Lady with Chains

Finished December 1

Lady with Chains by Roch Carrier, translated by Sheila Fischman

This is a novel that is a combination of two stories. One is the story of the unnamed lady of the title. It is not said in so many words, but my impression was that the lady was one of the nobility imprisoned during the French Revolution, that then found herself on the docks and brought onto a ship to the new world. She does seem to be a lady that was imprisoned and mistreated, and then unexpectedly freed and placed on a ship to Quebec. 

The second story is of Virginie, a young woman of Quebec who meets Victor, a soldier, at a dance. He plans to claim a piece of land and build a house on it, to marry and have children, and to live a good life. Virginie agrees to marry him, and finds herself making her way through a blizzard to the cabin he's built, and things go horribly wrong on the journey. Virginie finds herself plotting revenge against Victor, intending to poison him. She waits through the winter and intentionally doesn't speak to her husband at all, but keeps her plan in her mind. She finds herself strengthened by the idea of the Lady with Chains, who persevered despite the terrible things that happened to her. 

It is a strange novel, with a flavour of the wilderness of Canada, as well as some of the bureaucracy, and there are surprises along the way. 

It Happened One Christmas

Finished January 16

It Happened One Christmas by Chantel Guertin

This novel is a Christmas romance, set in a small Canadian town in Quebec. Zoey Andrews is a woman who loves Christmas even though she doesn't get to celebrate a typical Christmas herself. Zoey works for Epic Productions, one of the biggest producers of romance movies, especially holiday romance movies. She's been working her way up in the company and is all set to direct and produce her own movie, one that is inspired by a cherished childhood memory of a Christmas spent in a small Quebec town. 

When the production assistant in charge of getting location permits confuses her choice of Chelsea, Quebec with Chelsea, New York, Zoey is determined to do whatever it takes to get the permits herself. She is scared that if she lets this chance slip through her fingers, she won't get another one. She's also recently dumped by her boyfriend and her Christmas vacation plans have fallen through, so she has the time available. So, of course, she jumps on a plane to Ottawa, and heads out to the town of Chelsea.

Unfortunately, the weather isn't on her side, with a big storm predicted to hit the area in the next few days, 

The town is as good as her memories of it, so when she finds the perfect Christmas tree farm for part of her story, she isn't about to let the grumpy owner of the farm, who is as annoying as he is sexy get in her way. 

I could barely put this book down, as it grabbed me right from the beginning with Zoey's earnest drive to get what she wanted combined with the nostalgia that inspired it. The book gradually reveals the main characters' stories, and the town is charming. 

The weather was believable, the storm, the conditions, and the determination of people to find a way to their goals. 

P.S. there's also an adorable dog. 

A World of Curiosities

Finished February 14

A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny

I read this just after her previous one, and while good it wasn't as good in my view. This book is more violent and more personal in a different sense. It opens with a graduation, one that is a happy occasion for most, but also has elements of past violence. The graduation is at the cole Polytechnic in Montreal, at which there is a tribute to the women killed in 1989. One of the students graduating did not actually attend the school, but took the courses from her prison cell. Her story takes readers back to the first meeting between Gamache and Jean-Guy Bouvier, a meeting that took place during a murder investigation in a small northern Quebec town. Another student receiving special honours has a connection with Three Pines, as she is Myrna's niece. 

It also takes Gamache back into another criminal connection from his past, a serial killer that he encountered with a remarkable ability to get into people's heads and manipulate them. 

In Three Pines, there are also changes. After many years without a leader for their small church they have one, one who came to religion later in life after a Wall Street career, and who seems to know loss. Myrna is thinking of moving, needing a home with more space to accommodate her niece. So when the rumour of a secret room in Myrna's loft begins, it seems like it may offer an answer.

Instead, the room offers more questions. Questions about what is hidden there and about who hid it and why. These questions also reach back into the past and into Quebec's early history, but also into the art world and a painting known as The Paston Treasure, a painting that was done by an unknown painter, seemingly to show off a collection of odd items connected in the family's travels. 

As always, Penny draws on real stories and adds in her own fictional elements to create a story that captures the imagination. She encompasses bigger issues such as the damage done to child victims of crimes, and how people react when faced with their biggest fears. 

The stakes are high in this tale, and so is the tension, and we see more of what have been minor characters until now, like Billy Williams, as well as a reappearance by Amelia Choquet. 

The Madness of Crowds

Finished February 11

The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny

I always enjoy Penny's books, but this one I could hardly put down. It is the 17th book in the series featuring Armand Gamache. There was so much going on, and she brought in so many issues and bits of history. The novel takes place in the spring of 2022, but was written before then, so it has vaccines working better than they actually did and life more or less returned to normal. That doesn't mean that the pandemic didn't have lasting effects though, and Penny has brought in several issues related to it, including the stress on the healthcare system and the situations that occurred at so many retirement and nursing homes. I think these made it a more emotional read for me as they are still unresolved issues.

She also dug into some historical events around health and government oversight that are particularly troubling, and made them key to the story. This element also brought Reine-Marie in to the story in an active way, helping to uncover some of the historical records from this time. This connected with both characters in the present day, and the question of ethics that runs through the book. 

A lot of the action of the novel takes place in Three Pines, although not all of it. and this means that we see a lot of the residents of the village and learn how they coped with this difficult time. 

Gamache has the responsibility for security for a last minute speaker at a small university. The speaker has controversial ideas and some of the previous speaking arrangements have gone viral, and the event is more chaotic than expected, even with Gamache's preparation. As he digs deeper into the events and the people involved, he finds many people with reasons to react violently. The issues that arise here have a very personal link to Gamache and his family, which reverberate throughout the book. I think this is the book in the series that has both captured me the most thoroughly and haunted me afterward the most. 

Maria Chapdelaine

Finished August 1
Maria Chapdelaine: A Romance of French Canada by Louis Hémon, translated by Andrew MacPhail, illustrations by M.A. Suzor-Cote

This classic Canadian story is one that I've meant to read for a while, and part of the reason I chose it for my book club July pick. The copy I've got is quite an old one, with interesting illustrations scattered through it.
Maria Chapdelaine is the oldest daughter in her family. She has mostly brothers, and one much younger sister, Alma Rose.
Her father Samuel is a man who is more of a settler than a farmer. He has cleared land, and created a homestead before, but then felt the urge to move to a less settled area and start again. His wife has recognized and accepted this about him, though she would like to be closer to a parish. Maria is at the age when young women of her time and situation considered marriage, and as the book moves on, we see that there are three young men interested in her. They are quite different from each other, but all good young men. François Paradis is the first one that we meet. Their fathers knew each other well, and Maria met him when she was younger. Paradis has sold his farm and makes his living guiding other men through the Canadian wilderness and facilitating trading and sourcing resources. He is ambitious and and bright.
The next one we see is Eutrope Gagnon. He is the Chapdelaine's only neighbour, having taking a concessions two miles away with his brother the year before. His brother, like many of Maria's brothers, works in logging camps during the winter. He is clearing the land mostly on his own (we never see his brother in the novel), but making good headway and once the land is cleared, will build a better house so that he can begin a family. He is a hard worker and a good neighbour in hard times.
The third and last suitor we meet is Lorenzo Suprenant, a young man who has sold his father's farm in Quebec and gone to work in Maine in a factory. He speaks of the joys of urban living, the good wages he earns, and the large contingent of Canadians who live in the same area and provide a community. He wants to offer Maria an easier life than the one in the wilderness she lives in now.
As we watch Maria's family work to clear their land, gather crops, reap fruits from the surrounding wilderness, and hunt to provide meat, we see the reality of their lives and the hard work that goes into survival. Maria must evaluate her emotional connection and her vision of the future with each of these men, based on her experience this far. Her parents offer support, but do not advise her on this important choice.
I enjoyed the story and the independence that Maria had to choose her own life. Her family was a supportive one that worked together to make a good life for themselves and I could see how they cared for each other and worked as a team.

A Better Man

Finished October 1
A Better Man by Louise Penny,

As the book begins, Armand Gamache is back in the role of Head of Homicide, but he overlaps for a couple of weeks with Jean-Guy Beauvoir, and that is just one of the adjustments that must be made. The relatively recently-added homicide agent, Lysette Cloutier brings the squad's attention to a missing person, and Armand agrees to investigate the case with her. The missing woman Vivienne Godin, has been a victim of domestic abuse by her husband in the past, but charges were never laid, and the two were still living together when she went missing. Her father says that she called him, saying that she was leaving, but not wanting his presence. As Armand digs deeper into the case, more information and characters come along, including an ex-CFL player turned police officer.
Back home in Three Pines, Clara is going through a bad time. Her latest series of work, a collection of miniatures has been panned, with the result that her entire career's work is called into question. Her friends try to offer support, but not always with the results they expect.
In the larger world, Quebec is facing severe flooding, and decisions must be made on how to deal with the rising water, the threat of rivers overflowing their banks, and the aging dams upriver. Armand is brought into the consultation, but politics play a role in whether he will be listened to or not. There is also a larger reputation issue going on for him online, with rumours and misinformation being widely shared and emotions becoming heated.
All the usual characters are back: Ruth, Myrna, Billy Williams, and Annie among them. There are also new characters from the ex-CFL player to a New York art critic than bring new storylines with them. As enjoyable as ever.

Kingdom of the Blind

Finished January 15
Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny, read by Robert Bathurst

I've always enjoyed this mysteries, for the inclusion of the personal life of the characters, and for the complex story they tell. Here, Armand is under suspension from his role as head of the Surete of Quebec for his actions in the previous book. Jean-Guy was also under suspension, but his has been lifted and he is now acting in Armand's role. Isabel, injured in the last book, is still on leave.
As the book opens, Armand is off to a meeting he has been summoned to by a letter. But the letterhead has the name of a dead man, and the contents of the letter give no indication as to the purpose of the meeting. Armand is intrigued, but wary.
When he arrives at the house, about twenty minutes away from Three Pines, he finds one car. Before he can enter the building, another car arrives, that of Myrna. They find that they have received the same letter. A third person arrives, a young man with a unique style, that they don't know.
The three of them soon discover that they have been named liquidators (executors) in the will of a woman they've never met, Bertha Baumgartner. They have some time to think about it before accepting, and as a snowstorm is moving in quickly, they find themselves all in the village of Three Pines. As the story of the Baumgartners and their odd inheritance history is revealed, they also find that there are some in the village that have met Bertha, as her preferred title, the Baroness.
This is but one of the stories of this novel. Although Armand is on suspension, he is still trying to track down the missing drug shipment from the previous novel. His drive to recover the missing carfentanil is a noble one, but he crosses some ethical lines as he does so. One of them involves a young cadet that he previously was close to, who has now put her future on the line in a misguided action.
This novel has a lot of twists and turns, reveals and secrets. Some I guessed at, other I did not. The book ends with some interesting changes to the lives of ongoing characters, and I will be interested to see where these changes take them.

Glass Houses

Finished October 17
Glass Houses by Louise Penny, read by Robert Bathurst

Gamache is now the chief superintendent of the Surete and has been for about a year. The action begins with him in court in the witness box as a witness for the prosecution in a murder trial. As the book begins, you don't know who has been murdered or who is on trial for the murder.
As the book jumps back to a time several months earlier when a strangely robed figure appeared on the green in Three Pines, and works it way forward, you begin to discover the many stories that led to the scene in the courtroom.
This is a story about friendship, about addiction, about corruption, and about organized crime. It shows the importance of planning and of patience. It shows the dangers in taking things, and people, as they appear. This is a complex read, with a lot going on, and the reader sees the beginning and the end.

A Great Reckoning

Finished October 23
A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny, read by Robert Bathurst

Armand Gamache is back, and this time in a new capacity, as commander of the Sûreté Academy. As he agrees to take on this new role, he knows the challenges that come with the role. After cleaning up major corruption in the Sûreté itself, he is aware that many of the officers joining the organization have been shaped by their experience in the Academy and what he has seen of their attitude and behaviour worries him. He knows he must make major changes at the Academy to change those experiences. He first looks at the faculty and makes changes, removing some professors and adding others. But he sees the bigger picture as well. He looks at the relationship with the local community and the divisions that have been created. He looks at the larger policing community and where the professors he is getting rid of might end up. He looks at the still unresolved corruption suspicions around some of the people at the Academy. And so he makes choices.
He also makes choices in the acceptances of new recruits. He reviews all the applications and accepts some that the previous head had marked as rejected and rejects some that they would have accepted. And again, he thinks carefully and makes some decisions for reasons that others don't see. 
He tries to both make massive change and to tread carefully, and he doesn't always succeed. It is not an easy task. But he has his family, his community of Three Pines, and the support of respected Sûreté officers and leaders. 
When one of his biggest adversaries within the Academy is found dead, obviously murdered, the case is a tricky one, and the investigation must not only be thorough, but be seen to be thorough. Again, he tries to do that right by making sure an outside investigator is part of the team, but that also proves difficult.
An interesting twist is the subplot around a map that was discovered in the wall of the bistro when renovations were made, and which provides its only mysteries. When Gamache tasks some of the Academy students into learning about the map, its origins, and its meaning, he ends up bringing those students into village life in a move that takes us to the heart of Three Pines. 
This book, as with previous in the series, blurs the line between professional and personal, and between facts and feelings. 

The Nature of the Beast

Finished October 4
The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny, read by Robert Bathurst

I have to admit that I was a bit worried about this audiobook. Not for the book itself, but for the reader. Penny's previous reader for her audiobooks died since the last one came out, and for me he was the voice of this series. Penny acknowledges this worry in a brief introduction to the audiobook, where she both honours her previous reader and introduces her new one. And Robert Bathurst does a great job of the book.
Now, on to the book itself. As the book begins, all is well in Three Pines, despite the tall tales of Laurent Lepage in his wild adventures through the woods and around the village. His exuberance, at first indulged, has now grown into irritation for many. His tales have included alien invasions, dinosaurs, fires, and explosions, but none have been real.
When the young boy disappears the day after telling his latest tale, the villagers begin to wonder whether he might finally have been telling the truth. As the search for Laurent goes on to include what happened to him, and where it happened, and part of the answer includes murder, Gamache finds himself being drawn back into the homicide career he thought he'd left behind.
Something from the past has reared its ugly head, and someone was trying to prevent it from being discovered. Some in the village know at least part of the story, and they fear it, for it changed their lives. As local poet Ruth Zardo writes "And now it is now. And the dark thing is here."
As the police begin their investigation, new faces appear in the village. Why they arrived appears obvious, but why do they stay? What do they know?
This story reaches into the past, into the dark heart of evil, and into lives that were changed forever. It is a story that I found engrossing.

The Long Way Home

Finished January 22
The Long Way Home by Louise Penny, read by Ralph Cosham

In this book in the series featuring Chief Inspector Gamache, Gamache and his wife have settled into life in Three Pines. Gamache is gradually recovering from his ordeals and learning to live a quiet peaceful life.
But then Clara Morrow comes to him for help. Her estranged husband Peter didn't show up on the anniversary of their parting as they agreed that he would, and she is beginning to worry. She wants Gamache's assistance in finding him.
Clara isn't sure what sort of man she'll find, and whether there is a future for the two of them together, but she still loves Peter and cares about what happens to him. She is sure that he would have come home if he could, and is worried about what may have prevented him. She wants to lead the search, but knows that she needs help.
So Gamache goes to one set of contacts, and sets a search of Peter's movements in in motion, while Clara and Myrna go to another set of contacts in Ontario. What they discover, leads them to travel together, along with Beauvoir toward eastern Quebec, and eventually the remote shores of the province as they trace Peter's trail. Reine-Marie and Ruth also make a journey of discovery in the search to gain information, and I enjoyed seeing more of them.
From Clara and Peter's art school professors to calls to European stops on Peter's travels, the group gradually begins to decipher some of what Peter has been up to, and who he has met along the way.
Literary allusions run thick here, and there is much introspection by all parties as they learn not only of Peter, but also of themselves during their quest.
I was moved both to tears and to laughter as I listened and only grew to enjoy these characters more than ever.

How the Light Gets In

Finished November 22
How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny, read by Ralph Cosham

This novel in the series featuring Armand Gamache is set in the days leading up to Christmas. Armand's wife has travelled to France where his son's family now lives and Armand will be going there just before the holiday.
At work, Armand's supporters seem to be dwindling. With his loyal officers in the homicide department being transferred away and new officers that don't respect him forming the majority of his department, Isabelle Lacoste is one of the only officers who still has his back. Armand badly misses his old right hand man Jean-Guy Beauvoir who blames Gamache for abandoning him and has sunk into an addiction that is destroying him.
When Gamache is sent a message asking for advice from his friend Myrna Landers in the village of Three Pines, he decides to take the time to travel to the village and get away from the city. Myrna is worried about a friend of hers who was supposed to arrive the day before but hasn't, yet when Gamache asks for information on this friend, Myrna is reluctant to reveal the woman's name. When she finally does, Gamache finds that this woman was once famous around the world, but has been largely out of the news in many years, living under another name than her own. As Gamache digs into the woman's past, he finds he has to go back to her childhood to discover the motivations behind her fate.
It is in Three Pines that Gamache feels safe, but is that feeling of safety an illusion created by the lack of data signals and its cozy atmosphere, or is it really a haven for Gamache and his supporters.
This book continues the threat to Gamache that begin to appear several books ago, coming to an intense and dramatic head that will change everything, not only for Gamache and his family, but also his friends, and perhaps even Quebec itself.
A real page-turner.

The Beautiful Mystery

Finished October 9
The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny, read by Ralph Cosham

Another beautiful mystery indeed. I swear that Louise Penny gets better with every book, which makes this one good beyond words.
On the professional side, Gamache is called to the remote monastery of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups, on the edge of a northern Quebec lake, where the choir director has been found murdered. He decides to bring along Beauvoir to assist him, and the two travel up to find a small group of monks, who grow vegetables and tend chickens, and make chocolate. But more importantly they sing, and it is Gregorian chants that they sing. Recently a recording of the monks was released and they drew a lot of attention, and raised some money to help improve their building.
Now that the choir director is dead, they have to make some choices about their future, and Gamache and Beauvoir must figure which one of the brothers committed the crime.
On a personal level, Beauvoir is getting better, feeling happy and optimistic about his future. But Gamache still worries about him, more so in this remote place, where he is still vulnerable to evil and his demons. It continues the story of the men, their history, and the incident that won't let them go.
Listening to this book, I also found Cosham's voice perfect for the book as it has been for others in this series I've listened to. And now I am waiting for the next one.

A Trick of the Light

Finished October 6
A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny, read by Ralph Cosham
Absolutely wonderful. I thought her last one, Bury the Dead, was her best one, but this one comes darn close. As this series progresses, her characters become more complex. Part of that is because you get to know more and more about them, but she also looks at the motivations, reactions and interactions in interesting ways.
Here, Clara is finally having the evening every artist dreams of, a celebration of her work. When the body of a woman from her past is found in her garden the morning after, many questions arise. Who invited or brought her? How did she find Three Pines? What was she doing there? are just some of them.
In addition, Clara takes a harder look at the people around her. She has always been a people pleaser, a smoother of the waters, but at what cost? And what does she need to change to be truly happy?
Gamache and Beauvoir are still recovering from the horrible experiences they had earlier, and the progress is slow.
The theme here is dark and light, shadow and sun, and whether the things that come forward are the truth or, as the title says, a trick of the light.
I laughed, I cried, and I hated to see the book end. A great read.

Bury Your Dead

Finished November 11
Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny, read by Ralph Cosham
I think this is the best Louise Penny mystery yet. There was the usually wonderful mystery, but so much more here. We had history, issues, personal growth, that really made the book that extra bit special.
There has been a past horrible event in policing for Gamache. It has to do with a kidnapping of one of his agents, and we only gradually discover as the book progresses exactly what happened. Gamache and Beauvoir are both on leaving recovering from physical and mental wounds from this situation. Gamache is visited his mentor in Quebec City and taking rest, which includes doing some research into a personal interest of his. His research takes him to the Literary and Historical Society where he uses their library to research his interest in the battle of the Plains of Abraham.
When a body is discovered in the basement of this bastion of the English in the French Canadian city, Gamache gets drawn in by both the local police and the Society's board. He agrees only because the murder victim is a strong Quebec voice in the search to find the body of Samuel de Champlain. There are many questions: what was he doing at the society? what led him there? who killed him?
Gamache is also questioning the outcome of a recent case in Three Pines and sends Beauvoir there on an unofficial basis to look into the case again.
This story allows us to see both Gamache and Beauvoir in new lights, and see them both grow in their understanding of themselves and others. An absolutely wonderful read.

Canadian Mystery

Finished October 18
The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny
This is one of Penny's best.
Once again a dead body has turned up in Three Pines, this time in Olivier's bistro. He appears to be a stranger, homeless. But the deeper Gamache digs into this mystery, the more he finds that things are not what they seem.
We see all the usual inhabitants of Three Pines, plus the new couple who have taken on the old Hadley place intending to make it into an inn and spa. Besides Gamache's usual team we have a new local policeman Morin, who brings his own experiences to the story.
Here, character plays an important role in the story, and not just in the mystery of the body, but also in other stories going on in and around Three Pines.
A good read, that will have you thinking about how things seem.

Canadian Mystery

Finished November 21
The Murder Stone by Louise Penny
Inspector Gamache is back, as good as ever. Here, he and his wife are vacationing at the Manoir Bellechasse, one of the best auberges in Quebec. They are there to celebrate their wedding anniversary, a tradition they have held for several years.
The other guests at the Manoir are a family, getting together to honour their dead father. There are lots of rivalries and grievances within the family and the tension is very high.
There is a heat wave and when it breaks, a dead body is found. Gamache finds himself with almost everyone at the auberge a suspect, from the family to the staff. As his team digs deeper to find the truth, the murderer is trapped there and may be getting desperate.
Gamache has great insight and his team works well together. The setting in Quebec is lovely and the other characters are interesting if not always likeable.
A good story with a great finale.