The Grey Wolf
A Novel
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4.3 • 290 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
The 19th mystery in the #1 New York Times-bestselling Armand Gamache series.
Relentless phone calls interrupt the peace of a warm August morning in Three Pines. Though the tiny Québec village is impossible to find on any map, someone has managed to track down Armand Gamache, head of homicide at the Sûreté, as he sits with his wife in their back garden. Reine-Marie watches with increasing unease as her husband refuses to pick up, though he clearly knows who is on the other end. When he finally answers, his rage shatters the calm of their quiet Sunday morning.
That's only the first in a sequence of strange events that begin THE GREY WOLF, the nineteenth novel in Louise Penny's #1 New York Times-bestselling series. A missing coat, an intruder alarm, a note for Gamache reading "this might interest you", a puzzling scrap of paper with a mysterious list—and then a murder. All propel Chief Inspector Gamache and his team toward a terrible realization. Something much more sinister than any one murder or any one case is fast approaching.
Armand Gamache, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, his son-in-law and second in command, and Inspector Isabelle Lacoste can only trust each other, as old friends begin to act like enemies, and long-time enemies appear to be friends. Determined to track down the threat before it becomes a reality, their pursuit takes them across Québec and across borders. Their hunt grows increasingly desperate, even frantic, as the enormity of the creature they’re chasing becomes clear. If they fail the devastating consequences would reach into the largest of cities and the smallest of villages.
Including Three Pines.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
A sense of community is at the heart of Louise Penny’s Chief Inspector Gamache series of mysteries—specifically, the tiny Quebec village of Three Pines. But this time, it’s the world as a whole that’s under threat, not just the inspector’s peaceful hamlet. A mysterious phone call from an old enemy sets off a chain of curious events that sends Armand Gamache and his faithful deputies Isabelle and Jean-Guy halfway across the world to figure out a mysterious conspiracy with potentially deadly consequences. Penny brings climate change, political and religious extremism, and other hot-button issues into this entry in the long-running series, opening up the story to explore a bigger, darker world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Penny's 19th novel featuring Chief Insp. Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec (after A World of Curiosities) is one of the series' best. The typically even-tempered Gamache is rattled by repeated phone calls from a mysterious stranger one morning while relaxing in the sleepy village of Three Pines with his wife. Shortly afterward, someone breaks into the couple's Montréal apartment and steals one of Gamache's old coats, then delivers it to his office at Sûreté headquarters with two anonymous notes inside: one requesting a meeting, the other cryptically listing a series of herbs. Enlisting the help of his son-in-law, Jean-Guy, and fellow investigator, Insp. Isabelle Lacoste, Gamache learns that his pursuer is engaged in a plot that crosses international borders. Splitting up, the three leads cover ground as far-flung as the White House and the Vatican to foil the plot, which forces Gamache to look at old allies with fresh skepticism. Penny pulls off the narrative's uncharacteristically epic scope without a hitch, swapping fair-play puzzles for pulse-pounding cliffhangers without sacrificing intimate character moments. Gamache's fans will be eager for his next adventure. This review has been updated to remove a spoiler.
Customer Reviews
The Wolf
Remind me to never read another Louise Penny book. Honestly, this story is not believable and the smarmy attitude of the small town towards the Inspector is so suffocating. I guess it’s what’s called a cozy mystery. Not my favourite. I read her first book and now I’ve read this latest book and feel I’ve wasted money on both. No suspense.
Too much work
Too much work. A great Canadian writer who has overbuilt her plots to the point that they have become too burdensome for a casual read.
Grey Wolf
Thin plot with characters running from place to place interpreting obscure clues. Too much like the Da Vinci Code.
Penny has lost the charm of Three Pines and the sage lines of Ruth.