Louise Penny’s latest in her Chief Inspector Gamache/Three Pines series is a must read for anyone who has followed the career of Gamache. Throughout all of the eight books in this series have been clues and references to a tragic raid conducted by the Surete de Quebec that involved Gamache and his second in command, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, and the men under their command. This was a raid in which several policemen died and Gamache and Beauvoir were wounded. In each book, Penny gradually reveals more and more about what happened on that day.
In “How the Light Gets In,” she finally brings closure to this event and does so by writing a real page-turner. Penny has included all the characters that have appeared throughout her series and given them all important roles in the plot. In addition to sewing up all the loose ends of this plot line, Penny also has a secondary plot involving the murder of the last of the Ouellet Quints. Based loosely on the birth and lives of the famous Dionne quintuplets, the lives of the fictious Ouellet girls in this story adds an important plot element.
Thanks, Pam, for suggesting Louise Penny and this series. I have really enjoyed all of the books I have read. Let’s hope Penny will continue writing about the Surete de Quebec.