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)

Superb story

Detective Chief Inspector Gamache and 2nd in command Jean Gui Beauvoir characters are becoming better known and understood. Very good.

Good after you get into it

I had a really hard time getting into this. I kept getting lost and having to rewind to figure out what was going on. I almost gave up on it - but I'm glad I stuck it out as it got better and I ended up quite liking it.

I think the reason I had such a hard time getting into it is that the narrator rushes into the next scene without taking a breath.

This was the first time I "read" a Gamache novel, so I had no idea who the characters were. The author switches frequently between different characters and scenes. In the books, I'm imagining the switch might be signaled by a small diamond between paragraphs or something to indicate a switch. The narrator doesn't even take a half a second breath between switching to a different character. Once I got used to this and who the characters were it was easier to follow. The narrator was decent except for this one thing that I got used to.

Needs revised editing

Any additional comments?

As always, Louise Penny and Ralph Cosham do not disappoint. Love this series and love Mr. Cosham's narration of this series. My only gripe is the editing of this particular book. As the reviewer before me mentioned, there are no pauses between scene changes and it is incredibly disconcerting to go from a description of one character in one place to a completely different character and place without a breath being taken. Pauses also give the listener a place to pause themselves to do things back in this reality and then return without losing the story line. I am listening to the series in order, so hope this is not a new trend. All that said, love this book and this series.

Gamache....and Louise Penny never disappoint.

As always, I loved Gamache and crew. There are some interesting twists and turns, and we're left once again eager to see and hear what comes next!

One of My Favorites

As a fan of Louise Penny, each book brings its own fascination, characters and puzzles to solve. To me, A Trick of the Light took her story telling to a new level. A favorite that won't collect dust on my bookshelf.

Touching and healing

Somehow Penny just gets better and better. The power of this book is more in its characters and their dialogue than even in the very strong plot line.

Home

Louise Penny has marvelously created a multi-dimensional world of friends and foes, families and enemies, who reveal deep wisdom and
comforting insights into my own life.

Another great book!

Love every one of the seven Gamache books I’ve heard so far.
These are terrific and superbly performed.

Condensed!

I absolutely loved this story. It has a bit of everything following from the previous books. New characters, I suspect, are introduced. Everyone, even Rosa, fit into place, like a perfect puzzle.

Another terrific installment in the Garmande series by Louise Penny

The plot, the character development, the writing are all terrific and consistently outstanding across the series. It’s so hard to say any one book in the series is “better” than another. This is just superb writing.

Unfortunately, the narrator makes quite a few small omissions or word exchanges. Since I listen while I read, these are mildly annoying.