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A review by kathywadolowski
The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I've been waiting on the latest Gamache release for what feels like years, and I am so so disappointed that it just did not live up to my hopes and to the high bar set by the rest of the series. *cries in Canadian*
The blurb on the back of the book made this mystery seem simple enough to start, but unfortunately it quickly became too convoluted to follow. We were naturally introduced to a number of new characters, and also weirdly revisited some of our monastery dwellers from the series' 8th entry, "The Beautiful Mystery," whose connection to the current timeline felt tenuous at best. But whether the characters were familiar to us or not, all of their motives were shrouded in such secrecy that it became almost comical. WHY did they all seek out Gamache to reveal this big secret, and then completely stonewall him every time he asked the most fundamental questions?!?! I'm sure it would be maddening to be Armand this go around, but it was rough as the reader too—I felt like knocking my head against the wall, hoping they'd finally just get on with it and simultaneously completely unsure what we would even be getting on with.
And as the plot wound around and around in circles, we didn't even get the reprieve of Three Pines to ground us in Penny's familiar and cozy universe. Now if you've read any of my other reviews on this series, you'll know that I am NOT the biggest Three Pines stan and am actually totally fine when the residents don't feature heavily in a story. Come to find out, that's only the case when the primary plot is actually sensical and thrilling! Here, I was dying for an extended break in Three Pines just to escape the confusing A-plot and remind myself why I'm so in love with this series.
And the disappointment continues, as the conclusion of this book necessarily means the next will pick up the incomplete thread of this storyline. "WHAT STORYLINE," I scream into the void in total confusion. As the series progresses, it feels like the plots have been getting more and more unbelievable as Penny tries to continuously one-up herself and raise the stakes for our heroes. The problem is, the stakes have been like basically as high as possible at several points in the series already! I actually think it would serve the series to have a normal murder mystery [yes I hear how that sounds ok] without any potential world-ending ramifications for once. Bring us back to earth Louise, I'm begging you!!
I will absolutely read the next, but sadly for the first time I'm not totally sure I'm looking forward to it. But there have been duds before—Penny is apparently human, after all—and I'm just going to cross my fingers that this is another anomaly.
As a total sidenote: I also struggled with the series' new narrator and his interpretation of our characters, Gamache in particular. I've had this complaint before and been proven wrong, so hopefully he'll settle into it... but that definitely compounded my negativity about "The Grey Wolf." SIGH.
The blurb on the back of the book made this mystery seem simple enough to start, but unfortunately it quickly became too convoluted to follow. We were naturally introduced to a number of new characters, and also weirdly revisited some of our monastery dwellers from the series' 8th entry, "The Beautiful Mystery," whose connection to the current timeline felt tenuous at best. But whether the characters were familiar to us or not, all of their motives were shrouded in such secrecy that it became almost comical. WHY did they all seek out Gamache to reveal this big secret, and then completely stonewall him every time he asked the most fundamental questions?!?! I'm sure it would be maddening to be Armand this go around, but it was rough as the reader too—I felt like knocking my head against the wall, hoping they'd finally just get on with it and simultaneously completely unsure what we would even be getting on with.
And as the plot wound around and around in circles, we didn't even get the reprieve of Three Pines to ground us in Penny's familiar and cozy universe. Now if you've read any of my other reviews on this series, you'll know that I am NOT the biggest Three Pines stan and am actually totally fine when the residents don't feature heavily in a story. Come to find out, that's only the case when the primary plot is actually sensical and thrilling! Here, I was dying for an extended break in Three Pines just to escape the confusing A-plot and remind myself why I'm so in love with this series.
And the disappointment continues, as the conclusion of this book necessarily means the next will pick up the incomplete thread of this storyline. "WHAT STORYLINE," I scream into the void in total confusion. As the series progresses, it feels like the plots have been getting more and more unbelievable as Penny tries to continuously one-up herself and raise the stakes for our heroes. The problem is, the stakes have been like basically as high as possible at several points in the series already! I actually think it would serve the series to have a normal murder mystery [yes I hear how that sounds ok] without any potential world-ending ramifications for once. Bring us back to earth Louise, I'm begging you!!
I will absolutely read the next, but sadly for the first time I'm not totally sure I'm looking forward to it. But there have been duds before—Penny is apparently human, after all—and I'm just going to cross my fingers that this is another anomaly.
As a total sidenote: I also struggled with the series' new narrator and his interpretation of our characters, Gamache in particular. I've had this complaint before and been proven wrong, so hopefully he'll settle into it... but that definitely compounded my negativity about "The Grey Wolf." SIGH.