A Trick of the Light

A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel

By: Louise Penny

Narrated by: Ralph Cosham

Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

A New York Times Notable Crime Book and Favorite Cozy for 2011
A Publishers Weekly Best Mystery/Thriller books for 2011

With A Trick of the Light, Louise Penny takes us back to the deceptively peaceful village of Three Pines in this brilliant novel in her award-winning, New York Times bestselling series featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache.

"Hearts are broken," Lillian Dyson carefully underlined in a book. "Sweet relationships are dead."

But now Lillian herself is dead. Found among the bleeding hearts and lilacs of Clara Morrow's garden in Three Pines, shattering the celebrations of Clara's solo show at the famed Musée in Montreal. Chief Inspector Gamache, the head of homicide at the Sûreté du Québec, is called to the tiny Quebec village and there he finds the art world gathered, and with it a world of shading and nuance, a world of shadow and light. Where nothing is as it seems. Behind every smile there lurks a sneer. Inside every sweet relationship there hides a broken heart.

And even when facts are slowly exposed, it is no longer clear to Gamache and his team if what they've found is the truth, or simply a trick of the light.

"Penny has been compared to Agatha Christie [but] it sells her short. Her characters are too rich, her grasp of nuance and human psychology too firm...." --Booklist (starred review)

©2011 Three Pines Creations, Inc. (P)2011 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“The superbly gifted Louise Penny is on my secret shortlist of must-read authors, and A TRICK OF THE LIGHT proves why. Artist Clara Morrow is about to have a prestigious show of her paintings when her childhood friend is found murdered, and the finger of suspicion points to Clara. Chief Inspector Gamache is called to investigate, and using his trademark powers of deduction and his intuitive knack for the right question at the right time, he exposes the darkness that underlies the bright stars of Montreal's art world, where competition between friends, and even between husband and wife, can turn lethal. Ultimately, of course, it's Louise Penny who steals the show, and A TRICK OF THE LIGHT will not only keep you engrossed from start to finish, it will teach you something new about love, truth, and the human heart.” —Lisa Scottoline

“Penny, elevating herself to the pantheon that houses P.D. James, Ruth Rendell and Minette Walters, demonstrates an exquisite touch with characterization, plotting and artistic sensitivity. And there could be no better explanation of A.A. than you will find here.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Outstanding….With her usual subtle touch and timely injections of humor, Penny effectively employs the recurring motif of the chiaroscuro, the interplay of light and dark, which distinguishes Morrow's artwork and which resonates symbolically in the souls of the author's characters.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Trick of the light

This is one of my favorites in the series. There’s plenty of rude humor from the old poet. The story blends new parts of the plot line with ongoing challenges. The ending is very well done.

Terrific

I love all of her books but do recommend reading in order. The story, the narrator can’t be beat. The only draw back, hard to listen to other audible books. Louise Penny nails it!

The neighbors in Three Pines are real people!

The names have been changed from my life to that community, but the personalities are so real, just like people in my world.

Oh so wonderful!

If you have a heart you will love this series. Ralph Cosham is amazing. Louise Penny, you are simply the best. Thank you Louise.

New narrator

I thoroughly enjoyed this latest book that I listened to in the Gamache series. However, I had a hard time getting into it as much as the narrator reads with a British accent, even for the French speaking characters. Too bad the narrators had to change.

Mystery with meaning

This is a mystery series, but it’s not just about finding the murderer. It’s about understanding our humanity

Good but not as good

The plot in this book was not as nuanced and character-deep as the previous books in this series. I like Penny's village and cast of characters but felt too many shallow characters were part of this book. First rate narrator as always! I assume this is an exception to the usual thought-provoking and elegant story lines of her other books.

Changing Tide

Aside from the “who done it” there is a turning point in the lives of characters we feel like we know personally. Not all the changes are welcome but they are like real life. For the characters to stay the same would get stale and in this book we say goodbye to what could have become stale and await the new that seems to be ahead.

The beam broadens...

A Trick of the Light...the beam is broader now that I have read this again, I believe for my third time. The character development writing skill of the author is the star, the setting a ray of light, and the plot is still superb, despite the attention to character growth. As a continued track on the pivotal raid that wounded so many a couple books back, the story grows with pathos and enormous interest. I was thinking that now I place Louise Penny with Dorothy Sayers as the most intelligent mystery writers I have had the fortune to encounter, with Louise surpassing Dorothy in character building at its finest. Note: another re-reading in 2024, and the story is just incredible in myriad ways.

Wonderful narration--the entire series, both narrators.

Great Art Deserves a Great Story

Since I'm on a roll with these Gamache novels and it appears few people are reading my reviews on the series, Im going to take a risk and ramble...

I wonder if Louise Penny identifies most with Claire, the talented artist whose genius is discovered in the 25 th year of her marriage? Claire's husband Peter had been the successful artist and bread winner until this point. Suddenly she is viewed as the real talent and Peter struggles mightily over it. I'd bet Penny encountered the same issues when her first novel sold.

AA figures prominently in the story. Several suspects and the victim are intimately involved with the 12 step program. At first, all of the police team including Gamache view the program suspiciously as a cult. Most of the team ever grows to trust it's membership. Like her other novels, Penny uses the humility and wisdom of Gamache to seek out the deeper meaning in key relationships between the suspects.

The art world, and I assume the literary world is exposed as petty, immature and stifling.

Words can destroy lives, sticks and stones just break bones.

The mystery was secondary to the story itself.

Ralph Cosham is a brilliant narrator.