THE BLACK WOLF (BOOK 20 in the INSPECTOR GAMACHE SERIES)

THE BLACK WOLF by Louise Penny

I am a reader of Louise Penny's Chief Inspector Gamache series. After closing the cover of Book 20, The Black Wolf, I appreciate and am as invested in this series now as I was with Book 1. Actually, maybe even more so. With each book that passes Penny's characters grow with complexity, but ironically, relatability.

It is imperative that I start this post with some fair warning. The Inspector Gamache series contains content to be aware of. You will definitely want to read the HEADS UP section at the end of this post.

The series typically revolves in some form around a small village in Quebec, Canada named Three Pines. Three Pines is the type of place that many of us would like to live except for the glaring fact that in some of the books murder knocks and enters the village's doors. As a reader, you become deeply invested in the characters and businesses located there. Set against Canada's brutal winters, warm hearths, comfort food galore, deep friendships, and loyalty to the very end fan a warmth inside the reader's soul.

Even though Gamache resides in such a small out of the way place, don't let that fool you about his importance in the Surete du Quebec (provincial police force of Quebec) and the reach of his connections. He is a rugged man, but one interfused with an air of refinement that calls people in the highest positions in Canada friends or enemies from personal encounters.

What makes readers embrace Gamache so deeply as a character boils down to three things. One, his dogged commitment to finding the truth no matter where it may lead whatever the cost. He has followed cases to the highest offices and born the cost professionally. Two, he has an uncanny ability to take officers thrown away in the system as worthless and see the potential in them. Three, he is known for four sayings that he teaches all his recruits. "I don't know. I need help. I'm sorry. I was wrong." Barebones honesty. Four, he is imperfect. His face is a map of lines and scars. Some created from the joys of life. Others from the sorrows.

So how is Gamache relatable? We all desire a warm hearth and a place that truly feels like home to come back to like Three Pines. A place where a person is known and loved. We desire the pursuit of justice and truth, and our hearts beat a bit faster when the final stands occur and right wins out. There is a beauty that we crave when people who have been thrown away, written off, and disposed of are redeemed and their value is immeasurable. There is a peace that is felt and surrendered to knowing someone like Gamache is on watch.

Deeply complex and yet relatable.

HEADS UP- There are a lot of f-words to navigate. There are uses of other profanities and the use of the Lord's name in vain. This is not a series you would want to listen to as an audio book with children around. That is the biggest issue with the book. There is a gay couple, but their intimate life is not discussed. The books deal with intense, very moving scenarios, but they are not gory. Gamache is not a believer. He recognizes religion but is very passive towards it. However, he is what we would consider a moral man.