uses.
Armand appears to be almost incompetent, but he muddles through in the end. Isn't life so like that!
Dealing with a frightening threat, and having no idea how to prevent it, Armand just muddles along the best that he can and hopes that somehow everything will come right in the end.
My thanks to the author for the hours of enjoyment that the book has brought me, I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Exciting and engaging thriller in which things get really hairy.

Armand Gamache, from the Sureté in Quebec, gets heavily involved in a very complicated plot which results in a hefty body count (I lost count!). The story has a lot of different characters, mostly untrustworthy, and no area of society escapes, whether it be the homeless, politicians, fellow police officers - you get the idea. It's pretty contrived and very up-to-date. It also brings Gamache's home life to the fore. An enjoyable story and certainly will delight fans of Louise Penny's work. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

For fans of the formidable Louise Penny the waiting is soon over, another Amande Gamache novel "The Grey Wolf" is out Oct. 31st! 

Thanks to an early netgalley, I could escape into the world of Three Pines which this time is not at the center of the plot.

 Amande Gamache and his team are on the chase of a threat that could effect the lives of millions sending them all over the place trying to stop the inevitable.  I will not say more, but the plot is so embroiled with a string of possibilities and developements which  had me retracing characters and connections several times to pick up the thread again.   

It is perhaps not my favorite Penny mystery but a great escape into the world of crime with Amande Gamache  The cover of  " The Grey Wolf" is really strong and powerful

Thanks to Holder & Stoughton and NetGalley for ARC.
Armand Gamache is at home, enjoying a leisurely Sunday morning in Three Pines, when his peace is cruelly shattered, yet again, with demands on his time, his family and threats to his home and his safety above and beyond the demands of his job as Quebec's head of homicide. This is potentially the most sinister and complex case of Gamache's career, and he doesn't know who to trust, in his department, in the Surete, in the government... At times it was a touch too complex for me, but Penny keeps the suspense going, and this far into the series (I think this is 19), it's amazing that this could be read as a standalone. If you start here, you will be keen to go back and inhabit this world. It will be worth your time.

The Grey Wolf
By Louise Penny

I have read five of the early books in this series over the past few years, and while I appreciate the wonderful sense of place that Penny has created in her fictional village of Three Pines, I never fully succumbed to the famous charms of it's people, finding them quite flat and unnuanced, falling into either the goodie or baddie stereotypes. One bear bug has been the tone deafness of this author over certain things that would just not wash these days, and so I was willing to read a recent book having been informed that her sensitivities have evolved over the past few years.

Apart from one character calling another a fag at the 2% mark, it's fair to say that slurs, fat shaming and derogatory language are notably absent, which left me free to enjoy the story.

I have missed quite a lot, 13 episodes to be exact, but the early chapters have a lovely familiarity to them, which kind of surprised me, familiarity is not something I seek in reading, nonetheless, I found myself coming over all warm and fuzzy. It's not a spoiler to mention that the action soon moves away from Three Pines, so I didn't have long with the old reliables. Maybe that's the trick for me? A quick hello, then onwards and upwards.

How to describe this mystery: completely baffling. If Inspector Clouseau was called in to solve a Dan Brown case, coded messages, hit and runs, mad monks, cloistered communities, eco terrorism, but nothing gets solved by skill or forensics, rather by accident via faulty reasoning and bungled theories.

Several early chapters are devoted to the case of the missing/ returned jacket, and I can't be the only one who was wondering what the point was, pages upon pages of claptrap, repetition, banality.

Having been assured that the action really kicks off at the 79% mark, I ploughed through the silliness, and actually, it's true. If you can buy into the preposterous storyline, manage expectations regarding a sensible outcome and let yourself go, there's a decent amount of compelling plot to enjoy. I'm not sure what Penny fans are going to think of the cliff hanger ending. Did Penny intrigue me enough to continue with the series, or even go back to the ones I skipped? Probably not.

Publication date: 31st October 2024
Thanks to #NetGalley and #HodderStoughton for the eGalley

This is an engrossing, tense and sometimes surprising thriller that hits all the right spots. It starts with small occurrences, strange and unnerving it builds to a mystery that Armand has to solve. The chief inspector is called to investigate a murder but starts to realise it is the tip of an iceberg. Part of a series but also holds it's own as a stand alone story, this is tense, thrilling and intense. A great read.

Armand is in a race to discover who and how the water may be polluted . It is a multi layered plot taking him mostly out of Three Pines and meeting people from the past . There is corruption afoot in politics and police. I did not enjoy this one as much as previous but that could be that I am not totally au gait with all the previous storylines in this series and there are several references to previous happenings

I’m a huge Louise Penny fan, and this latest instalment in the Three Pines series did not disappoint!

This book can be read as a standalone, though I’d thoroughly recommend you go back to enjoy the rest of the series, to really get the most out of it. It includes Penny’s educational, warm and compelling signature writing style, and maintains a thrilling pace throughout. I marvelled at the complexity of the story, and the way all of threads came together in the end.

I’d highly recommend The Grey Wolf for anyone looking for an exciting, global and riveting thriller.

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton for a copy of this book. Opinions expressed are my own.

The Grey Wolf is the latest instalment in the long-running series featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and the bucolic (if somewhat dangerous) village of Three Pines. Louise Penny regularly brings in contemporary social issues. In The Grey Wolf corruption is also a primary theme. There is darkness; there is uncertainty; there is danger. But as with each of the previous books, compassion, humanity, humour, friendship and family are always present. Along with delicious food and drink and the seasonal beauty of Quebec.
Although it can be read as a standalone, the book draws on past backstories of both the regular characters and previous cases. The plot is correspondingly complex. And the climax is electrifying. Hopefully it won’t be too long before the next book. Because this case is far from over!

Another epic read from Louise Penny. I have read some, but not all, of the series and I think reading the books in order would give greater satisfaction as you would get to know the characters and their relationships in more detail. I enjoyed this book, with its relevant plot against society, though it was complex and difficult to follow at times. Readers of the series may be disappointed that more of the story is not set at 3 Pines, but travels quite widely over the world. I definitely recommend this book and plan to go back to the volumes in the seriesI haven’t yet read.

Another lovely book from Louise Penny. Gamache is contacted by various people, some from previous books, all with information about to a political plot to cause a national disaster with the potential for a coup. Gamache and his team travel to America and Europe searching for information to discover the plot in time to prevent this happening. In the meantime, life in Three Pines carries on with the lovely characters with their friendship and humour. Ruth and Rosa are as entertaining as ever.
The finale is exciting with lots of twists and bluffs. I particularly liked the engineer who helps Gamache.
Highly recommended.