by Aelwen Iredale, Staff Writer
Do you watch Hallmark movies as a guilty pleasure but also like compelling mysteries? Then I have the perfect series of mystery novels for you: Chief Inspector Armand Gamache by Louise Penny.
Louise Penny is a bestselling author, which isn’t impressive in a world where every book declares itself a bestseller—so who knows the truth—but her prowess is revealed in her writing and her six Agatha Awards. (Agatha as in Agatha Christie, proving Penny’s worth as a mystery writer.) However, her audience doesn’t need any awards to see that she is a master of mystery just as Christie was. The Gamache series treads the line between complex mysteries like that of Christie with twists and carefully planted clues while maintaining a sense of comfort like a Hallmark movie. Yes, people joke about the quality of Hallmark content regularly, but no one can say they aren’t a feel-good production. And that is what Penny provides in her series with Chief Inspector Armand Gamache—comfort wrapped in a compelling mystery.
Gamache finds himself in the small town of Three Pines in Quebec to investigate various murders, but although the rural town setting could lend itself to creepiness, the audience is instead connected to the warm family of friends living within. Penny creates characters filled with emotions and passion with the married couple Peter and Clara Morrow—two painters discovering their own talent and finding inspiration in the world around them. She crafts a level-headed voice of reason in Myrna, the bookseller and ex-therapist who has seen the best and worst of humanity and continues to live despite it all. She livens the world with the banter between Olivier and Gabri—gay partners running an inn and bistro—and Ruth, a grouchy, swearing poet who hides her warmth behind a rough exterior.
Instead of treating Three Pines as a creepy, mysterious setting for murders, Penny opts to allow it to be warm and inviting. Gamache and his team—similarly a family like the people of Three Pines with Isabel Lacoste the heart and Jean-Guy Beauvoir the son—are drawn into the folds of the town instead of being pushed to the outside, and the reader becomes a part of the growing family as they read the conversations in the bistro and imagine the warmth of the fire and the delicious sweets awaiting them within. Truly, Penny brings Three Pines alive with its people and community. To open her book is to become a part of the story and wish to belong to the world the characters live within.
However, Penny does not shy away from tougher subjects, either. Her books touch on subjects of humanity such as abandonment, bigotry, and abuse beyond the physical. She shows how spirits break down and cause so much harm in the world. Penny understands the human mind and heart and how dark both can be, but she also reminds readers that there is always hope. Her series never becomes dark, and there is a constant presence of true humanity and kindness through every book.
So, if you want a good mystery but also want the joy of curling up in a warm blanket and feeling at home, Penny’s Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is for you. It is a collection for people who want to see humanity in its entirety.