The Grey Wolf

Jean Brassard, Louise Penny's choice to narrate her 19th Armand Gamache/Three Pines novel, proves an inspired selection. From his portrayals of familiar Three Pines residents to his introduction of new characters, Brassard, a native Quebecois and award-winning actor, gets it right. Domestic terrorism takes Gamache, Jean-Guy, and Isabelle from Montreal to the Vatican and to an isolated French monastery. Brassard's accents--whether French Canadian, Italian, or continental French--create indelible characters. His performance lets us feel Reine Marie's warmth and Armand's affectionate nature, and he adds an additional layer to surly Ruth and her potty-mouthed duck. Exciting and entertaining. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

Starred review from December 1, 2024

Penny returns with the pulse-pounding 19th installment in her "Chief Inspector Gamache" series, following A World of Curiosities. The story opens as Gamache and his wife, Reine-Marie, are enjoying breakfast in their Three Pines garden. Soon, the idyllic picture is shattered by mysterious phone calls, an unsettling break-in, a meeting with a shady stranger, and cryptic clues pointing to an impending disaster of epic proportions. This latest recording features a new narrator, Quebecois actor Jean Brassard, who seems poised to become a fan favorite after taking the reins from talented British narrator Robert Bathurst. Penny pulls out all the stops, and Brassard ably jumps into the fray, capturing tender portraits of Three Pines one moment and, in the next, conveying fraught tension as Gamache and his compatriots fight to save hundreds of thousands of lives. Listeners will be on the edges of their seats as the action reaches a climax, complete with a harrowing gun battle, international intrigue, and danger at the highest levels of government. VERDICT Fans of Penny's beloved audiobooks can breathe a sigh of relief, for new series narrator Brassard doesn't miss a step. This latest trip to Three Pines is well worth the price of admission.--Sarah Hashimoto

Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

The Grey Wolf is the latest in the ‘Armand Gamache’ series of novels. Two murders have been reported to the homicide division of the Sûreté du Québec: a woman in the Saguenay region who worked for Canada Post, and a male teacher on the Magdalen Islands. Both victims seem to be law-abiding citizens, unknown to each other. A research assistant at a not-for-profit organisation requests an appointment with Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, head of homicide. As the assistant leaves the meeting, he’s knocked down and killed by a hit-and-run driver. The driver of the stolen van involved is later found murdered. Gamache needs to decipher the puzzling information received from the research assistant. The subsequent investigation uncovers political corruption, and a group that is exasperated with the restrictions of democracy. Humour creeps in now and again but the emphasis is on suspense, especially when Gamache realises there’s a serious threat to the citizens of Québec and has only a limited time to prevent its happening. The homicide team face danger at every turn … while their families back at home in the village of Three Pines, just north of the United States border, worry and overeat at Olivier’s bistro. The Grey Wolf is a thriller and, as such, I was happy to accept implausible situations, suspend my disbelief in common sense, and allow credibility to fly out the window. I was not, however, expecting to sit through many tiresome discussions in which the facts are rehashed and the plot does not progress. A forceful editor with a vigorous red pen was needed before the book went to press. Reviewed by Clive Hodges   ABOUT THE AUTHOR   2009 portrait of Louise Penny I live outside a small village south of Montreal, quite close to the American border. My husband Michael and I have long had dogs, all golden retrievers. Bonnie, Maggie, Seamus, Trudy and now Bishop. Some came as puppies, some were adopted as adults. All beloved. Michael and I were together for 22 years and married for 20. He was the inspiration for Armand Gamache. Kindly, thoughtful, generous, a man of courage and integrity, who both loved and accepted love. He developed dementia, and died peacefully at home in September 2016, surrounded by the love he’d put into the world for his 83 years. So now it’s Bishop and me. But we’re far from alone. We have the village, and all our friends including My Assistant Lise, and the indomitable, happy spirit of Michael. And, of course, the company of Armand, Clara, Ruth, Gabri and Olivier et al. I came to writing later in life. I was well into my 40’s before STILL LIFE, the first ‘Gamache’ novel, was published. I am deeply aware of how lucky I am to be writing, and published, and enjoying success. And believe me, I am enjoying it. It would be such a shame not to appreciate such a gift. Before being published I was a journalist with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. But Michael’s support allowed me to quit work to write. He was not only the inspiration for the books, but he made them possible. If you’d like to know more about our lives, and the life of the books, you can go to the archive of monthly newsletters. I’m so glad you’ve discovered Three Pines. I’m so glad I did. Visit Louise Penny’s website

The Grey Wolf (14.5 hours), the action-packed latest addition to Louise Penny’s Chief Inspector Gamache series, takes the listener from the village of Three Pines to a medieval monastery, then back to cosmopolitan Montreal, as Armand Gamache and his colleagues face an ecoterrorism plot on a greater scale than anything they’ve encountered before. All of the Gamache novels celebrate the francophone Québécois culture, so it is a little ironic that the previous audiobook narrators, Ralph Cosham and Robert Bathurst, were British actors. They both did an excellent job, but could not have accurately recreated the sound and texture of the characters’ voices—it’s to their credit that they didn’t try. However, the new narrator, Jean Brassard, a Québéc-born actor, brings an authentic Québécois accent to his performance without sacrificing clarity or enunciation, granting the listener the pleasure of hearing Gamache as he would really sound. Read our starred review of the print version of The Grey Wolf.