Louise Penny. How the Light Gets In.
New York: Minotaur Books, 2013
As reviewed by Ted Odenwald
Louise Penny’s ninth Inspector Gamache novel is another spellbinder by this wonderful Canadian author. Living up to the reputation and popularity of its predecessors, …Light…is a gem in its mixture of fascinating characters and apparently divergent—but always dovetailing –plots. The novel evaluates the mores of a corrupt political structure, while also presenting the idyllic world of Three Pines, isolated and all-but-forgotten, yet filled with warm humanity, generosity, loyalty, and honesty.
In each novel in this series, Gamache struggles against corrupt leadership within the Surete, which “…was now a culture that rewarded cruelty. That promoted it.” In …Light…, he is clearly battle-weary, physically and emotionally fragile—barely holding himself together. He has been marginalized by his leaders, shunned because of his having exposed corruption in the police hierarchy. The outstanding homicide division which he had built up has been virtually dismantled by his antagonists, and his most reliable and productive workers replaced by the dregs of other departments. Even his closest fellow worker, Jean-Guy Beauvoir has turned viciously against him. In an earlier novel, Gamache had foiled a plot to destroy a major dam in Quebec; always suspecting that the plot was merely part of a much larger conspiracy to overthrow the province’s government, the inspector is continually seeking evidence that more horrific plans have been made, and that his superior officer, Francoeur, is deeply involved. The pursuit of truth is hindered by several key problems: the supposed suicide of a government engineer/inspector; the fact that any records that might prove informative are in encrypted files of the Surete computers; and few members of Francoer’s Surete are willing to assist Gamache. Another challenge for the chief inspector is his attempt to rescue, redeem, and rehabilitate Jean-Guy, his former understudy, now controlled by Francoeur, who is feeding Beauvoir’s addiction to pain-killers.
Three Pines, an off-the-map rural village in Quebec, is the main setting for this novel—just as it had been for most of Penny’s other novels. Myrna, the local book store owner and part-time psychotherapist fears for a friend, who has failed to show up at the village as promised. Gamache discovers that the “visitor” has been murdered in her home in Montreal; he also discovers that she is the sole survivor of the world-famous Oullet quintuplets (inspired by, but based loosely on the Dionne quints). To properly investigate the killing, Gamache must examine the government-built “legend” of the quints, fabricated to make Canada appear to be an “…enlightened, progressive, God-fearing, God-pleasing country.” Inventing the story that the parents had sold their children to the state, the government had created a myth about their miraculous birth, and had turned them into a cash-generating commodity. It was through this duplicity that seeds of greed and jealousy were sown, to be reaped several decades later in a vicious murder.
Given the hostile ambiance in Montreal, Gamache is happy to return to the village which offers “space and time to heal” among a nucleus of eccentrics who cherish their privacy (and who have been developed through the other novels): the group includes Ruth, the mad poet who, uttering profanities, attacks virtually everyone as she carries her pet duck; Myrna, the perceptive psychotherapist who enjoys the peaceful world of her bookstore; Gilles, an expert carpenter, who had given up lumberjacking when he heard the trees’ cries of pain. Along with several other colorful characters, the small group unites to help Gamache discover the history and the conspiracies that are leading the Surete into a cataclysmic coup. The challenge is to find the nature of the plot and to crush it pre-emptively. With the group’s help, Gamache rigs a satellite dish, connecting it to old computers so that the the Surete’s sophisticated computer system can be hacked.
Gamache turns out to be the savior of Montreal city’s infrastructure, as he discovers and exposes a long-standing conspiracy among engineering contractors, government officials, and union officials—a conspiracy that makes the bridges and tunnels susceptible to apocalyptic disasters, which Francoeur and his cohorts intend to inflict upon the population. Typical of his humane concerns, Gamache focuses upon rescuing Beauvoir in the midst of a chaotic struggle.
Given the Herculean efforts required of this aging chief inspector, it is little wonder that he often appears to be worn out—almost to the point of giving up his career. But his obsession with finding the truth and separating false evidence from facts makes him a true hero, an honorable man worthy of our admiration.
Ted Odenwald and his wife, Shirley have lived in Oakland for 43 years. He taught HS English at Glen Rock High School for all of those years plus one more. Now he is enjoying time spent with his family, singing in the North Jersey Chorus and quenching his wanderlust. Ted is also the Worship Leader at the Ramapo Valley Baptist Church in Oakland.