Happily retired in the village of Three Pines, Armand Gamache, former Chief Inspector of Homicide with the S ret du Qu bec, 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 … 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 Qu bec. 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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Strangely Fascinating!
Armand Gamache would like to lay the past to rest and enjoy his retirement in the picturesque Quebec village of Three Pines with its cast of eccentric characters, but a mystery compels him to help an old friend.
Clara Morrow loves her husband, even though his jealousy is driving them apart. Not of another man, but because of her newfound fame as an artist. Clara suggests a one year separation to rethink their relationship and is distraught when he doesn’t return on their anniversary as he promised. She asks Gamache for help and though he almost fears leaving the safe haven of Three Pines, he enlists the help of his son-in-law and former second in command to retrace Peter’s footsteps.
What follows is a slightly strange and yet meaningful journey that winds up on the shores of the St. Lawrence River in what mariners called the land God gave to Cain.
I love how the author brings us full circle from what seems like something innocuous to a dramatic ending.
Favorite Lines
Turmoil shook loose all sorts of unpleasant truths. But it took peace to examine them.
Penny, Louise. The Long Way Home: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel (A Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery Book 10) (p. 4). St. Martin’s Press. Kindle Edition.
After spending most of her life scanning the horizon for slights and threats, genuine and imagined, she knew the real threat to her happiness came not from the dot in the distance, but from looking for it. Expecting it. Waiting for it. And in some cases, creating it. Her father had jokingly accused her of living in the wreckage of her future.
Penny, Louise. The Long Way Home: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel (A Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery Book 10) (pp. 22-23). St. Martin’s Press. Kindle Edition.
This painting flouted all the rules of art and most of the rules of common courtesy. It was a bad smell tacked to the wall.
Penny, Louise. The Long Way Home: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel (A Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery Book 10) (p. 83). St. Martin’s Press. Kindle Edition.
“A poem begins as a lump in the throat,” said Armand Gamache as he took a seat on one of Ruth’s white preformed chairs. “You make it sound like a fur ball,” said Ruth.
Penny, Louise. The Long Way Home: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel (A Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery Book 10) (p. 151). St. Martin’s Press. Kindle Edition.
I had to add the last one- I love Ruth
I give The Long Way Home 5 lovely kisses- A Haunting Masterpiece!
I’m a huge fan of Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache series, and THE LONG WAY HOME is no exception. The same cast of engaging characters drew me into the pages, yet again. And just when I’d gotten my “sea legs” (no spoilers here), a completely unexpected twist came out of nowhere and threw me for the proverbial loop. No, I’m not going to tell you what it is. You wouldn’t believe me if I did.
Peter did not return to Three Pines when Clara expected him and asks Armand to help her find him. Armand, Jean-Guy, Clara and Myrna set off to trace Peter’s travels and discover some interesting places that he has visited. Clara insists that she be in charge since she knows Peter the best as his wife. Armand agrees over Jean-Guy’s protests, and she does a pretty good job. There were many places discussed that I had not heard of and was surprised by. The mystery is slow and twisty but engrossing.
Great characters in a great series
Superb writing. Wonderful series, can’t wait for the next Gamache fix.
How far would you go to make sure someone you love is okay if they didn’t meet you when they were committed to? Clara and her friends went all over. I didn’t like Peter before this book and by the end I cried for him.
louise penny is among the best
Any Louise Penny novel is excellent. Her writing paints such a vivid picture and her characters are so well drawn out that you can place yourself in the story and see what the characters see and understand their motivations.
I do enjoy these forays into Three Pines to visit with the characters there, to uncover some of their previous lives and to understand their emotional make up. Clara and the absent Peter , along with their art, comprise the bulk of this novel. It is not my favorite, but I still enjoyed it.
I love everything Ms Penny writes. I love her characters and the story plots. Can’t get any better.
Louise Penny is top notch!
Louise Penny has a way of building her story universe such that you are immersed in the various setting of Three Pines, can relate to (hate or love) the characters she creates, and always provides deft plot twists to the story. And many Surprises and “didn’t see that coming” moments. This applies to every one of her Inspector Gamache series books, and I highly recommend starting at the beginning and bingeing your way through to the end.
Good story beautifully written
It’s Louise Penny. NeedI say more.
I read this book and became so hooked I have read about 10 of her books. The characters are good some of them are funny as can be, I end up laughing at what they say. Check out her books.
one of her best!
So Sad.
Another great chapter in Gamache’s life… I crave these books!
Louise Penny is one of my favorite authors. Her books are well written and the characters are like old friends. I savor how Penny unwraps the storyline, the dialogue, and develops characters, even the ‘ensemble cast’.
Not the best in series but I needed to know the ending