I’ve been spending a lot of time with my friends in Quebec recently. I’ve gotten to know them intimately, see them grow and change, and learn all about their little village of Three Pines. I am deeply attuned to the sound of their voices, their inflections, the nuances of their lives, the troubles they face, and their successes. I love the diversity of the townspeople, embracing their quirky character traits, the bonds of friendship they share, and how they care for one another.

And yet it’s all a work of fiction. Literally. These are the characters in Louise Penney‘s mystery series featuring Chief Inspector Gamache, delivered to me via my ear buds as I go about my day. They accompany me on walks, make long drives more interesting, keep me company while sewing (yes, Grammy Jammies!), and provide entertainment while I prepare dinner. With 20 books in the series (soon to be 21) it feels like an endless bounty.

It started with the first book in the series, Still Life. Back in 2015 I read it for my book club. I keep a list of books I’ve read, and short notes about them. At the time I wrote, “Easy read murder mystery about a small town in Quebec province involving a group of local artists and the nuances of small town life. It captured my interest but was not outstanding.” Oddly, the same book club read it again in 2021. I didn’t realize I’d read it before until I got into it, but as often happens I didn’t remember what was coming next so I finished it again.

It wasn’t until 2024 that I returned to Three Pines. I had adopted the habit of listening to audiobooks while I did menial tasks, and during my months of chemotherapy I indulged even more often. When stuck for a new book to listen to, I look for available audiobooks to borrow from the library on Libby. This time I found book #17 The Madness of Crowds and listened. A year later I tuned in to #18 A World of Curiosities. Still just one-off sessions. Last fall marked the beginning of my love affair with the characters who inhabit these stories.

I soon found myself specifically searching for audiobooks in the series. Instead of listening methodically from one to 20, I clung to the books nearest to those I just finished, flushing out characters as they were in that time period. I listened before and after, learning both what came before and happened after. Penny’s books each have self-contained mysteries, so they can be read independently, as I was doing. However, she does recommend reading sequentially in order to observe the character development through time.

Armand Gamache, the Chief Inspector and his second in command Inspector Jean-Guys Beauvoir naturally are prominent characters, along with Gamache’s beloved wife Reine-Marie. The remaining central cast of characters is comprised of individuals living in Three Pines, the small village in the province of Quebec, not found on any map and beyond the reach of cell towers. I laughed out loud at Ruth Zardo, the sarcastic and often profane old poet who dispenses hidden wisdom. I empathized with Clara Morrow and her lack of confidence in her ability as an artist and the worth of her paintings. I learned to trust Myrna Landers the bookseller, with her insights as a former psychologist.

The Bistro is always featured as the village meeting place as well as a favorite of Gamache. There confidences are exchanged, theories proposed, seemingly casual interviews conducted, and keen observations made. But the food is the real star. Every meal is sumptuously described, with fresh ingredients, pungent cheeses, strong coffees, fresh crusty bread or flaky pastries, and succulent casseroles – all infused with native Quebec cuisine. Even the meals served in the villagers’ homes rate as top culinary delights. How I’d love to sit at their tables!

The plots are always intriguing, never straightforward. What seems obvious is ultimately disproven with creative twists and new developments that send the story in a different direction. Just when I think it’s nearing the finish, I notice there are still several hours of narration left! Endings reveal new details and events that often lead to surprising conclusions. And to add to it all, Gamache is not infallible! But his “deep brown eyes” and kind nature will win over any listener or reader.

By this point I was solidly in the audiobook camp for this series. There was something about having someone read them to me and hearing the voices in my ears that brought them to life. And I soon fell in love with the narrator, Robert Bathurst. The resonance in his voice and his ability to distinguish each character orally led me to explore all 8 books he narrated (11-18). As it happened, the last one I listened to, book #11 The Nature of the Beast, was the first he narrated. I was fascinated by Penny’s introduction at the start of the recording that explained the difficulty of replacing the original narrator, Ralph Cosham, who had recently died. He was beloved by his listeners, and considered the “definitive voice of Armand Gamache.” She interviewed hundreds of candidates before selecting Bathurst as someone she trusted to carry on his legacy.

It was with some misgivings that I went back to the earlier books. This time I listened to them mostly in order, beginning with book #2, A Fatal Grace. I readily admit to having a hard time adjusting to the narration by Cosham. His quiet, soothing voice – often called “buttery” – puts a different flair on the characters and action, and I longed to hear Bathurst. But the more books I heard, the more I took to his style, his interpretation of Gamache, and his spin on the characters. Now that I have only a few left, I’m thoroughly under his spell. I can no longer hear Bathurst in my head. Both narrators have won top Audie awards for their performances, and now I hesitate to pick a favorite.

But I face a new challenge. The last two books in the series, #19 The Grey Wolf and #20 The Black Wolf, have yet another new narrator, Jean Brassard. As a native of Quebec, he is said to bring authentic regional accents and pronunciation to the prose. Their similar titles make these books stand apart from the others, and I wonder if Penny has changed something more than the narrator? While her other books came out at least annually, the first of these had a gap of two years. And I recently discovered that #21 Miss Wolcott’s Ghost is to be published in October. Who will narrate that?

Despite that, I rest assured that Gamache and my other old friends will continue to feature heavily in the remaining stories. I can count on their personality quirks and antics, their boundless appetites for good food, surprising elements of intrigue in the confines of their little village, and Gamache’s grace and warmth as well as his brilliant sense observation and deduction. Live on Chief Inspector Gamache, my friend.