How the Light Gets In

With each book of the Chief Inspector Gamache series I say that it’s my favorite. How Louise Penny consistently surpasses herself is in itself a mystery! Yet she does. How the Light Gets In takes its title from Anthem, a song written and sung by Leonard Cohen, the light being goodness, which in spite of all the terror, nefarious acts, anxiety, even murder, always can be seen. The light gets in. The murder in the novel is secondary; friendship, loyalty, and love are paramount and triumph. As many have said, and I repeat, it’s very necessary that if you embark upon this series you do so in order. Each book references those that have preceded it and you need those references for optimum understanding of the various characters and events.

Louise Penny always deals in intense and complex emotions, but they have rarely been more so than in this volume of her popular Inspector Gamache series. The book really has two stories, one completely covered within the book and the other a continuation and completion of an arc begun in the previous volume. Both are fascinating, but the second, involving Gamache himself on both a personal and a career level, definitely dwarfs the first.

The story within the bookthe murder du jour, so to speakinvolves Constance, an elderly former patient of Myrna, the bookstore owner in Three Pines, who used to be a psychotherapist before retiring to that beautiful, Brigadoon-like village. After Constance pays a surprise visit to Myrna and suggests that she will soon return to reveal a secret that she had kept hidden even during her therapy, she is murdered in her home in Montreal. Investigation soon reveals that she was the last of the Ouellet Quints, a fictional version of the Dionne Quintuplets, who had made headlines around the world in the 1930s. That fact seems likely to be connected to her murder, and Gamaches digging to discover the nature of the relationship leads to thoughtful examination of the price of fame and of being a living person forced to be part of a myth.

The story involving Gamache began in the previous volume in the series, The Beautiful Mystery, and readers definitely should read that book before this one. (The current book also contains references to characters and events from books earlier than that, but these are explained as needed.) It continues the physical and mental breakdown of Gamaches former second-in-command, Jean-Guy Bouvier, who has become a drug addict, and the pursuit of Gamache by the powerful Sylvain Francouer, who is determined to destroy him on both a personal and a career leveland appears to be succeeding. Even that aim, however, is dwarfed by Francouers involvement in a larger plot that ultimately reaches to the highest political levels in Quebec and threatens thousands of lives. Gamaches struggle against these forces, aided only by his friends in Three Pines, two allies in the higher reaches of the police force, and his one remaining faithful subordinate, Isabelle LaCoste, is incredibly tense and moving. Like the book that precedes it, this is one of Pennys best.

Ive read 8 books in this series, this one being the most recent. I recommend these books except the one that features the extremely boring Samuel Big D Champlain. The rest of the series is a bunch of light, fun mysteries and the Inspector is a quite a likable character.

Here are a few things I have observed from this series:

– Read them in order. I read the most recent one first and then when I went back to read from the beginning of the series, it was easier figure out who the murderer was because they are missing from the village in subsequent books. I tell you this so you don’t make the same mistake that I did.
– People eat lots of soup in Quebec. Lots o soup.
– And Tim Hortons. Tim Horton owes this author big time.
– The poetry by the character Ruth is terrible, without exception.
– You will be reminded many many times of what the inspectors cologne smells like. In.every.single.book.
– The Inspector is something of a clothes horse. I didnt realize cops in Quebec got paid so well.
– Two of these books have featured overly complicated nonsensical ways to murder people, which was weird.
– My favorite line in all of these books so far: It smelled of spiders.
– There is always at least one implausible thing happening in each book. I dont mind this so much, but it takes me right out of the story. For example:
–In one book, a character wallpapers an entire house in 3 days. If youve ever hung wallpaper, you know this is just not possible.
–In another book, the inspector hires a bunch of people who he doesnt like and who are out to get him. Why?
— In the murder in the monastery book, one guy gets hooked on Oxy and experiences withdrawal symptoms, all in 24-36 hours. Come on.
— In still another book, the inspector brings everyone to a haunted house to reveal who the murderer is, but midway through his speech he excuses himself and goes into another room in the house to confront his cop arch-nemesis. That done, he returns to the first room and finishes telling the assembled suspects who did it. The murderer was nice enough to stay for the reveal.

How the Light Gets In is bar none the best book in the Gamache series so far. I literally couldnt put it down. Louise Penny has written a brilliant novel which captures her characters perfectly as they move towards their redemption and the resolution of Gamaches plan.
Things are looking pretty grim at the Surete when Gamache takes a case involving the famous Canadian Quintuplets. Meanwhile Francoeurs plan to destroy both Jean Guy and the Surete are are on target. Its up to Gamache and non chance to see who will win the day.

The Inspector Gamache books have grown slowly on me. They are subtle and measured and the multi-layered plots are very satisfying. It probably makes sense to read the series in order (although Im not) because there are some plot strands that run from book to book. However, if you jump right in, there is enough explanation for you to pick up what is going on I think. I this story, there are two main plot lines; one about the murder of the last of a famous set of quints, the other about Gamache being increasingly sidelined within the Surete (police department) and the reasons for that. After the previous book (The Beautiful Mystery) which moves away from the village of the Three Pines, this time we are back on familiar territory with familiar characters who haves real depth. Although Three Pines cannot be found on any map, both the place and its residents are made alive by the quality of Pennys writing. This is a book you will be sorry to finish. But if you are reading the books in order, I would recommend that you move straight on to book number 10.

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