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How the Light Gets In: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel Audiobook
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Publisher Description
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 Cohen
Christmas 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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"I read one of the Chief Inspectior Gamache novels out of order, and am so glad that I decided to go back to the beginning to read them in order. This was by far the best one yet, and even better because I knew all the back story. My only regret is that one day I will read them all, and have no more left. May Louise Penny live and write forever!"
— christi (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“This is a mystery novel worth staying home for: Cancel those weekend plans, crank up the air conditioner, and mute all electronic devices. You’ll want plenty of silence and slow time to savor How the Light Gets In, the ninth novel in Louise Penny’s extraordinary series.”
— Washington Post -
“With the grace of a master prose stylist and the generosity born of a kind heart, Penny again explores the mysteries of humanity in a novel that builds to a nerve-burning climax, engages the mind in an examination of sin and redemption, and ends in tears of relief. Suffused with brilliance on all levels, How the Light Gets In displays Penny at her beautiful and bountiful best.”
— Richmond Times-Dispatch -
“Once again, Penny delivers a masterful, nuanced suspense novel in which tone and setting are just as riveting as the murderer’s who and why.”
— People (4 stars) -
“If you have not yet made the acquaintance of Armand Gamache, Chief Inspector of the Québec Homicide Department, now is an excellent time to do so…Intriguing plot lines, marvelous character development, and heavy atmospherics make this series a winner.”
— Christian Science Monitor -
“Penny writes with grace and intelligence about complex people struggling with complex emotions. But her great gift is her uncanny ability to describe what might seem indescribable—the play of light, the sound of celestial music, a quiet sense of peace.”
— New York Times Book Review -
“Sophisticated and complex…Penny immerses the reader in a high-suspense cyber-hacking drama emanating from the off-the-grid Three Pines that proves not only pivotal but memorable…At the center of everything is Gamache—a modest, smart, kind-hearted man whose empathy and warmth may be his fatal flaw and certainly defy that of stereotypic crime-thriller detectives…You buy into it…because, if it were true, this would somehow be a better world. And you want it to be true, even if only in fiction. Sometimes that’s how the light gets in.”
— USA Today -
“Louise Penny twists and turns the plot, expertly tripping the reader up just at the moment you think you might have solved the mystery. She excels with the characterization of Armand Gamache. Creating through him a story of human perseverance in the face of personal turmoil. He is a deeply complex character…Unrelentingly fast-paced, it powers through its narrative with the force of a high-speed train.”
— Daily Express (UK) -
“Louise Penny has done it again. Magic. Wonderful, captivating, heart-pumping, edge-of-the-seat magic.”
— Huffington Post -
“Over the course of her career, Penny has won practically every award that exists for mystery fiction, all richly deserved. She writes a quiet mystery, more introspection and character study than thriller, and delves into the deepest recesses of her characters with a clarity and intensity that is both painful and perversely soothing. Her plots are woven as deftly as characters, making this novel, like its predecessors, a joy to read.”
— Shelf Awareness -
“A magnificent writer who deftly and sympathetically explores the dark desires, pains and joys of the human heart in each immaculately crafted tale she writes.”
— Cleveland Plain Dealer -
“Masterful…Once again, Penny impressively balances personal courage and faith with heartbreaking choices and monstrous evil.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
“Highly recommended for mystery lovers, readers who enjoy character-driven mysteries, and those who like seeing good triumph and evil get its just desserts.”
— Library Journal (starred review) -
“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.”
— Booklist (starred review) -
“Three Pines, with its quirky tenants and luminous insights into trust and friendship…will hook readers and keep them hooked.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review) -
“Louise Penny's Three Pines mysteries are eminently satisfying due to their imaginative variety. The stories include scenes of Montreal sophistication and gritty crime contrasted with the idyllic setting of Three Pines. There's also literary appeal, quirky humor, and – let's not forget – murder.
— AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award Winner -
Penny writes engagingly whether you're reading her books or listening to them. An argument for the latter is that her characters – not the least being Gamache, the gentle, brilliant, introspective and beleaguered head of the Surete division – are enriched beyond description through the distinctive voice of reader Ralph Cosham
— The Star-Ledger -
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. Highly recommended for series devotees or fans of literary mysteries.
— Library Journal, starred review -
An engrossing, well produced audio. The avuncular voice of narrator Ralph Cosham 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.
— Publishers Weekly -
Ralph Cosham narrates again, his voice now truly Gamache's and his pace perfectly matched to Penny's graceful prose.
— BookPage -
Cosham's masterful narration places listeners with Gamache in this emotion packed series entry.
— Booklist
Awards
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A BookPage Top Pick for September 2013
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A Barnes & Noble Best Book for August 2013
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Selected for the September 2013 Indie Next List
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A USA Today bestseller
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A #1 New York Times bestseller
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Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award
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A Publishers Weekly bestseller
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A Los Angeles Times bestseller
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A Library Journal Best Book for 2013
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A 2013 Washington Post Top 10 Book for Fiction
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A 2014 Edgar Allan Poe Award Nominee for Best Novel
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A 2014 Macavity Award Nominee
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Shortlisted for the 2014 CWA Gold Dagger
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A September 2013 LibraryReads Pick
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Among longlisted titles for Barnes and Noble Best New Books of the Year, 2013
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The Globe Books 100, 2013
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Among longlisted titles for Apple iBooks Best of the Year, 2013
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Among longlisted titles for AudioFile Best Voices, 2013
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Nominated for Edgar Allan Poe Award Nominee, 2014
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Winner of NPR Best Book of the Year, 2013
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Among longlisted titles for Library Journal Best Books of the Year, 2013
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Nominated for Agatha Awards - Nominee, 2013
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Among longlisted titles for Washington Post Best Books of the Year, 2013
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Among longlisted titles for Boston Globe Best Books of the Year, 2013
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Edgar Allen Poe Award Nominee, 2014
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Among longlisted titles for Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year, 2013
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Among longlisted titles for AudioFile Best Audiobooks, 2013
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Among longlisted titles for Barnes and Noble Best New Books of the Year, 2013
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The Globe Books 100, 2013
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Among longlisted titles for Apple iBooks Best of the Year, 2013
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Among longlisted titles for AudioFile Best Voices, 2013
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Nominated for Edgar Allan Poe Award Nominee, 2014
-
Winner of NPR Best Book of the Year, 2013
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Among longlisted titles for Library Journal Best Books of the Year, 2013
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Nominated for Agatha Awards - Nominee, 2013
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Among longlisted titles for Washington Post Best Books of the Year, 2013
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Among longlisted titles for Boston Globe Best Books of the Year, 2013
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Edgar Allen Poe Award Nominee, 2014
-
Among longlisted titles for Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year, 2013
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Among longlisted titles for AudioFile Best Audiobooks, 2013
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Among longlisted titles for Barnes and Noble Best New Books of the Year, 2013
-
The Globe Books 100, 2013
-
Among longlisted titles for Apple iBooks Best of the Year, 2013
-
Among longlisted titles for AudioFile Best Voices, 2013
-
Nominated for Edgar Allan Poe Award Nominee, 2014
-
Winner of NPR Best Book of the Year, 2013
-
Among longlisted titles for Library Journal Best Books of the Year, 2013
-
Nominated for Agatha Awards - Nominee, 2013
-
Among longlisted titles for Washington Post Best Books of the Year, 2013
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Among longlisted titles for Boston Globe Best Books of the Year, 2013
-
Edgar Allen Poe Award Nominee, 2014
-
Among longlisted titles for Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year, 2013
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Among longlisted titles for AudioFile Best Audiobooks, 2013
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About Louise Penny
Louise Penny is the author of the #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Toronto Globe and Mail bestselling series of Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novels. She is also coauthor with Hillary Rodham Clinton of the #1 New York Times bestselling thriller State of Terror. She has won numerous awards, including eight Agatha Awards and a CWA Dagger, and was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Novel. In 2017, she received the Order of Canada for her contributions to Canadian culture.
About the Narrators
Geoffrey Howard (a.k.a. Ralph Cosham) was a stage actor and an award-winning narrator. He recorded more than 100 audiobooks in his lifetime and won the prestigious Audio Award for Best Narration and several AudioFile Earphones Awards.
Geoffrey Howard (a.k.a. Ralph Cosham) was a stage actor and an award-winning narrator. He recorded more than 100 audiobooks in his lifetime and won the prestigious Audio Award for Best Narration and several AudioFile Earphones Awards.