The Full List of Louise Penny Books in Order

book on desk
by CJ McDaniel // April 17  

Here is the complete list of books published by Louise Penny, a radio broadcaster and a beloved Canadian author.

Louise Penny is famous for her mystery fiction novels. She won numerous awards during her writing career, including the Anthony Award for best novel of the year five times, and the Agatha Awards for best mystery novel of the year five times as well. Her books have been translated into 23 languages.

Who Is Louise Penny?

Born on July 1, 1958, in Toronto, Canada, Louise Penny grew up reading popular mystery fiction novels because of her mom’s love for the book genre. Some of her favorite authors growing up were Michael Innes, Dorothy L. Sayers, Georges Simenon, and Agatha Christie. 

After graduating with a Bachelor of Applied Arts (Radio and Television) degree from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (now Ryerson University) in 1979, Penny worked as a journalist and radio host with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for 18 years. 

It wasn’t until meeting her husband, Dr. Michael Whitehead, then Chief of Hematology at Montreal Children’s Hospital, before she started her literary career. She tried her hand at a historical novel but found that the genre is not right for her. She then switched to mystery writing. 

Eventually, she finished her first novel, Still Life, and submitted it to British-based Crime Writers Association for their Debut Dagger Award. She placed second place out of 800 entries, earning her a publication from a British literary agent. 

Still Life became the first novel to the book series featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Quebec Sureté as the main character and became a worldwide hit. Her latest work, All the Devils are Here, is set to be published this year. 

Louise Penny Complete Booklist & Summary

Here is Louise Penny’s complete list of works along with a short summary:

1) Still Life – 2005 (1st Book in The Chief Inspector Gamache Series of Louise Penny)

  • Louise Penny books in order 1Book Summary: Winner of the New Blood Dagger, Arthur Ellis, Barry, Anthony, and Dilys awards.

    Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surêté du Québec and his team of investigators are called in to the scene of a suspicious death in a rural village south of Montreal. Jane Neal, a local fixture in the tiny hamlet of Three Pines, just north of the U.S. border, has been found dead in the woods. The locals are certain it’s a tragic hunting accident and nothing more, but Gamache smells something foul in these remote woods, and is soon certain that Jane Neal died at the hands of someone much more sinister than a careless bowhunter.
    Still Life introduces not only an engaging series hero in Inspector Gamache, who commands his forces—and this series—with integrity and quiet courage, but also a winning and talented new writer of traditional mysteries in the person of Louise Penny.

    But not everything monstrous-looking is evil and not everything fair is good…and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth.
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2) Nature Morte: Roman – 2006

  • Louise Penny books in order 2Book Summary: Le matin de Thanksgiving, on découvre dans le paisible petit village québecois de Three Pines le cadavre d’une vieille dame aimée de tous. L’inspecteur Armand Gamache, de la Sûreté du Québec, est chargé de l’enquête. Ce meurtre est déroutant. Qui voudrait voir morte une vieille dame aussi gentille? Le mystère s’épaissit à mesure que l’on met au jour des oeuvres d’art que la victime a longtemps gardées secrètes. Rustiques, primitives et troublantes, ces peintures touchent différemment tous ceux qui les voient… Le premier roman d’une série qui a reçu les récompenses les plus prestigieuses.
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3) A Fatal Grace – 2006 (2nd Book in The Chief Inspector Gamache Series of Louise Penny)

  • Louise Penny books in order 3Book Summary: Winner of the 2007 Agatha Award for Best Novel!Welcome to winter in Three Pines, a picturesque village in Quebec, where the villagers are preparing for a traditional country Christmas, and someone is preparing for murder.
    No one liked CC de Poitiers. Not her quiet husband, not her spineless lover, not her pathetic daughter―and certainly none of the residents of Three Pines. CC de Poitiers managed to alienate everyone, right up until the moment of her death.
    When Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, of the Sûreté du Quebec, is called to investigate, he quickly realizes he’s dealing with someone quite extraordinary. CC de Poitiers was electrocuted in the middle of a frozen lake, in front of the entire village, as she watched the annual curling tournament. And yet no one saw anything. Who could have been insane enough to try such a macabre method of murder―or brilliant enough to succeed?
    With his trademark compassion and courage, Gamache digs beneath the idyllic surface of village life to find the dangerous secrets long buried there. For a Quebec winter is not only staggeringly beautiful but deadly, and the people of Three Pines know better than to reveal too much of themselves. But other dangers are becoming clear to Gamache. As a bitter wind blows into the village, something even more chilling is coming for Gamache himself.
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4) The Cruellest Month – 2007 (3rd Book in The Chief Inspector Gamache Series of Louise Penny)

  • Louise Penny books in order 4Book Summary: “Many mystery buffs have credited Louise Penny with the revival of the type of traditional murder mystery made famous by Agatha Christie. . . . The book’s title is a metaphor not only for the month of April but also for Gamache’s personal and professional challenges—making this the series standout so far.”–Sarah WeinmanWelcome to Three Pines, where the cruelest month is about to deliver on its threat.
    It’s spring in the tiny, forgotten village; buds are on the trees and the first flowers are struggling through the newly thawed earth. But not everything is meant to return to life. . .
    When some villagers decide to celebrate Easter with a séance at the Old Hadley House, they are hoping to rid the town of its evil—until one of their party dies of fright. Was this a natural death, or was the victim somehow helped along?
    Brilliant, compassionate Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec is called to investigate, in a case that will force him to face his own ghosts as well as those of a seemingly idyllic town where relationships are far more dangerous than they seem.
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5) The Murder Stone – 2007 (4th Book in The Chief Inspector Gamache Series of Louise Penny)

  • Louise Penny books in order 5Book Summary: “What happened here last night isn’t allowed,” said Madame Dubois.
    It was such an extraordinary thing to say it stopped the ravenous Inspector Beauvoir from taking another bite of his roast beef on baguette.
    “You have a rule against murder?” he asked.
    “I do. When my husband and I bought the Bellechasse we made a pact….Everything that stepped foot on this land would be safe.”

    It is the height of summer, and Armand and Reine-Marie Gamache are celebrating their wedding anniversary at Manoir Bellechasse, an isolated, luxurious inn not far from the village of Three Pines. But they’re not alone. The Finney family—rich, cultured, and respectable—has also arrived for a celebration of their own.
    The beautiful Manoir Bellechasse might be surrounded by nature, but there is something unnatural looming. As the heat rises and the humidity closes in, some surprising guests turn up at the family reunion, and a terrible summer storm leaves behind a dead body. It is up to Chief Inspector Gamache to unearth secrets long buried and hatreds hidden behind polite smiles. The chase takes him to Three Pines, into the dark corners of his own life, and finally to a harrowing climax.
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6) The Brutal Telling – 2009 (5th Book in The Chief Inspector Gamache Series of Louise Penny)

  • Louise Penny books in order 6Book Summary: The wise and beleaguered Chief Inspector Armand Gamache returns to Three Pines The Brutal Telling, the fifth book in Louise Penny’s #1 New York Times bestselling series.
    Chaos is coming, old son.

    With those words the peace of Three Pines is shattered. Everybody goes to Olivier’s Bistro―including a stranger whose murdered body is found on the floor. When Chief Inspector Gamache is called to investigate, he is dismayed to discover that Olivier’s story is full of holes. Why are his fingerprints all over the cabin that’s uncovered deep in the wilderness, with priceless antiques and the dead man’s blood? And what other secrets and layers of lies are buried in the seemingly idyllic village?Gamache follows a trail of clues and treasures―from first editions of Charlotte’s Web and Jane Eyre to a spiderweb with a word mysteriously woven in it―into the woods and across the continent, before returning to Three Pines to confront the truth and the final, brutal telling.
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7) The Hangman – 2010

  • Louise Penny books in order 7Book Summary: On a cold November morning, a jogger runs through the woods in the peaceful Quebec village of Three Pines. On his run, he finds a dead man hanging from a tree. The dead man was a guest at the local Inn and Spa. He might have been looking for peace and quiet, but something else found him. Something horrible. Did the man take his own life? Or was he murdered? Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is called to the crime scene. As Gamache follows the trail of clues, he opens a door into the past. And he learns the true reason why the man came to Three Pines.This book is a quick and easy read for people on the go.
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8) Bury Your Dead – 2010 (6th Book in The Chief Inspector Gamache Series of Louise Penny)

  • Louise Penny books in order 8Book Summary: “Few writers in any genre can match Penny’s ability to combine heartbreak and hope.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)It is Winter Carnival in Quebec City, bitterly cold and surpassingly beautiful. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache has come not to join the revels but to recover from an investigation gone hauntingly wrong. But violent death is inescapable, even in the apparent sanctuary of the Literary and Historical Society–where an obsessive historian’s quest for the remains of the founder of Quebec, Samuel de Champlain, ends in murder. Could a secret buried with Champlain for nearly four hundred years be so dreadful that someone would kill to protect it?Meanwhile, Gamache is receiving disquieting letters from the village of Three Pines, where beloved Bistro owner Olivier was recently convicted of murder. “It doesn’t make sense,” Olivier’s partner writes every day. “He didn’t do it, you know.”As past and present collide in this astonishing novel, Gamache must relive a terrible event from his own past before he can begin to bury his dead.
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9) A Trick of the Light – 2011 (7th Book in The Chief Inspector Gamache Series of Louise Penny)

  • Louise Penny books in order 9Book Summary: New York Times Notable Crime Book and Favorite Cozy for 2011Publishers Weekly Best Mystery/Thriller books for 2011“Penny has been compared to Agatha Christie [but] it sells her short. Her characters are too rich, her grasp of nuance and human psychology too firm….” —Booklist (starred review)

    “Hearts are broken,” Lillian Dyson carefully underlined in a book. “Sweet relationships are dead.”
    But now Lillian herself is dead. Found among the bleeding hearts and lilacs of Clara Morrow’s garden in Three Pines, shattering the celebrations of Clara’s solo show at the famed Musée in Montreal. Chief Inspector Gamache, the head of homicide at the Sûreté du Québec, is called to the tiny Quebec village and there he finds the art world gathered, and with it a world of shading and nuance, a world of shadow and light. Where nothing is as it seems. Behind every smile there lurks a sneer. Inside every sweet relationship there hides a broken heart. And even when facts are slowly exposed, it is no longer clear to Gamache and his team if what they’ve found is the truth, or simply a trick of the light.
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10) The Beautiful Mystery – 2012 (8th Book in The Chief Inspector Gamache Series of Louise Penny)

  • Louise Penny books in order 10Book Summary: The brilliant new novel in the New York Times bestselling series by Louise Penny, one of the most acclaimed crime writers of our timeNo outsiders are ever admitted to the monastery of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups, hidden deep in the wilderness of Quebec, where two dozen cloistered monks live in peace and prayer. They grow vegetables, they tend chickens, they make chocolate. And they sing. Ironically, for a community that has taken a vow of silence, the monks have become world-famous for their glorious voices, raised in ancient chants whose effect on both singer and listener is so profound it is known as “the beautiful mystery.”But when the renowned choir director is murdered, the lock on the monastery’s massive wooden door is drawn back to admit Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir of the Sûreté du Québec. There they discover disquiet beneath the silence, discord in the apparent harmony. One of the brothers, in this life of prayer and contemplation, has been contemplating murder. As the peace of the monastery crumbles, Gamache is forced to confront some of his own demons, as well as those roaming the remote corridors. Before finding the killer, before restoring peace, the Chief must first consider the divine, the human, and the cracks in between.The Beautiful Mystery is the winner of the 2012 Agatha Award for best novel, the 2013 Anthony Award for best novel and the 2013 Macavity Award for best novel.
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11) How the Light Gets In – 2013 (9th Book in The Chief Inspector Gamache Series of Louise Penny)

  • louise11Book Summary: The #1 New York Times Bestseller
    “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?
    How the Light Gets In is the ninth Chief Inspector Gamache Novel from Louise Penny.
    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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12) The Long Way Home – 2014 (10th Book in The Chief Inspector Gamache Series of Louise Penny)

  • louise12-scaledBook Summary: A #1 New York Times Bestseller, Louise Penny’s The Long Way Home is an intriguing Chief Inspector Gamache Novel.Happily retired in the village of Three Pines, Armand Gamache, former Chief Inspector of Homicide with the Sûreté du Québec, has found a peace he’d only imagined possible. On warm summer mornings he sits on a bench holding a small book, The Balm in Gilead, in his large hands. “There is a balm in Gilead,” his neighbor Clara Morrow reads from the dust jacket, “to make the wounded whole.”While Gamache doesn’t talk about his wounds and his balm, Clara tells him about hers. Peter, her artist husband, has failed to come home. Failed to show up as promised on the first anniversary of their separation. She wants Gamache’s help to find him. Having finally found sanctuary, Gamache feels a near revulsion at the thought of leaving Three Pines. “There’s power enough in Heaven,” he finishes the quote as he contemplates the quiet village, “to cure a sin-sick soul.” And then he gets up. And joins her.Together with his former second-in-command, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, and Myrna Landers, they journey deeper and deeper into Québec. And deeper and deeper into the soul of Peter Morrow. A man so desperate to recapture his fame as an artist, he would sell that soul. And may have. The journey takes them further and further from Three Pines, to the very mouth of the great St. Lawrence river. To an area so desolate, so damned, the first mariners called it the land God gave to Cain. And there they discover the terrible damage done by a sin-sick soul.
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13) Louise Penny: Still Life / Fatal Grace / the Cruelest Month – 2014

  • louise13-scaledBook Summary: This boxed set of the first three books―Still LifeA Fatal Grace, and The Cruelest Month―introduces not only the engaging series hero Inspector Gamache, who commands his forces―and this series―with integrity and quiet courage, but also the spectacular Louise Penny.
    Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec digs beneath the idyllic surface of village life in Three Pines, finding long buried secrets―and facing a few enemies of his own.A #1 New York Times bestseller and multiple award winner, Louise Penny “writes with grace and intelligence” (New York Times Book Review) and “with her smart plot and fascinating, nuanced characters…proves that she is one of our finest writers (People).Still Life
    Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his team of investigators are called in to the scene of a suspicious death in a rural village south of Montreal. Jane Neal, a local fixture in the tiny hamlet of Three Pines, just north of the U.S. border, has been found dead in the woods. The locals are certain it’s a tragic hunting accident and nothing more, but Gamache smells something foul in these remote woods, and is soon certain that Jane Neal died at the hands of someone much more sinister than a careless bowhunter.Fatal Grace
    No one liked CC de Poitiers. Not her quiet husband, not her spineless lover, not her pathetic daughter―and certainly none of the residents of Three Pines. CC de Poitiers managed to alienate everyone, right up until the moment of her death. When Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, of the Sûreté du Quebec, is called to investigate, he quickly realizes he’s dealing with someone quite extraordinary. CC de Poitiers was electrocuted in the middle of a frozen lake, in front of the entire village, as she watched the annual curling tournament. And yet no one saw anything. Who could have been insane enough to try such a macabre method of murder―or brilliant enough to succeed?The Cruelest Month
    It’s spring in the tiny, forgotten village; buds are on the trees and the first flowers are struggling through the newly thawed earth. But not everything is meant to return to life. . . When some villagers decide to celebrate Easter with a séance at the Old Hadley House, they are hoping to rid the town of its evil–until one of their party dies of fright. Was this a natural death, or was the victim somehow helped along?
    Brilliant, compassionate Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec is called to investigateLouise Penny Boxed Set (1-3):
    Book one: Still Life
    Book two: A Fatal Grace
    Book three: The Cruelest Month
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14) The Chief Inspector Gamache Series, Books 7-9: A Trick of the Light, The Beautiful Mystery, How the Light Gets In – 2015

  • louise14Book Summary: #1 New York Times and Globe and Mail bestselling author Louse Penny’s beloved Chief Inspector Armand Gamache mystery novels have received critical acclaim, won numerous awards, and have enthralled millions of readers.Featuring Chief Inspector of Homicide Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec, these extraordinary novels are here together for the first time in a fabulous ebook bundles.A Trick of the Light
    When Three Pines artist Clara Morrow’s former friend is found dead in her garden, Chief Inspector Gamache finds the art world is one of shading and nuance, shadow and light. And even when facts are slowly exposed, it is no longer clear to Gamache and his team if what they’ve found is the truth, or simply a trick of the light.The Beautiful Mystery
    No outsiders are ever admitted to the monastery of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups, where the monks have become world-famous for their glorious chants. But when the renowned choir director is murdered, the lock is drawn back to admit Chief Inspector Gamache. Before he can find the killer, the Chief must first consider the divine, the human, and the cracks in between.How the Light Gets In
    As Christmas approaches, Chief Inspector Gamache travels to Three Pines as a favor to the bookshop owner, whose friend has gone missing—a friend who was once one of the most famous people in the world. With mounting crises in his own homicide department, Gamache finds himself not only investigating a murder, but also seeking refuge for himself and his still-loyal colleagues—if such a refuge exists.
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15) The Chief Inspector Gamache Series, Books 1-3: Still Life, A Fatal Grace, and The Cruelest Month – 2015

  • louise15Book Summary: #1 New York Times and Globe and Mail bestselling author Louse Penny’s beloved Chief Inspector Armand Gamache mystery novels have received critical acclaim, won numerous awards, and have enthralled millions of readers.
    Featuring Chief Inspector of Homicide Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec, these extraordinary novels are here together for the first time in a fabulous ebook bundle.Still LifeChief Inspector Gamache and his team of investigators are called to the scene of a suspicious death in Three Pines, a rural village south of Montreal. The locals are certain it’s a tragic hunting accident and nothing more, but Gamache smells something foul this Thanksgiving season.A Fatal Grace

    When CC de Poitiers is found dead the day after Christmas, electrocuted in the middle of curling match with no witnesses, Chief Inspector Gamache digs beneath the surface to find where the real secrets are buried. But it seems that Gamache has some enemies of his own, and with the coming of the bitter winter winds, something far more chilling is in store.The Cruelest Month

    A group of Three Pines villagers decide to celebrate Easter with a séance at the Old Hadley House, hoping to rid the town of its evil-until one of their party dies of fright. But was it a natural death, or murder? As Chief Inspector Gamache investigates, he will be forced to face his very own ghosts as well as those residing in this seemingly idyllic town.
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16) The Chief Inspector Gamache Series, Books 4-6: A Rule Against Murder, The Brutal Telling, Bury Your Dead – 2015

  • louise16Book Summary: #1 New York Times and Globe and Mail bestselling author Louse Penny’s beloved Chief Inspector Armand Gamache mystery novels have received critical acclaim, won numerous awards, and have enthralled millions of readers.Featuring Chief Inspector of Homicide Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec, these extraordinary novels are here together for the first time in a fabulous ebook bundles.A Rule Against MurderChief Inspector Gamache and his wife are celebrating their anniversary at the luxurious, isolated Manoir Bellechasse. But when a dead body turns up in the midst of a family reunion, Gamache learns that the lodge is a place where visitors come to escape their past, until that past catches up with them.The Brutal TellingA stranger is found murdered in Olivier’s Bistro in Three Pines, and Chief Inspector Gamache is dismayed to find Olivier’s story full of holes. Gamache follows a trail of clues into the woods and across the continent before returning to Three Pines to confront the truth and the final, brutal telling.Bury Your DeadIt’s Winter Carnival in Quebec City, when Chief Inspector Gamache is called to investigate a dead body at the Literary and Historical Society. Meanwhile, Gamache is receiving disquieting letters from Three Pines, and as past and present collide, he must relive a terrible event from his own past before he can begin to bury his dead.
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17) The Chief Inspector Gamache Series, Books 1 – 10 – 2015

  • louise17Book Summary: #1 New York Times and Globe and Mail bestselling author Louise Penny’s beloved Chief Inspector Gamache mystery novels have received critical acclaim, won numerous awards, and have enthralled millions of readers.
    Featuring Chief Inspector of Homicide Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec, these extraordinary novels are here together for the first time in a fabulous ebook bundle.Still Life
    Gamache and his team are called to the scene of a suspicious death in Three Pines. The locals are certain it’s a tragic hunting accident, but Gamache smells something foul this Thanksgiving season.A Fatal Grace
    When CC de Poitiers is found dead the day after Christmas, electrocuted in the middle of a curling match, Gamache digs beneath the surface to find where the real secrets are buried. But it seems he has enemies of his own, and with the coming of the winter winds, something far more chilling is in store.The Cruelest Month
    A group of Three Pines villagers celebrate Easter with a séance at the Old Hadley House, hoping to rid the town of its evil-until one of their party dies of fright. Was it a natural death, or murder? As Gamache investigates, he will face his own ghosts as well as those residing in this seemingly idyllic town.A Rule Against Murder
    Gamache and his wife are celebrating their anniversary at the luxurious, isolated Manoir Bellechasse. When a dead body turns up in the midst of a family reunion, Gamache learns that the lodge is a place where visitors come to escape their past, until that past catches up with them.The Brutal Telling
    A stranger is found murdered in Olivier’s Bistro in Three Pines, and Gamache is dismayed to find Olivier’s story full of holes. Gamache follows a trail of clues into the woods and across the continent before returning to Three Pines to confront the truth and the final, brutal telling.Bury Your Dead
    It’s Winter Carnival in Quebec City, when Gamache is called to investigate a dead body at the Literary and Historical Society. Meanwhile, Gamache is receiving disquieting letters from Three Pines.A Trick of the Light
    When Three Pines artist Clara Morrow’s former friend is found dead in her garden, Gamache finds the art world is one of shading and nuance, shadow and light. Even when facts are slowly exposed, it is no longer clear to Gamache and his team if what they’ve found is the truth, or simply a trick of the light.The Beautiful Mystery
    Outsiders are ever admitted to the monastery of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups, where the monks are world-famous for their glorious chants. But when the renowned choir director is murdered, the lock is drawn back to admit Chief Inspector Gamache.How the Light Gets In
    As Christmas approaches, Gamache travels to Three Pines as a favor to the bookshop owner Myrna Landers, whose friend has gone missing. With mounting crises in his own homicide department, Gamache finds himself not only investigating a murder, but also seeking refuge for himself and his still-loyal colleagues–if such a refuge exists.The Long Way Home
    Happily retired in Three Pines, Gamache has finally found peace. But when Clara Morrow’s artist husband, Peter, fails to show up as promised on the first anniversary of their separation, Gamache agrees to join her on a journey far from Three Pines in search of him.
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18) The Nature of the Beast – 2015 (11th Book in The Chief Inspector Gamache Series of Louise Penny)

  • louise18-scaledBook Summary: The Nature of the Beast is a New York Times bestselling Chief Inspector Gamache novel from Louise Penny.Hardly a day goes by when nine year old Laurent Lepage doesn’t cry wolf. From alien invasions, to walking trees, to winged beasts in the woods, to dinosaurs spotted in the village of Three Pines, his tales are so extraordinary no one can possibly believe him. Including Armand and Reine-Marie Gamache, who now live in the little Quebec village.But when the boy disappears, the villagers are faced with the possibility that one of his tall tales might have been true.And so begins a frantic search for the boy and the truth. What they uncover deep in the forest sets off a sequence of events that leads to murder, leads to an old crime, leads to an old betrayal. Leads right to the door of an old poet.And now it is now, writes Ruth Zardo. And the dark thing is here.A monster once visited Three Pines. And put down deep roots. And now, Ruth knows, it is back.Armand Gamache, the former head of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec, must face the possibility that, in not believing the boy, he himself played a terrible part in what happens next.
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19) A Great Reckoning: A Novel – 2016 (12th Book in The Chief Inspector Gamache Series of Louise Penny)

  • louise19Book Summary: Instant New York Times bestseller:#1 in Hardcover Fiction
    #1 in E-book Fiction
    #1 in Combined Print and E-book Fiction“Deep and grand and altogether extraordinary….Miraculous.”
    The Washington Post“Artful…Powerful…Magical.”
    – The New York Times Book Review“Superb”
    – PeopleA Great Reckoning succeeds on every level.”
    St. Louis Post-Dispatch

    #1 New York Times bestselling author Louise Penny pulls back the layers to reveal a brilliant and emotionally powerful truth in her latest spellbinding novel.When an intricate old map is found stuffed into the walls of the bistro in Three Pines, it at first seems no more than a curiosity. But the closer the villagers look, the stranger it becomes.Given to Armand Gamache as a gift the first day of his new job, the map eventually leads him to shattering secrets. To an old friend and older adversary. It leads the former Chief of Homicide for the Sûreté du Québec to places even he is afraid to go. But must.And there he finds four young cadets in the Sûreté academy, and a dead professor. And, with the body, a copy of the old, odd map.Everywhere Gamache turns, he sees Amelia Choquet, one of the cadets. Tattooed and pierced. Guarded and angry. Amelia is more likely to be found on the other side of a police line-up. And yet she is in the academy. A protégée of the murdered professor.The focus of the investigation soon turns to Gamache himself and his mysterious relationship with Amelia, and his possible involvement in the crime. The frantic search for answers takes the investigators back to Three Pines and a stained glass window with its own horrific secrets.For both Amelia Choquet and Armand Gamache, the time has come for a great reckoning.
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20) Glass Houses – 2017 (13th Book in The Chief Inspector Gamache Series of Louise Penny)

  • louise21-scaledBook Summary: An instant New York Times Bestseller and August 2017 LibraryReads pick!
    “Penny’s absorbing, intricately plotted 13th Gamache novel proves she only gets better at pursuing dark truths with compassion and grace.” ―PEOPLE

    “Louise Penny wrote the book on escapist mysteries.” ―The New York Times Book Review

    “You won’t want Louise Penny’s latest to end….Any plot summary of Penny’s novels inevitably falls short of conveying the dark magic of this series…. It takes nerve and skill ― as well as heart ― to write mysteries like this. ‘Glass Houses,’ along with many of the other Gamache books, is so compelling that, for the space of reading it, you may well feel that much of what’s going on in the world outside the novel is ‘just noise.’” ―Maureen Corrigan, The Washington Post

    When a mysterious figure appears in Three Pines one cold November day, Armand Gamache and the rest of the villagers are at first curious. Then wary. Through rain and sleet, the figure stands unmoving, staring ahead.From the moment its shadow falls over the village, Gamache, now Chief Superintendent of the Sûreté du Québec, suspects the creature has deep roots and a dark purpose. Yet he does nothing. What can he do? Only watch and wait. And hope his mounting fears are not realized.But when the figure vanishes overnight and a body is discovered, it falls to Gamache to discover if a debt has been paid or levied.Months later, on a steamy July day as the trial for the accused begins in Montréal, Chief Superintendent Gamache continues to struggle with actions he set in motion that bitter November, from which there is no going back. More than the accused is on trial. Gamache’s own conscience is standing in judgment.In Glass Houses, her latest utterly gripping book, number-one New York Times bestselling author Louise Penny shatters the conventions of the crime novel to explore what Gandhi called the court of conscience. A court that supersedes all others.
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21) The Armand Gamache Series, Books 1-12 – 2017

  • louise22Book Summary: #1 New York Times and Globe and Mail bestselling author Louise Penny’s beloved Chief Inspector Gamache mystery novels have received critical acclaim, won numerous awards, and enthralled millions of readers.Featuring Chief Inspector of Homicide Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec, these extraordinary novels are together for the first time in a fabulous ebook bundle.
    Still Life–Gamache and his team are called to the scene of a suspicious death in Three Pines. The locals are certain it’s a tragic hunting accident, but Gamache smells something foul.A Fatal Grace–When CC de Poitiers is found dead the day after Christmas, Gamache digs beneath the surface to find where the real secrets are buried. But it seems he has enemies of his own, and something far more chilling awaits.The Cruelest Month–A group of Three Pines villagers celebrate Easter with a séance at the Old Hadley House, hoping to rid the town of its evil. One of their party dies-of fright? Or murder? Gamache must face his own ghosts as well as those residing in this seemingly idyllic town.A Rule Against Murder–Gamache and his wife are celebrating their anniversary at the luxurious, isolated Manoir Bellechasse. When a dead body turns up, Gamache learns that the lodge is a place where visitors come to escape their past, until that past catches up with them.The Brutal Telling–A stranger is found murdered in Olivier’s Bistro, and Gamache is dismayed to find Olivier’s story full of holes. Gamache follows clues across the continent before returning to Three Pines to confront the final, brutal telling.Bury Your Dead–It’s Winter Carnival in Quebec City, when Gamache is called to investigate a dead body at the Literary and Historical Society. Meanwhile, Gamache is receiving disquieting letters from Three Pines.A Trick of the Light–When Three Pines artist Clara Morrow’s former friend is found dead in her garden, Gamache finds the art world is one of shading and nuance, shadow and light. Even when facts are slowly exposed, it is no longer clear to Gamache and his team if what they’ve found is the truth, or simply a trick of the light.The Beautiful Mystery–Outsiders are never admitted to the monastery of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups, where the monks are world-famous for their glorious chants. But when the renowned choir director is murdered, the lock is drawn back to admit Gamache.How the Light Gets In–Gamache travels to Three Pines as a favor to the bookshop owner Myrna Landers, whose friend has gone missing. With mounting crises in his own homicide department, Gamache finds himself not only investigating a murder, but also seeking refuge for himself and his still-loyal colleagues.The Long Way Home–Happily retired in Three Pines, Gamache has found peace. But when Clara Morrow’s artist husband, Peter, fails to show up as promised on the first anniversary of their separation, Gamache agrees to join her on a journey far away in search of him.The Nature of the Beast–When a boy prone to tall tales disappears from Three Pines, the villagers are faced with the possibility that one of his stories might have been true. The search sends Gamache deep into the forest and sets off a sequence of events leading to murder, an old crime, and a betrayal.A Great Reckoning–An intricate old map, given to Armand Gamache on the first day of his new job, now found stuffed into the walls of the bistro in Three Pines, leads Gamache to four cadets in the Sûreté academy, and a dead professor.
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22) Kingdom of the Blind – 2018 (14th Book in The Chief Inspector Gamache Series of Louise Penny)

  • louise23-scaledBook Summary: INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERA December 2018 Indie Next Pick
    One of Kirkus Reviews‘ Best of 2018 Picks
    BookPage Best of the Year 2018
    A LibraryReads Pick for November 2018
    A LibraryReads Hall of Fame Winner
    Washington Post‘s 10 Books to Read This November
    One of PopSugar’s Best Fall Books to Curl Up With“A captivating, wintry whodunit.” ―PEOPLE“A constantly surprising series that deepens and darkens as it evolves.” ―Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review

    Kingdom of the Blind, the new Chief Inspector Gamache novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author.When a peculiar letter arrives inviting Armand Gamache to an abandoned farmhouse, the former head of the Sûreté du Québec discovers that a complete stranger has named him one of the executors of her will. Still on suspension, and frankly curious, Gamache accepts and soon learns that the other two executors are Myrna Landers, the bookseller from Three Pines, and a young builder.None of them had ever met the elderly woman.The will is so odd and includes bequests that are so wildly unlikely that Gamache and the others suspect the woman must have been delusional. But what if, Gamache begins to ask himself, she was perfectly sane?When a body is found, the terms of the bizarre will suddenly seem less peculiar and far more menacing.But it isn’t the only menace Gamache is facing.The investigation into what happened six months ago―the events that led to his suspension―has dragged on, into the dead of winter. And while most of the opioids he allowed to slip through his hands, in order to bring down the cartels, have been retrieved, there is one devastating exception.Enough narcotic to kill thousands has disappeared into inner city Montreal. With the deadly drug about to hit the streets, Gamache races for answers.As he uses increasingly audacious, even desperate, measures to retrieve the drug, Armand Gamache begins to see his own blind spots. And the terrible things hiding there.
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Books Worth Reading:

23) A Better Man – 2019 (15th Book in The Chief Inspector Gamache Series of Louise Penny)

  • louise24-scaledBook Summary: “‘A Better Man,’ with its mix of meteorological suspense, psychological insight and criminal pursuit, is arguably the best book yet in an outstanding, original oeuvre.” —Tom Nolan, The Wall Street Journal
    “Enchanting… one of his most ennobling missions.” —Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book ReviewCatastrophic spring flooding, blistering attacks in the media, and a mysterious disappearance greet Chief Inspector Armand Gamache as he returns to the Sûreté du Québec in the latest novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author Louise Penny.It’s Gamache’s first day back as head of the homicide department, a job he temporarily shares with his previous second-in-command, Jean-Guy Beauvoir. Flood waters are rising across the province. In the middle of the turmoil a father approaches Gamache, pleading for help in finding his daughter.As crisis piles upon crisis, Gamache tries to hold off the encroaching chaos, and realizes the search for Vivienne Godin should be abandoned. But with a daughter of his own, he finds himself developing a profound, and perhaps unwise, empathy for her distraught father.Increasingly hounded by the question, how would you feel…, he resumes the search.As the rivers rise, and the social media onslaught against Gamache becomes crueler, a body is discovered. And in the tumult, mistakes are made.In the next novel in this “constantly surprising series that deepens and darkens as it evolves” (New York Times Book Review), Gamache must face a horrific possibility, and a burning question.What would you do if your child’s killer walked free?
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Conclusion

If you are looking for another author, book series or even genre to read next then check out our collection of must reads here.

About the Author

CJ grew up admiring books. His family owned a small bookstore throughout his early childhood, and he would spend weekends flipping through book after book, always sure to read the ones that looked the most interesting. Not much has changed since then, except now some of those interesting books he picks off the shelf were designed by his company!