The Joy of Three Pines – Lousie Penny and the Launch of The Black Wolf

I’ve always loved a good mystery novel.

I love not knowing the solution and trying to figure out who did the crime, piecing together the red herrings and breadcrumbs until the end of the book when the killer is revealed. I love it when a mystery has me so captivated that I forget to pay attention to the clues that are hiding in plain sight. What I love even more is not getting it right. I love it when an author brings me to the point where the killer is revealed and everything I should have seen is laid out in front of me.  For me, that is the mark of a good mystery.

My mother introduced me to mystery novels as a child, and I couldn’t get enough of them. It wasn’t just the mystery that held me captivated, it was the characters that lived within the book. I read every book by Agatha Christie, Minette Walters, Ruth Rendell, Robert B. Parker, Mary Higgins Clark, Sue Grafton and more. I think part of what I loved about mysteries was that the killer was (almost) always caught and good (usually) triumphed over evil.

I hadn’t read a mystery novel in years when my mother introduced me to the Armand Gamache books set in and around Three Pines. I had never heard of Louise Penny before, but I knew within the first few pages of Still Life that I was reading something incredible. I zoomed through the first three books in a week and continued reading them, getting lost in the world that Louise Penny had created.

The mysteries by Louise Penny were unlike anything I had ever read. The books were mysteries, but they were something more, too. The core of Louise Penny’s Armand Gamache books were the people that lived in Three Pines and the lives that they led. Someone else dies in every book, and there is always a new mystery, but the heart of the book is Three Pines and the people that fill this beautiful magical village.

I loved how nothing remained static, like previous mystery novels I had read. The characters and the world of Three Pines changed with the season and so did the kinds of mysteries that Armand found himself embroiled in. There were characters I loved and others I loved to hate, and it was a pleasure to start each book not knowing who I would meet, friend and enemy both. What I noticed most was that every time I opened a book by Louise Penny, it was like coming home. I desperately wanted to find my way to Three Pines, and I know that I’m not alone in this.

The new book set in Three Pines is The Black Wolf, the sister book to The Grey Wolf. Now, The Grey Wolf is a complete mystery, but it’s the first book that Lousie Penny has left us with a cliffhanger of sorts. I was desperate to find out more about what happened and what they had missed within The Grey Wolf. Most of all, I was looking forward to going back to Three Pines again after a year away. I wanted to know how all of my friends were doing. I love Ruth Zardo and her duck, Oliver and Gabri. I love the whole village of Three Pines. It feels like a place where almost anyone could belong. It’s a place where I hope that I would be welcomed. I know that Three Pines is not a real physical place, but it has grown so real in my mind and my heart that I reread the books just so that I can feel the embrace and company of the people that are friends to me.

When I heard that Louise Penny was going to be launching The Black Wolf in Ottawa at The National Arts Centre, I asked my mother if she wanted a ticket (a loud and resounding yes!) and was on the site the moment the tickets went on sale. I got a ticket for each of us in the orchestra centre. There was no way that I was going to miss out on seeing Louise Penny and learning more about what would happen in The Black Wolf. I’d been waiting to find out for some time after the cliffhanger in The Grey Wolf.

The interview was expertly conducted by Paul Workman, and it was a lovely conversation between friends. It covered everything from what had happened in The Grey Wolf to the set up for The Black Wolf, that one fateful phrase that had ended the nineteenth novel in the series. If I’ve learned anything about Three Pines, it’s that even the smallest detail can have the biggest impact on the story and judging by the conversation about the book, we’re in for a really good ride.

Louise talked about the characters that people love and the journey she took to publishing Still Life. She talked about how writing has changed since she began and that when she originally sent out Still Life to publishers, she just wanted one person to like it and that getting Still Life published was difficult. She also talked about the writing journey of others and how the changing world of publishing has given everyone a chance to write their story and have their voices heard. I really connected with her when she spoke about publishing, being an author myself.

She talked about what family meant to her. After the passing of her husband, the meaning of what made a family consists of changed. Lousie mentioned that family is different for everyone, that it could be two men, two women, a woman and a man and that a family didn’t mean you had to have children. I loved how the talk spanned not just about her book, but personal reflections and thoughts that have found their way into her stories.

When Louise Penny about the reason she decided to cancel all her appearances in the United States, she was honest and forthright about reasoning. She said that she didn’t want to acquiesce to what the administration is doing to the country right now. Though it pained her to do it, she didn’t want anyone to assume that she approved of what was happening and she chose to take a stand. She did say that she hoped that the readers would forgive her.  

I was surprised by a few things. Louise Penny spoke to Paul of course, but for the most part, she spent the entirety of the interview turned towards us. It felt like we were having tea with a very good friend and that there would be some lovely brioche nearby or perhaps a scrumptious croissant.  Also, peppered throughout the talk were questions that had been posed by the audience. The whole event felt designed and done to bring us all together.

I’ve been to a lot of different literary events, and I’ve come to realize that authors are like rock stars to me. There is always a lovely hum when readers get to see their favourite authors. That hum was actually audible at the launch for The Black Wolf at The National Arts Centre and the whole event felt like a very polite rock concert. There was laughter in the air, and some people were happily calling out answers to questions.

I was thrilled to be sitting there with my wonder mom and my signed copy of The Black Wolf, and I was thrilled to listen to Louise Penny talk for ninety minutes that felt like fifteen. I came away from the whole event with the feeling joy and a thirst to read the book that I held in my hands.

I’m so happy to be back in Three Pines.