How the light gets in

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How the Light Gets In is the ninth Chief Inspector Gamache Novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Louise Penny."There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." —Leonard CohenChristmas is approaching, and in Québec it's a time of dazzling snowfalls, bright lights, and gatherings with friends in front of blazing hearths. But shadows are falling on the usually festive season for Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. Most of his best agents have left the Homicide Department, his old friend and lieutenant Jean-Guy Beauvoir hasn't spoken to him in months, and hostile forces are lining up against him. When Gamache receives a message from Myrna Landers that a longtime friend has failed to arrive for Christmas in the village of Three Pines, he welcomes the chance to get away from the city. Mystified by Myrna's reluctance to reveal her friend's name, Gamache soon discovers the missing woman was once one of the most famous people not just in North America, but in the world, and now goes unrecognized by virtually everyone except the mad, brilliant poet Ruth Zardo.As events come to a head, Gamache is drawn ever deeper into the world of Three Pines. Increasingly, he is not only investigating the disappearance of Myrna's friend but also seeking a safe place for himself and his still-loyal colleagues. Is there peace to be found even in Three Pines, and at what cost to Gamache and the people he holds dear? One of Publishers Weekly's Best Mystery/Thriller Books of 2013 One of The Washington Post's Top 10 Books of the Year An NPR Best Book of 2013

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Contributors
Cosham, Ralph Narrator
Penny, Louise Author
ISBN
9780312655471
9781250047274
9781410460158
9781466834705
9781427233028

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Also in this Series

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  • A fatal grace (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 2) Cover
  • The cruelest month (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 3) Cover
  • A rule against murder (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 4) Cover
  • The brutal telling (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 5) Cover
  • Bury your dead (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 6) Cover
  • A trick of the light: a Chief Inspector Gamache novel (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 7) Cover
  • The beautiful mystery (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 8) Cover
  • How the light gets in (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 9) Cover
  • The long way home (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 10) Cover
  • The nature of the beast (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 11) Cover
  • A great reckoning (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 12) Cover
  • Glass houses: a novel (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 13) Cover
  • Kingdom of the blind (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 14) Cover
  • A better man (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 15) Cover
  • All the devils are here (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 16) Cover
  • The madness of crowds (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 17) Cover
  • A world of curiosities (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 18) Cover
  • The grey wolf (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume 19) Cover
  • The Hangman (Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries Volume ) Cover

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Similar Series From Novelist

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for series you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
The Sister Jane amateur detective stories offer well-formed characters, explorations of social issues, and a mix of humor and detection. Set in small-town Virginia, one of their central themes is the clash of traditional and modern cultures in a small village. -- Katherine Johnson
The Armand Gamache and Flavia De Luce mysteries are intelligent, character-centered, cozies set in small towns. Although the locales and time periods differ, the conversational tone and feel are similar. They also share casts of eccentric secondary characters as well as unique investigators. -- Becky Spratford
These mystery series by Canadian authors are both peopled by interesting characters and distinguished by comfortable settings - one in North Wales and one in the Canadian province of Quebec. -- Victoria Fredrick
Both starring intelligent detectives who rely on their intuition -- and an ability to get suspects to confide just a bit too much information -- to solve crimes, these two series also share a well-crafted style, despite being written decades apart. -- Shauna Griffin
The Richard Jury series, particularly the early books, share a number of similar features with Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries: they are clever police procedurals centered around a puzzle. They also focus on the relationships between a group of characters. -- Krista Biggs
Although both atmospheric and descriptive series have a gritty feel, the Quebec-based Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries also has a lyrical writing style. Both series star moody, introspective detectives who are easily as interesting as the crimes they investigate. -- Mike Nilsson
Readers who appreciate the character building in the Armand Gamache series will find much to love in the Reverend Clare Fergusson mysteries. Personalities are just as important as fingerprints when solving crimes in these intricately plotted, complex novels with a strong sense of place. -- Halle Carlson
Salvano Montalbano of Sicily and Inspector Armand Gamache of Quebec conduct investigations via their brilliant team leadership. Both series feature memorable supporting casts and tension mixed with humor, though Montalbano has more humor and Gamache features more gripping tension. -- Katherine Johnson
These evocative mystery series showcase the richly detailed environs and distinctive cultural milieu of New Mexico (Milagro Mysteries) and Quebec (Inspector Armand Gamache) in which confounding murders and other crimes are investigated by sympathetic detectives. -- Andrienne Cruz

Similar Titles From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for titles you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
NoveList recommends "Chief Inspector Adamsberg investigations" for fans of "Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries". Check out the first book in the series.
NoveList recommends "Flavia De Luce mysteries" for fans of "Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries". Check out the first book in the series.
NoveList recommends "Simon Serrailler crime novels" for fans of "Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries". Check out the first book in the series.
NoveList recommends "Rachel Getty and Esa Khattak novels" for fans of "Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries". Check out the first book in the series.
The quality of mercy - Medhat, Katayoun
NoveList recommends "Milagro mysteries" for fans of "Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries". Check out the first book in the series.
By the time you read this - Blunt, Giles
These literary and character-driven police procedurals are both set in small Canadian towns. Intricately plotted and with well-developed characters and vividly depicted settings, they are as much about the characters, their stories, and their towns as they are about murder. -- Shauna Griffin
In these thoughtful, thought-provoking mysteries, a strong element of suspense arises from a plot that revolves around greed and corruption in governmental services -- the police in How the Light Gets In, and the military in One Was a Soldier. -- Katherine Johnson
These lyrical and intricate police procedurals feature well-drawn and complex characters, intriguing and difficult clues leading to a gripping finish, and vicious interdepartmental politics that threaten both the dogged detectives' ability to solve the case and their careers. -- Melissa Gray
If you enjoy reading about police detectives who, like Inspector Armand Gamache, find aesthetics and personal relationships important, and whose team members are just as well developed, you might also like Adam Dalgliesh in The Lighthouse. -- Shauna Griffin
NoveList recommends "Perveen Mistry novels" for fans of "Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries". Check out the first book in the series.
NoveList recommends "Penny Brannigan mysteries" for fans of "Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries". Check out the first book in the series.
NoveList recommends "Salvo Montalbano mysteries" for fans of "Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries". Check out the first book in the series.

Similar Authors From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for other authors you might want to read if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
Both Louise Penny and P.D. James write character-driven police procedural mysteries that explore moral ambiguity and the psychological causes and effects of crime. Their stories create a strong sense of place while the mystery's solution is slowly revealed. -- Merle Jacob
Canadian mystery authors Louise Penny and Gail Bowen offer a strong sense of place (in Quebec and Saskatchewan, respectively). Penny's police detectives have well-rounded personalities, with lives as interesting as that of Bowen's Joanne Kilbourn, a university professor. They feature interesting secondary characters, intellectual puzzles, and social issues alongside the crime. -- Katherine Johnson
Louise Penny offers contemporary versions of the classic detective novel popularized by Agatha Christie. If Penny's intelligent but intuitive detective and his skill at drawing information out of suspects appeal to you, you may want to try the novels of Agatha Christie, especially those starring Hercule Poirot. -- Shauna Griffin
Dexter writes puzzle novels that are as intelligent as Penny's, filled with the same attention to detail, cultural depth, and atmosphere. -- Krista Biggs
Susan Wittig Albert's amateur detective China Bayles lives in a town in Texas (Pecan Springs) as appealing as Penny's Three Pines, Quebec. Both towns are populated with a variety of engaging people and shops that lure the reader to visit again and again. -- Maureen O'Connor
Although William Deverell's books focus on trials rather than on police investigations, both are Canadian authors who write intricately plotted, witty, and suspenseful character-driven mysteries featuring intelligent and eccentric protagonists, well-developed characterization, and vividly atmospheric depictions of rural Canada. -- Derek Keyser
Both of these authors share the ability to create a sense of place and time period from just a few details. Their languidly-paced mysteries focus on both the story and the complex characters that they create. -- Krista Biggs
As they weave and then unravel their stories, both Deborah Crombie and Louise Penny bring to the fore the psychological complexities of human behavior in individuals and society at large, emphasizing personal relationships while constructing elaborate puzzle mysteries. -- Maureen O'Connor
Marc Strange and Louise Penny write complex police procedurals set in small Canadian towns. These slow moving stories are character driven and feature a large cast of secondary characters. The personal and professional lives of the sleuths are explored in these absorbing stories with a strong sense of place. -- Merle Jacob
The main characters in Elizabeth George's writing lead lives as complex and fraught as the people they are investigating. So too does Louise Penny portray her cast of recurring characters -- police investigators, regular "civilian" characters, and perpetrators. -- Maureen O'Connor
Giles Blunt and Louise Penny write complex police procedurals set in small Canadian towns. These character driven mysteries feature a strong male lead detective with an interesting secondary team. The plots build slowly as the personal lives and relationships of the police and the suspects are revealed. -- Merle Jacob
These authors' works have the genre "police procedurals"; the subjects "murder investigation," "police," and "detectives"; and characters that are "introspective characters," "complex characters," and "flawed characters."

Published Reviews

Booklist Review

*Starred Review* When we last saw Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surete du Quebec, he was solving the murder of a cloistered monk (The Beautiful Mystery, 2012). No problem there, but in the process, his relationship with his deputy, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, imploded, leaving Jean-Guy back on prescription drugs and in league with Gamache's enemies within the police force. That situation has only worsened, as Gamache's attempts to expose corruption and evil-doing at the highest levels of the force have prompted a vicious counterattack, leaving the chief inspector vulnerable professionally and personally. Into that cauldron comes a new murder case involving the death of the last surviving sister of quintuplets, whose birth and early life prompted a Canadian media frenzy in the mid-twentieth century. The dead woman has ties to a resident of Three Pines, the idyllic, off-the-grid village outside Montreal where several of Gamache's previous adventures have been set. Penny does something very clever here, something that heightens the tension and the emotional intensity of the novel: she not only puts Gamache in harm's way but also exposes Three Pines itself to defilement, forcing the reader to face the realization that a place too good for its time may cease to exist as we know it a cozy setting under attack from a decidedly hard-boiled world. Penny has always used setting to support theme brilliantly, but here she outdoes herself, contrasting light and dark, innocence and experience, goodness and evil both in the emotional lives of her characters and in the way those characters leave their footprints on the landscape. Another bravura performance from an author who has reinvented the village mystery as profoundly as Dashiell Hammett transformed the detective novel. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Penny's last novel received a 100,000-copy first printing. This one triples that, only one indication that, in Penny's case, literary quality and commercial success are feeding one another.--Ott, Bill Copyright 2010 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
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Publisher's Weekly Review

The avuncular voice of narrator Ralph Cosham-British, seasoned with more than a hint of Quebecois-fully expresses the mood of wistful regret that permeates this ninth (and perhaps last) chronicle of Penny's Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surete du Quebec. This time, while being pushed to the brink of retirement, the shrewd sleuth also has to juggle a host of problems. His formerly faithful second-in-command and potential son-in-law, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, is suffering from drug problems. Nearly all of Gamache's ultra-efficient homicide team have been re-assigned by the villainous chief superintendent of police, who is about to unleash a long-planned attack against the Canadian government. Gamache's quiet missing-persons case suddenly becomes a front-page story when the victim is revealed as the last of Canada's famous Ouellet quintuplets. And then there's a drowning death at the Champlain Bridge, which Gamache believes is neither an accident nor suicide. Cosham provides Gamache with a variety of spot-on vocal moods. There's a flat, weary approach when he's speaking with the uninspired and disrespectful new members of his team. But once on the job-issuing orders or interrogating suspects and witnesses-Cosham shifts to a hard-edged and no-nonsense delivery. Finally, he sounds thoughtful and relaxed when conversing with his family and the friends he's made in the village of Three Pines, where much of the novel takes place. Cosham manages to distinguish the book's many characters using only subtle shifts in tone, the one exception being the voice he lends shrill, foul-mouthed poetess Ruth Zardo, whose squawk sounds a bit like something her pet duck might utter. This engrossing, well-produced audio ends with a brief conversation between author and reader. A Minotaur hardcover. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Library Journal Review

Set in present-day Quebec around the Christmas season, this amazing entry in Penny's (The Beautiful Mystery) popular series integrates sociopolitical commentary with well-drawn and, by now, familiar characters as it wraps up many of the plots and themes that had their roots in earlier books. Myrna Landers is upset that her houseguest is late arriving for the holiday festivities, but she's reluctant to tell Inspector Gamache the woman's name. Meanwhile, he's trying to keep his department together, even as many of his colleagues leave. As in all previous books in the series, literary detective fiction and philosophy are intertwined as well with humor, tragedy, love, betrayal, intrigue, friendship, and faith. Narrator Ralph Cosham moves seamlessly from character to character, adding depth to each; his narration, coupled with a suspenseful writing style, make for edge-of-your-seat listening. VERDICT Highly recommended for series devotees or fans of literary mysteries. [See the Q&A with author Penny on p. 48.-Ed.]--Sandra C. Clariday, Tennessee Wesleyan Coll. Lib., Athens (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Kirkus Book Review

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sret du Qubec is pushed toward retirement. It's a great relief for Inspector Gamache to get out of the office and head for Three Pines to help therapist-turned-bookseller Myrna find out why her friend Constance Pineault didn't turn up for Christmas. Except for Isabelle Lacoste, Gamache's staff has been gutted by Chief Superintendent Francoeur. Gamache's decisions have been mostly ignored and bets placed on how soon he'll admit redundancy and retire. Even worse, a recent tragedy (The Beautiful Mystery, 2012, etc.) has led his second-in-command, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, to transfer out of Gamache's department, fall sway to prescription drugs and hold his former boss in contempt. En route to Three Pines, Gamache happens upon a fatality at the Champlain Bridge and agrees to handle the details. But this case takes a back seat to the disappearance of Constance when she turns up dead in her home. Myrna confides Constance's secret: As the last surviving Ouellet quintuplet, she'd spent her adult years craving privacy after the national publicity surrounding the birth of the five sisters had turned them into daily newspaper fodder. Why would anyone want to murder this reclusive woman of 79? The answer is developed through clues worthy of Agatha Christie that Gamache interprets while dealing with the dismemberment of his homicide department by Francoeur, who's been plotting a major insult to Canadian government for 30 years. Matters come to a head when Gamache and the one Sret chief still loyal to him and her husband, a computer whiz, are tracked to Three Pines, where Beauvoir awaits, gun in hand. Of the three intertwined plots, the Francoeur scheme is the deadliest, and the Ouellet saga will remind readers of the real-life Dionne family debacle of the 1940s. But it's Three Pines, with its quirky tenants, resident duck and luminous insights into trust and friendship, that will hook readers and keep them hooked.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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Booklist Reviews

*Starred Review* When we last saw Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec, he was solving the murder of a cloistered monk (The Beautiful Mystery, 2012). No problem there, but in the process, his relationship with his deputy, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, imploded, leaving Jean-Guy back on prescription drugs and in league with Gamache's enemies within the police force. That situation has only worsened, as Gamache's attempts to expose corruption and evil-doing at the highest levels of the force have prompted a vicious counterattack, leaving the chief inspector vulnerable professionally and personally. Into that cauldron comes a new murder case involving the death of the last surviving sister of quintuplets, whose birth and early life prompted a Canadian media frenzy in the mid-twentieth century. The dead woman has ties to a resident of Three Pines, the idyllic, off-the-grid village outside Montreal where several of Gamache's previous adventures have been set. Penny does something very clever here, something that heightens the tension and the emotional intensity of the novel: she not only puts Gamache in harm's way but also exposes Three Pines itself to defilement, forcing the reader to face the realization that a place too good for its time may cease to exist as we know it—a cozy setting under attack from a decidedly hard-boiled world. Penny has always used setting to support theme brilliantly, but here she outdoes herself, contrasting light and dark, innocence and experience, goodness and evil both in the emotional lives of her characters and in the way those characters leave their footprints on the landscape. Another bravura performance from an author who has reinvented the village mystery as profoundly as Dashiell Hammett transformed the detective novel. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Penny's last novel received a 100,000-copy first printing. This one triples that, only one indication that, in Penny's case, literary quality and commercial success are feeding one another. Copyright 2013 Booklist Reviews.

Copyright 2013 Booklist Reviews.
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Library Journal Reviews

This follow-up to the Agatha Award-winning The Beautiful Mystery finds Chief Inspector Gamache and the Homicide Division that he has created at his beloved Sûreté du Québec at their lowest ebb. His formerly top-notch division is tatters, his crack agents have scattered to other units, and his cherished lieutenant, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, has been set on a path of addiction and destruction by Gamache's greatest enemy, the head of the Sûreté. It appears that Gamache is being herded toward retirement by the forces arrayed against him. In the middle of this corrupt bureaucratic war, there is one more murder involving Gamache's friends in the village of Three Pines. And as Gamache works tirelessly to solve the crime, he uses the cover of routine police work to show his friends, his remaining allies, and, most of all, his loyal readers that he might appear down, but he is never out. VERDICT Penny's mysteries are really character studies. There is police procedure being followed, but the forensics take second place to Gamache's absolutely fascinating probe into the characters of every single person involved in the investigation: the police, the witnesses, and especially the suspects. He cares passionately about each person and makes the reader care. Highly recommended for mystery lovers, readers who enjoy character-driven mysteries, and those who like seeing good triumph and evil get its just desserts. [300,000-copy first printing.]—Marlene Harris, Seattle P.L.

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Library Journal Reviews

While never forgetting the sinister conspiracy threatening all he holds dear, an honorable Québec detective doggedly pursues a new case. Gamache's moral compass steers him toward a breath-taking, triumphant conclusion in the must-read series's ninth entry. (LJ 7/13) (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Publishers Weekly Reviews

Complex characterizations and sophisticated plotting distinguish Agatha-winner Penny's masterful ninth novel (after 2012's The Beautiful Mystery). The devastating conclusion to the previous book saw Jean-Guy Beauvoir abandon his mentor, Chief Insp. Armand Gamache of the Quebec Sûreté, and return to substance abuse. Things have never looked bleaker for the unassuming and empathic Gamache. A corrupt superior has gutted his homicide department, and the agents he now supervises treat their cases with blatant indifference. Amid all this personal and professional turmoil, Gamache lands a strange murder case. There's no obvious motive for why somebody killed elderly Constance Ouellet—the only living member of a set of quintuplets who were national celebrities in their youth—by striking her in the head with a lamp. Fair-play clues lead to a surprising solution to the murder, while Gamache's battle to save his career unfolds with subtlety and intelligence. Once again, Penny impressively balances personal courage and faith with heartbreaking choices and monstrous evil. First printing of 300,000; author tour. Agent: Patty Moosbrugger, Teresa Chris Literary Agency. (Aug.)

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