We are so excited to journey with you to Three Pines, the fictional French-Canadian village created by Louise Penny for her Three Pines series, featuring Detective Armand Gamache.
This podcast series will tackle each of the books in the series in turn, in a spoiler-FILLED format. Be sure you've read the book before listening to the episode. We'll get into it all: we'll talk about the characters, the settings and dissect the themes in this amazing series of detective fiction.
Co-hosts Meredith Monday Schwartz and Roxanna Kassam-Kara will follow a regular episode format, with set segments, so you know what to expect each and every time.
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A Journey to Three Pines: Episode 8 - The Beautiful Mystery
Season 1 · Episode 8
Tuesday, February 25, 2025 • Duration 01:21:42
A deep dive into the Three Pines series from Louise Penny. In this episode, we discuss book 8 in the series: The Beautiful Mystery.
A Journey to Three Pines: Episode 7 - A Trick of the Light
Season 1 · Episode 7
Tuesday, September 10, 2024 • Duration 01:19:23
A deep dive into the Three Pines series from Louise Penny. In this episode, we discuss book 7 in the series: A Trick of the Light.
A Journey to Three Pines: Episode 6 - Bury Your Dead
Season 1 · Episode 6
Saturday, June 1, 2024 • Duration 01:27:25
1:56 - Putting the Book Into Context
Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny
Published Sept. 28, 2010 by Minotaur Books
4.36 rating on Goodreads
Seasonal setting - Winter
Book Awards: Anthony Award for Best Novel in 2011, The Agatha Award, The New Blood Dagger Award, The Arthur Ellis Award, The Barry Award, and the Dilys Award
Critic Reviews
Meredith's and Roxanna's encounters with the book
7:20 - The Setup
16:22 - A Deeper Exploration
Setup and first paragraph
The pacing of the novel
The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny
Quebec vs American History
Anglophone vs. Francophone history and culture
Themes: "bury your dead", "with time"
P.345 - Not everything buried is actually dead.
The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny
One bit of lightness in the entire novel
Location, Location, Location
Relationship between Beauvoir and Ruth Zardo
Who leaked the video?
Enneagram Corner
The Ending
1:14:36 - Superlatives
Favorite Scene
Character MVP
Biggest loser
Best food description
Favorite Quote
No spoilers this episode!
The next book will be A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny
A Journey to Three Pines: Episode 5 - A Brutal Telling
Episode 5
Friday, March 22, 2024 • Duration 01:38:09
We are so excited to journey with you to Three Pines, the fictional French-Canadian village created by Louise Penny for her Three Pines series, featuring Armand Gamache. This spin-off podcast series will tackle each of the books in the series in turn, in a spoiler-FILLED format. Be sure you've read the book before listening to the episode.
As you've come to expect with all Currently Reading content, Meredith and Roxanna will follow a regular episode format, with regular segments, so you know what to expect each and every time. We love staying focused on the book, rather than conversational rabbit holes.
Show notes for this series will not be time-stamped except for broad sections, but will include links to Bookshop dot org or Amazon for any books or resources referenced in the episode.
Reminds Meredith of the Vera series by Ann Cleeves
The pacing of the novel
A Journey to Three Pines: Episode 4 - A Rule Against Murder
Episode 4
Sunday, December 24, 2023 • Duration 01:33:54
We are so excited to journey with you to Three Pines, the fictional French-Canadian village created by Louise Penny for her Three Pines series, featuring Armand Gamache. This spin-off podcast series will tackle each of the books in the series in turn, in a spoiler-FILLED format. Be sure you've read the book before listening to the episode.
As you've come to expect with all Currently Reading content, Meredith and Roxanna will follow a regular episode format, with regular segments, so you know what to expect each and every time. We love staying focused on the book, rather than conversational rabbit holes.
Show notes for this series will not be time-stamped except for broad sections, but will include links to Bookshop dot org or Amazon for any books or resources referenced in the episode.
Book Awards: Crimewriters of Canada Award for Excellence in 2009
Critic Reviews
Alternate Title: The Murder Stone
Meredith's and Roxanna's encounters with the book
9:25 - The Setup
8:46 - A Deeper Exploration
Setup and first paragraph
Perfect prologue - sets us up for Manoir Bellechasse, but then chapter 1 goes back to Three Pines shortly
An entire family of characters we as readers cannot really root for
Mic drop moments
A Journey to Three Pines: Episode 3 - The Cruelest Month
Episode 3
Sunday, December 24, 2023 • Duration 01:26:48
We are so excited to journey with you to Three Pines, the fictional French-Canadian village created by Louise Penny for her Three Pines series, featuring Armand Gamache. This spin-off podcast series will tackle each of the books in the series in turn, in a spoiler-FILLED format. Be sure you've read the book before listening to the episode.
As you've come to expect with all Currently Reading content, Meredith and Roxanna will follow a regular episode format, with regular segments, so you know what to expect each and every time. We love staying focused on the book, rather than conversational rabbit holes.
Show notes for this series will not be time-stamped, but will include links to Bookshop dot org or Amazon for any books or resources referenced in the episode. These are affiliate links, so they kick back a small percentage to us if you buy through them, and help support the work we do on Currently Reading.
1:56 - The Set Up
The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny (one L simply due to demographic of readers? Please don't fight me over this!)
3:05 - Putting the Book Into Context
Publication date
Seasonal setting - Spring, around Easter
Book Awards: Agatha Award for Best Novel in 2008, Nominated for: The Anthony Award, The Macavity Award and the Barry Award for Best Novel of 2008
Critic Reviews
Alternate Title: Cruelest vs Cruellest - that's the only difference dependent on geographic location of publishing.
A Journey to Three Pines: Episode 2 - A Fatal Grace
Episode 2
Sunday, December 24, 2023 • Duration 01:28:32
We are so excited to journey with you to Three Pines, the fictional French-Canadian village created by Louise Penny for her Three Pines series, featuring Armand Gamache. This spin-off podcast series will tackle each of the books in the series in turn, in a spoiler-FILLED format. Be sure you've read the book before listening to the episode.
As you've come to expect with all Currently Reading content, Meredith and Roxanna will follow a regular episode format, with regular segments, so you know what to expect each and every time. We love staying focused on the book, rather than conversational rabbit holes.
Show notes for this series will not be time-stamped, but will include links to Bookshop dot org or Amazon for any books or resources referenced in the episode. These are affiliate links, so they kick back a small percentage to us if you buy through them, and help support the work we do on Currently Reading.
Publication date (mentioned that it is the last book pre-iPhone which comes into play later)
The rating is higher on Audible than Goodreads, speaking to the quality of narration.
Seasonal setting - Winter
Book Awards: Agatha Award for Best Novel in 2007
Critic Reviews
Release date confusion
Alternate Title: Dead Cold (Canadian title), TV Show on Amazon Prime titled this episode "Whiteout"
Meredith's and Roxanna's encounters with the book
9:37 - A Deeper Exploration
First few paragraphs
A Journey to Three Pines: Episode 1 - Still Life
Episode 1
Sunday, December 24, 2023 • Duration 01:33:14
We are so excited to journey with you to Three Pines, the fictional French-Canadian village created by Louise Penny for her Three Pines series, featuring Armand Gamache. This spin-off podcast series will tackle each of the books in the series in turn, in a spoiler-FILLED format. Be sure you've read the book before listening to the episode.
As you've come to expect with all Currently Reading content, Meredith and Roxanna will follow a regular episode format, with regular segments, so you know what to expect each and every time. We love staying focused on the book, rather than conversational rabbit holes.
Show notes for this series will not be time-stamped except for broad sections, but will include links to Bookshop dot org or Amazon for any books or resources referenced in the episode.
Meredith and Roxanna's first encounters with the series
No other titles for this volume (but many do have alternates!)
12:17 - A Deeper Exploration
A Journey to Three Pines Episode 9 - How The Light Gets In
Episode 9
Tuesday, June 17, 2025 • Duration 01:34:17
We are so excited to journey with you to Three Pines, the fictional French-Canadian village created by Louise Penny for her Three Pines series, featuring Armand Gamache. This spin-off podcast series will tackle each of the books in the series in turn, in a spoiler-FILLED format. Be sure you've read the book before listening to the episode.
As you've come to expect with all Currently Reading content, Meredith and Roxanna will follow a regular episode format, with regular segments, so you know what to expect each and every time. We love staying focused on the book, rather than conversational rabbit holes.
Show notes for this series will not be time-stamped except for broad sections, but will include links to Bookshop dot org or Amazon for any books or resources referenced in the episode.
1:43 - Putting the Book Into Context How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny Published Aug 27, 2013 by Minotaur Books 4.48 rating on Goodreads Seasonal setting - Winter Book Awards: Edgar Award nomination for best novel, Publisher's Weekly Best Mystery/Thriller book of 2013, one of Washington Post's top 10 books of the year, one of NPR's best books of 2013. Critic Reviews Meredith's and Roxanna's encounters with the book 9:24 - The Setup 11:21 - A Deeper Exploration First paragraph
The pacing of the novel Dual plots that compliment each other perfectly Themes: how the light gets in, community and resistance, Subtle light vs dark - Surete vs Three Pines Dogs Ruth's addiction not a problem to solve in the series Canadian aspects Article about corruption in Quebec Dionne quintuplets wiki The ending 1:21:52 - Superlatives Character MVP Biggest loser Best food description Is this book skippable? The next book will be The Long Way Home by Louise Penny
A Journey to Three Pines Episode 10 - The Long Way Home
Season 1 · Episode 10
Saturday, November 8, 2025 • Duration 01:14:23
We are so excited to journey with you to Three Pines, the fictional French-Canadian village created by Louise Penny for her Three Pines series, featuring Armand Gamache. This spin-off podcast series will tackle each of the books in the series in turn, in a spoiler-FILLED format. Be sure you've read the book before listening to the episode.
As you've come to expect with all Currently Reading content, Meredith and Roxanna will follow a regular episode format, with regular segments, so you know what to expect each and every time. We love staying focused on the book, rather than conversational rabbit holes.
Show notes for this series will not be time-stamped except for broad sections, but will include links to Bookshop dot org or Amazon for any books or resources referenced in the episode.
3:15 - Putting the Book Into Context
The Long Way Home by Louise Penny
Published Aug 26, 2014 by Minotaur Books
4.07 rating on Goodreads
Seasonal setting - Summer
Book Awards: Finalist for the Agatha Award for best novel, but did not win, nor win any other awards.
Critic Reviews
Meredith's and Roxanna's encounters with the book
13:17 - The Setup
11:21 - A Deeper Exploration
First paragraph
The pacing of the novel
How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny
Unlikeable main AND side characters
No actual murder mystery to solve
Prose and plot do not compliment one another. Prose is beautiful.
P.92 quote
Apple Podcasts
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The deliberate pulling away from the "quaint village mystery"
The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. March's IPL is brought to you by our anchor store, An Unlikely Story.
Trope Thursday with Kaytee and Bunmi - a behind the scenes peek into the publishing industry
All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the special insights of an independent bookseller
The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts
Affiliate Disclosure: All affiliate links go to Bookshop unless otherwise noted. Shopping here helps keep the lights on and benefits indie bookstores. Thanks for your support!
Flimsy mystery, great building of suspense
The pacing of the novel
Quality of writing itself - last major action scene
Themes: Rest, oppressive heat, paradise lost, prisons, things being unnatural, bravery in vulnerability
The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. December's IPL will be a yearly recap from us, so we can give our beloved Indies a break for the holidays!
Trope Thursday with Kaytee and Bunmi - a behind the scenes peek into the publishing industry
All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the special insights of an independent bookseller
The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts
Affiliate Disclosure: All affiliate links go to Bookshop unless otherwise noted. Shopping here helps keep the lights on and benefits indie bookstores. Thanks for your support!
Themes: redemption, Clara's arc to confidence, the long way home
Canadian elements
1:03:18 - Superlatives
Favorite Scenes
Character MVP
Biggest loser
Best food description
Is this book skippable?
No spoilers this episode!
The next book will be The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny
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Love and Chili Peppers with Kaytee and Rebekah - romance lovers get their due with this special episode focused entirely on the best selling genre fiction in the business.
All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the behind-the-scenes insights of an independent bookseller
From the Editor's Desk with Kaytee and Bunmi Ishola - a quarterly peek behind the curtain at the publishing industry
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Connect With Us:
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The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Kaytee | Mary | Roxanna
Production and Editing: Megan Phouthavong Evans
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