The Black Wolf, the 20th book in the ‘Chief Inspector Gamache’ series, is the sequel to The Grey Wolf, in which Charles Langlois, a research assistant at a non-profit organisation, claimed to have unearthed political corruption. Before he could explain further, he was deliberately knocked down and killed by a hit-and-run driver.
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec and his team investigated the claim using information contained in the assistant’s notebooks. The catastrophe was prevented, but while relaxing at home, the chief inspector decides to read the notebooks more thoroughly. He is shocked to realise the euphoria created by the successful corruption investigation has masked details of an unbelievable threat to the people of Canada and the United States.
The threat and the Sûreté’s reaction are comprehensively and thrillingly revealed and all the residents that we have grown to know and love over the years all make an appearance. In addition, Jean-Guy Beauvoir and Isabelle Lacoste of the Sûreté’s homicide division play major roles. We are introduced to a new baddie: Joe Moretti, the most powerful mob boss in Canada. Also, Gamache is not sure who in the Sûreté he can trust.
The Black Wolf is a thriller and a mystery. I willingly suspended disbelief as one implausible situation followed another. Penny’s polished prose eased this incredulity. Fans will not be disappointed.
Reviewed by Clive Hodges
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Louise Penny is the number one New York Times bestselling author of the ‘Inspector Gamache’ series, including Still Life, which won the CWA John Creasey Dagger in 2006. Recipient of virtually every existing award for crime fiction, Louise was also granted the Order of Canada in 2014 and received an honorary doctorate of literature from Carleton University and the Ordre Nationale du QuA bec in 2017. She lives in a small village south of Montreal.
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