How the Light Gets In: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel by Louise Penny

  How the Light Gets In: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel by Louise Penny. Minotaur Books, 2013. Adult mystery.

In case you have not become hooked on this series, you might like to start with the first ones and read in order. I just found this title and jumped in. I now plan to go back and read all of them. While I did not recognize any of the characters or have background knowledge, the plot was easy to follow. The writing is exquisite; details of the people and places make it easy to imagine them. Read slowly and savor the details with your own cup of hot chocolate.

Set in Quebec in the Christmas season, Gamache finds refuge in the tiny village of Three Pines. The quaint place has no Internet, no wifi, and little to recommend it except the quirky residents and the local pub. Providing a "time out" for Gamache and several others who are embroiled in a mystery surrounding a national scandal and a dangerous plot that will kill hundreds, Three Pines is truly a character in its own right.  One of the most famous women in the world has disappeared and Gamache must find out what has happened. The woman's connections to Three Pines and its residents provide the basis for much of the story.