In The Black Wolf by Louise Penny, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his team thought they had thwarted a domestic terrorist plot in Montréal by arresting the man known as the “Black Wolf.” Yet, as the story unfolds, Gamache realises that the attack was only the tip of something far darker and more expansive. He grapples with the possibility that the real conspiracy is still at large, manipulating law enforcement, industry and government, all while he recovers from injuries and conducts a covert investigation from the village of Three Pines.

The novel charts a tense game of cat and mouse, in which Gamache and his senior agents sift through scant evidence — old notebooks, cryptic numbers, and a fragmented map of Québec — trying to identify powerful allies of the Black Wolf. What emerges is a chilling vision of a foe spreading rumours, manufacturing enemies, feeding hatred, and preparing a strike that could ripple far beyond the confines of Three Pines. Reparations, trust, and loyalty are tested as Gamache confronts the possibility that the darkness he sensed may already be embedded within his own circle¹.