The Black Wolf
A Novel
-
-
4.3 • 733 Ratings
-
-
- $14.99
Publisher Description
The 20th mystery in the #1 New York Times-bestselling Armand Gamache series.
Somewhere out there, in the darkness, a black wolf is feeding.
Several weeks ago, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec and his team uncovered and stopped a domestic terrorist attack in Montréal, arresting the person behind it. A man they called the Black Wolf.
But their relief is short-lived. In a sickening turn of events, Gamache has realized that plot, as horrific as it was, was just the beginning. Perhaps even a deliberate misdirection. One he fell into. Something deeper and darker, more damaging, is planned. Did he in fact arrest the Black Wolf, or are they still out there? Armand is appalled to think his mistake has allowed their conspiracy to grow, to gather supporters. To spread lies, manufacture enemies, and feed hatred and division.
Still recovering from wounds received in stopping the first attack, Armand is confined to the village of Three Pines, leading a covert investigation from there. He must be careful not to let the Black Wolf know he has recognized his mistake. In a quiet church basement, he and his senior agents Beauvoir and Lacoste, pore over what little evidence they have. Two notebooks. A few mysterious numbers on a tattered map of Québec. And a phrase repeated by the person they had called the Grey Wolf. A warning…
In a dry and parched land where there is no water.
Gamache and his small team of supporters realize that for the Black Wolf to have gotten this far, they must have powerful allies, in law enforcement, in industry, in organized crime, in the halls of government.
From the apparent peace of his little village, Gamache finds himself playing a lethal game of cat and mouse with an invisible foe who is gathering forces and preparing to strike.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
The aftermath of a terrorist attack puts a legendary detective on his back foot in this installment in Louise Penny’s long-running Chief Inspector Gamache series. Gifted Quebecois crime fighter Gamache thought he had the Black Wolf in custody. When he finds out he may be wrong, he and his faithful agents Lacoste and Beauvoir begin painstakingly peeling back the onion layers of a conspiracy that involves the former deputy prime minister, organized crime, and a potential international crisis. Penny takes her time setting up the story and ratcheting up the suspense, but once things get going, The Black Wolf becomes an absolute pressure cooker. And we loved how, no matter how intense the action gets, there’s always an artful touch to her prose. We were easily drawn into Gamache’s world, where hot-button topics like climate change and international friction nip at the heels of classic, edge-of-your-seat thrills.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Penny's exemplary 20th mystery featuring Chief Insp. Armand Gamache of the Québec Sûreté (after The Grey Wolf) picks up where its predecessor left off, with Gamache and his cohort reeling from the revelation that a conspiracy to poison Montréal's drinking water was just the beginning of a far-reaching international espionage plot. At the outset, Gamache, along with his deputies Jean-Guy Beauvoir and Isabelle Lacoste, wrack their brains to decipher clues in a notebook left behind by biologist Charles Langlois, who was murdered in front of Gamache before he could reveal the extent of the scheme. Gamache's determination to avert disaster, and his knowledge that high-ranking government officials might be compromised, leads him to reluctantly seek information from Marcus Lauzon, Canada's former deputy prime minister, who masterminded the water plot. Lauzon's scheme involved ceding control of primary industries to Americans, and the more Gamache uncovers, the more he realizes the Americans might hold the key to the case. Penny's talent for nail-biting suspense and quiet character moments fuse with surprisingly topical subject matter to deliver an unputdownable installment of an ever reliable series. Readers will cheer.
Customer Reviews
Good bit not great
Dragged on a bit .. I thoroughly enjoyed the series except for this.
Very disappointing
It’s a lecture. No emotional connection to character except from the past books.. very disappointing and obvious politically… and the president has “ a motherly bun?.” Pulleeeze! No woman who looks like that could get elected and it’s really sexist to characterize her that way… ugh…and the plot was far too confusing!
As the saga continues
Excellent reading!