Glass Houses by Louise Penny
The arrival of a new Inspector Armand Gamache mystery is like getting together with a dear friend who you may only see once a year, but with whom you are instantly at ease once you connect. There is a feeling of comfort, home, familiarity about the small Quebec village in which he has a house, Three Pines, and the recurring band of eccentric characters who are his friends and neighbors.
But don’t be fooled by Louise Penny’s reliance on her beautifully constructed fictional community. At first you might think you are in for a twee, cozy mystery – a place that crime can’t stay away from, but is all very quaint and frankly not very menacing. In fact, Louise Penny writes with an ease of style but she addresses weighty issues that underlie the crimes that Gamache is investigating.
The latest, Glass Houses, is the 13th in the series and is no exception. In it she examines the notion of conscience and what our conscience permits us to do or not do, can we serve a higher purpose even with acts that seem unconscionable.? And there on page one, we are introduced to the cerebral Gamache who, as the head of the Sûreté du Quebec, the highest ranking officer, is testifying in court – “Sitting uncomfortably on the hard chair, under oath, Arman d Gamache admitted to himself that while he believed in the law, had spent his career working within the justice system, what he really had to answer to was his conscience.”
This sweltering hot July he is testifying in a murder case that happened the previous fall. When a dark mysterious figure, perhaps death, appears at the Three Pines Halloween festivities, the village is spooked. The figure is a Cobrador, a figure from Spanish lore who follows debtors in modern times, but who in history follows someone without a conscience. Its presence is not illegal, but when it disappears after a few days and a death occurs, it’s up to Gamache and his team to figure out whose conscience was targeted.
Penny moves back and forth between the testimony in that steamy hot courtroom, and the village around the time of the murder to lay out a tightly woven narrative that extends beyond that murder and has implications for the Quebecois community writ large and may also imperil Gamache’s own career.
It’s hard to explain much more without revealing too much about the plot. Having had the pleasure of interviewing Louise Penny in front of her legions of fans, I know she is always wary of giving away the plot.
What I can tell you is that the village she has created, Three Pines, feels like a refuge, its appearance in regular crimes not withstanding. The local bistro, run by Olivier and Gabri, is an anchor in the village – “Both fireplaces on either end of the bistro, were lit. And now the only sound, besides some labored breathing, was the cheery crackle of the logs. The place smelled of wood smoke and rich coffee. And wet wool from those who’d arrived late, hurrying through the damp afternoon.” There is a bookshop, bakery, library all inhabited by quirky characters who manage to be endearing at the same time. There’s a crazy poet, Ruth, a retired psychologist, Myrna, their good friend and artist Clara, and Gamache’s ideal wife, Reine-Marie.
Her lead character is Armand Gamache, a man with strong ties to his community and a challenging career in the Sûreté. At first blush he appears to have the avuncular manner of a great uncle, combined with the pomposity of Hercule Poirot. In Penny’s capable hands he is something much more. He has learned the lessons of leadership, he is able to see past the surface of people as well as situations, he brings a cerebral sense to his job, his moral compass is steady, but he is still kind of pompous.
Penny lulls you into the inviting and cozy world of Three Pines but then always manages to lay out an intricate and breathtakingly complex plot in language that is direct and effective, that surrounds you with a sense of methodical calm but that expertly leads to a heart-racing climax. That’s not an easy trick to pull off and Penny does it every time with such assuredness and confidence and a blend of character and entertainment that makes this, along with so many of Penny’s novels, the perfect book as the afternoons start to get shorter, when the temperatures begin to drop, the fireplace is going and the hot cider is simmering. You will be transported to a world you will want to return to repeatedly.
BEFORE YOU READ:
Length: 388 pages
Genre: Mystery
Themes: conscience, folklore, friendship, revenge
Commitment: the perfect book to get lost in as we enter the fall.
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