A Journey to Three Pines: a Deep Dive into Louise Penny's Mystery Series – Details, episodes & analysis

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 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.

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

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.

3:45 - Putting the Book Into Context

The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny

Published Sept. 29, 2009 by Minotaur Books

4.20 rating on Goodreads

Seasonal setting - Autum

Book Awards: Anthony Award for Best Novel in 2010

Critic Reviews

Meredith’s and Roxanna’s encounters with the book

Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny

10:50 - The Setup

16:22 - A Deeper Exploration

Setup and first paragraph

First paragraph hooks the reader so completely 

Reminds Meredith of the Vera series by Ann Cleeves

The pacing of the novel

The deliberate pulling away from the “quaint village mystery”

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

Quality of writing itself - if it could be written as a whole series in today’s publishing

Themes: human behavior, conscience, Thoreau’s Walden, contentment, fathers

p.172 quote about conscience

p. 298 quote about happiness

p.175 quote about Walden

P. 495 quote about fear and contentment

The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny

Side plot with Jean-Guy and the notes left by Ruth Zardo

The Oddness Factor (is usually in superlatives but gets talked about early in this episode!)

The Ending

1:15:31 - Superlatives

Biggest Flaw

Character MVP

p. 403

Favorite Character

Biggest loser

Best food description

Fear Factor

1:29:47 - Within the Series

Is this book skippable?

Favorite Quote (gets asked after the skippable portion so I added it here for time stamp sake)

1:34:08 - SPOILERS AHEAD HERE

Next episode’s read: Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny

Support Us:

Become a Bookish Friend | Grab Some Merch

Shop Bookshop dot org | Shop Amazon

Bookish Friends Receive:

• 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

Connect With Us:

The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Threads

The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Roxanna | Kaytee

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!

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.

2:40 - Putting the Book Into Context

A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny

Publication date (2009)

4.21 rating on Goodreads

Seasonal setting - Summer

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

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 Cruelest Month by Louise Penny

Still Life by Louise Penny

Character Development - Gamache’s misstep

57:08 - What Do We Need to Know?

History within the book as it pertains to reality

The Oddness Factor

1:07:11 - Superlatives

Biggest Flaw

Favorite Quote

Character MVP

Biggest loser

Best food description

1:22:37 - Within the Series

Is this book skippable?

Setting the foundation

1:23:34 - SPOILERS AHEAD HERE

Easter eggs to future books

Next episode’s read: The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny

Support Us:

Become a Bookish Friend | Grab Some Merch

Shop Bookshop dot org | Shop Amazon

Bookish Friends Receive:

• 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

Connect With Us:

The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Roxanna | Kaytee

The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Threads

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!

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.

Meredith’s and Roxanna’s encounters with the book

Currently Reading Season 5: Episode 45 w/Ezeekat

8:46 - A Deeper Exploration

Setup and first few paragraphs

A seance as the driving source of the mystery

Still Life by Louise Penny

One note character in Madeline/lack of care for her as a character

Gamache not introduced until chapter 9

Pg. 69 - Make note for future reads

Gamache as a father and grandfather figure versus an inspector

The pacing of the novel

Quality of writing itself

Themes: Regeneration, Resurrection and its unpredictability, jealousy, equanimity, grief, platonic love, 

Character Development - Gamache’s Pride, Beauvoir

The Fear Factor

55:58 - What Do We Need to Know?

Village of Three Pines - The Hadley House, Hazel’s House

A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny

Homes as a driver for the plot/characters

The Oddness Factor

Gamache’s accented English

1:06:00 - Superlatives

Favorite scene

Character MVP

Biggest loser

Best food description

1:16:32 - Within the Series

Is this book skippable?

Setting the foundation

Favorite quote

*Does the reading of passages take you out of the conversation or help enhance it? Let us know at the socials below!

Next episode’s read: A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny

No Spoilers this episode! 

Connect With Us:

Please note the change in Meredith’s Instagram handle. This was recorded prior to the change. 

Meredith is @meredithmondayschwartz on Instagram

Kaytee is @notesonbookmarks on Instagram

Roxanna is @roxannatheplanner on Instagram

currentlyreadingpodcast.com

@currentlyreadingpodcast on Instagram

currentlyreadingpodcast@gmail.com

Support us at patreon.com/currentlyreadingpodcast and www.zazzle.com/store/currentlyreading

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.

2:02 - The Set Up

A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny

3:34 - Putting the Book Into Context

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

Still Life by Louise Penny

Gamache is not introduced until chapter 8

Immediate body shaming of CC’s daughter by CC herself

The Oddness Factor

P.148 highlighting the oddness of the murder

The Canadian Perspective

Exploration of art used in A Fatal Grace

The pacing of the novel

The Villagers and the Village itself

Themes: Three Pines as a place of respite, Introspection and the acceptance of oneself, Light and Dark

The comparison of CC, Peter and Clara Morrow

Vulnerability and authenticity at superpowers

Lack of small children belonging to main characters

The Fear Factor

46:57 - What Do We Need to Know?

Village of Three Pines - The Bistro, The Hadley House

How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny

Enneagram Corner

Introduction to Arnoult

1:00:22 - Superlatives

Biggest flaw or disappointment

Fat shaming and appearance shaming

Favorite scene

Character MVP

Biggest loser

Best food description

Favorite quote

1:20:44 - Within the Series

Setting the table

Favorite quote

Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny

A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny

Next episode’s read: The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny

No Spoilers this episode! 

Connect With Us:

Please note the change in Meredith’s Instagram handle. This was recorded prior to the change. 

Meredith is @meredithmondayschwartz on Instagram

Kaytee is @notesonbookmarks on Instagram

Roxanna is @roxannatheplanner on Instagram

currentlyreadingpodcast.com

@currentlyreadingpodcast on Instagram

currentlyreadingpodcast@gmail.com

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. 

3:50 - The Set Up

Still Life by Louise Penny

4:40 - Putting the Book Into Context

Louise Penny’s age at publication

Publisher rejection

Seasonal settings and Canadian Thanksgiving

Book Awards: CNA New Blood Dagger Award, Arthur Ellis Award, Dilys Award, Anthony Award for Best First Novel

The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny

Glass Houses by Louise Penny

How did it sell

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

First few paragraphs

Louise’s writing style and character introduction

Our first meeting with Gamache

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

The Oddness Factor

Diagnosing the end

Exploration of human nature

Overarching themes

Still Life and Still Lives

Pacing 

Is this is a cozy?

50:50 - What Do We Need to Know?

Village of Three Pines

Canadian History

59:28 - Superlatives

Biggest flaw or disappointment

Language around LGBT characters and large bodies

Favorite scene

Best food description

Character MVP

Biggest loser

Favorite foods

1:12:23 - Within the Series

Pivotal or skippable

Favorite quote

1:16:03 - Stop to Avoid Spoilers for Other Books

How it Fits within the series

Recurring visuals

Ruth’s poetry

Connect With Us:

Meredith is @meredith.reads on Instagram

Kaytee is @notesonbookmarks on Instagram

Roxanna is @roxannathereader on Instagram - This is NOT what it says in the episode. She got locked out between recording and drop day!

currentlyreadingpodcast.com

@currentlyreadingpodcast on Instagram

currentlyreadingpodcast@gmail.com

Support us at patreon.com/currentlyreadingpodcast and 

www.zazzle.com/store/currentlyreading

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