The Black Wolf ★★★☆☆

I'm conflicted about this one. Louise Penny's writing remains impressive at creating the right mood and vibe for cozy mysteries, but starting with 'All the Devils Are Here', the plots get grander. I understand that it may be difficult to have enough murders in a tiny village and not come across as being the murder capital of Canada, if not Quebec. But going from someone with a mysterious past who died in a remote cabin to world domination plots in which Gamache is now hobnobbing with world leaders (spoiler?) seems more far-fetched than the plot of 'The Black Wolf'.

Set as an immediate sequel to 'The Grey Wolf', the action (see, this is what separates her earlier work from recent plots) continues unabated. These last two books have been set up as action thrillers rather than cozy mysteries in which Three Pines features only as a place where characters return to contemplate, ponder, and host dinners with prisoners from Supermax. Isabel and Jean-Guy are less than supporting roles in these books, as they simply dance to Armand's directions, and only in the end does one of them get pissed at being reduced to caricatures of their former selves. We're told they are impressive police officers only through the words of other characters and not by their actions.

The plot, which seemed far-fetched, may not seem so when it was written, because the world changed so rapidly in 2025 ("There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen"). But that's the world we live in, and I'm sure many an action-thriller author may be frustrated at being cheated out of their livelihood. Penny has collaborated with Hillary Clinton to also write an action thriller, but we don't read Penny for the action. I hope she gets back to her roots and perhaps finds another tiny village that she can propel to the murder capital status.

Edition Read

• Edition Type: Hardcover
• Number of Pages: 375 pages
• Date First Published: October 28, 2025
• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• ISBN10: 1250328179
• ASIN: 1250328179
• Language: English

Description

Somewhere out there, in the darkness, a black wolf is feeding.

Several weeks ago, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec and his team uncovered and stopped a domestic terrorist attack in Montréal, arresting the person behind it. A man they called the Black Wolf.

But their relief is short-lived. In a sickening turn of events, Gamache has realized that that plot, as horrific as it was, was just the beginning. Perhaps even a deliberate misdirection. One he fell into. Something deeper and darker, more damaging, is planned. Did he, in fact, arrest the Black Wolf, or are they still out there? Armand is appalled to think his mistake has allowed their conspiracy to grow, to gather supporters. To spread lies, manufacture enemies, and feed hatred and division.

Still recovering from wounds received in stopping the first attack, Armand is confined to the village of Three Pines, leading a covert investigation from there. He must be careful not to let the Black Wolf know he has recognized his mistake. In a quiet church basement, he and his senior agents Beauvoir and Lacoste pore over what little evidence they have. Two notebooks. A few mysterious numbers on a tattered map of Québec. And a phrase repeated by the person they had called the Grey Wolf. A warning ...

In a dry and parched land, where there is no water.

Gamache and his small team of supporters realize that for the Black Wolf to have gotten this far, they must have powerful allies, in law enforcement, in industry, in organized crime, in the halls of government.

From the apparent peace of his little village, Gamache finds himself playing a lethal game of cat and mouse with an invisible foe who is gathering forces and preparing to strike.

Source: GoodReads

Notable Highlights

That first walk in the forest after the winter melt when the air finally held some warmth, and the evergreen needles released their scent. Ever green. What a concept. Nature was resilient. Even optimistic. Humankind less so. [loc. 108]

He let whoever he was with know they were not just fascinating, they were precious. Their stories heard and valued. [loc. 367]

“How else are we going to survive,” he told them, “unless we also see the kindness, the courage, the decency in people? There’s more goodness than cruelty in this world.” [loc. 374]

Gamache knew, better than most, that hate bound a person to the one they hated. They were taken prisoner by that loathing, while the one they despised went merrily about their life, often oblivious. [loc. 1813]

It had been September 18 of that first year he and Reine-Marie had moved to Three Pines. A day that was no longer summer. Not yet fall. [loc. 2317]

“How else are we going to survive,” he told them, “unless we also see the kindness, the courage, the decency in people? There’s more goodness than cruelty in this world.”

“Politics was not just becoming more polarized, it was far more dangerous, with people on all sides giving themselves permission to act in the most horrific ways. Ways that their grandparents would never recognize or approve of. That they themselves would not have approved of just a few years ago. All in the name of patriotism. A word, a concept, that had become weaponized, even toxic.”

“Lauzon was far from the first politician whose reins of power were around the necks of their citizenry.”

“Gamache knew, better than most, that hate bound a person to the one they hated. They were taken prisoner by that loathing, while the one they despised went merrily about their life, often oblivious.”

“No one is as bad as the worst thing they’ve done.”

Highlights from Readwise, topped up with popular quotes from Goodreads.