Glass Houses

Unashamedly, I love Louise Penny. Her 12-book series about Armand Gamache and the cast of characters is as rich and enjoyable as any writing that I’ve seen in the crime genre. Her primary venue is Three Pines which is a tiny, hidden and idyllic village on the outskirts of Montreal - a special place. In her latest novel, Glass Houses, Ms. Penny wrote in her author’s note: “Three Pines is a state of mind. When we choose tolerance over hate. Kindness over cruelty. Goodness over bullying. When we choose to be hopeful, not cynical. Then we live in Three Pines.” For me to admit that I like Louise Penny as much as Daniel Silva is very high praise.

In Glass Houses, Gamache has been promoted to Chief Superintendent of the Surete du Quebec. He’s now the big boss of the entire police force for the province of Quebec. As the book opens, Gamache is testifying in a murder trial in front of a new Judge, Maureen Corriveau. Although he’s on the same side as Chief Crown Prosecutor Zalmoanowitz, there was an obvious friction between him and Gamache. Why would the prosecutor work so hard to humiliate Gamache on the stand when he was trying to get a conviction of the defendant?

Penny’s story is about the drug trade that moves down the St. Lawrence Seaway and through Quebec into the lucrative U.S. drug market. While the cartels fight for territory and law enforcement continues to lose the war on drugs, people on both sides of the border are dying in record numbers from the use of those substances. Penny also interjects an ancient Spanish figure called a cobrador who is nonviolent, but who is meant to invoke shame and humiliation upon someone who has gone unpunished for an evil deed. It is fascinating and caused great angst among the citizens of Three Pines, nearly all of whom feel guilty for some secret in their pasts.

Glass Houses could be a stand-alone novel, but if you’ve not read Penny before, it’s my advice to start with the first book, Still Life. Then work your way through the novels and enjoy the character development as Penny intended. You won’t be disappointed, I promise.