Wow, wow, wow! This book is thrilling from start to finish, constantly evolving and twisting and so brilliantly written. Bursting with details and depth and unusually for Louise Penny, a continuation of The Grey Wolf. I’m so excited that I received an advance reader copy, thank you Netgalley!

Another excellent Gamache novel from Louise Penny. It's a continuation of 'The Grey Wolf', and is both timely, topical and prescient. The plot is well-developed, and sadly too believable; all the characters are well rounded; and, although I've never visited Quebec I can visualise it, because of the writing. But not wishing to spoil anyone's enjoyment all I will now say is 'this is a must read'.

With thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for an ARC.

Gamache and his team face a global conspiracy.

"The Black Wolf" picks up several weeks after the events of "The Grey Wolf" in which Gamache and his team stopped a domestic terrorist attack in Montréal, arresting the person behind it, a man called the Black Wolf. But Gamache soon realises that the attack was just a prelude to something bigger. Armand is confined to the village of Three Pines, recovering from his injuries, but leads a covert investigation from his bed, trying to uncover evidence of the larger plot.

As the story develops we are drawn into a story involving climate change and a global conspiracy, as Gamache and his team realise that the Black Wolf has powerful allies, in law enforcement, in industry, in organized crime, in the halls of government. Following a handful of clues, Gamache, Beauvoir, and Lacoste battle against the odds, in a complex series of plots and subplots. There's a lot to keep track of, and if there's more than a few lucky breaks, it just keeps the story moving forward.

Despite being almost prescient in its subject matter, some readers might feel that this book is somewhat over the top. It's certainly a complex story, and for those who don't like real-life intruding into their reading, it might take away some of the enjoyment, but at the heart is Gamache and his team, which is what the author does best.

I'd definitely recommend reading "The Grey Wolf" before starting this book - even with recaps, there's too much going on to fully appreciate the story without knowing what went before.

Louise Penny is now a fantasy writer. Who knew ?

The whole premise of this book is ludicrous. "Cat 6 or even 7 huricanes" ? There is no discernable increase in hurricane frequency or intensity - read the IPCC reports, not the political or polemical spin published on the subject.
Similarly there is no widescale drought - see this testimony before the Senate Budget Committee <https://rogerpielkejr.substack.com/p/what-the-ipcc-says-about-drought> and the IPCC AR6 report it is based on.
As for the increasingly ludicrous goings on in 3P - are the residents all as fat as barrage balloons with their constant eating large meals either at home or the bistro ? Or alcoholics considering how much they all drink ?
As for the doggerel presented as poetry - the duck could do better.
2* is generous - Penny should leave the bad science and political posturing alone and get back to writing decent detective stories.

I’ve always loved the Inspector Gamache books, and The Black Wolf was no exception. Penny’s writing is as literary and elegant as ever, and as usual this book packs the punch of a heart-stopping thriller. Honestly, it felt even more exciting than the last.

The twists and turns just kept coming - I genuinely didn’t know which way it was going to go. At first, the plot felt a bit outlandish, but the more I thought about what’s happening in the world right now, the more it started to feel uncomfortably close to reality.

This is a continuation of The Grey Wolf, so I’d definitely recommend reading that first. Even better to start at the beginning of the series, and become well entrenched in the Three Pines community, before reaching these books which play at a much larger scale.

If you’re into well-written thrillers with a literary twist - and especially if you’ve enjoyed Penny’s books before- this one’s well worth picking up.

Thank you to the publishers for this advance reader copy. Opinions expressed are my own.

Wow!! What a book, the twists and turns didn't stop.

The Black Wolf is the follow up book to The Grey Wolf, which while I enjoyed it, I found it a little drawn out and quite complicated, more than it needed to be.

The Grey Wolf ends with the hit and run killing of a man who had arranged to meet Gamache at a local cafe.

The Black Wolf starts with Gamache still suffering the after effects of his ordeal at the water treatment plant, but he knows that there is still a plot out there, and with his two trusty side kicks, Beauvoir, Armand plus the ever present stalwarts of the Three Pines, an investigation is begun trying to find out who tried to poison the water system and why.

A real roller coaster, thoroughly enjoyed it.

Highly recommended

way to complicated for my taste, so sorry. Maybe if i read the first book, but I never liked a book with so many code names. thanks for letting me read into it.

6 stars if I could. To say I adore this series, is an understatement. With that, comes the excitement of a new book but also the worry of will it live up to the previous books? And I apologise for ever worrying that, Louise, because somehow you manage to raise the bar every. single. time. I don’t know how you do it, but I am in awe of your genius in creating a plot that staggers you, your skill in writing such beautiful prose (and humour), and your heart for creating such wonderful characters. This was one of those times where as I got to the gripping end, I had to prise myself away to go to my volunteer shift at the library. I was thinking about it the whole shift. And then I sat in the library when I finished, and read the last few chapters. Once I did, I had to just sit for a while and process the feelings and book.

If anyone thinks the idea of war that is raised in the book, is too preposterous - Louise refers to this in an author comment at the start of the book, explaining that after she submitted the book in 2024, the headlines in real life seemed ripped from the plot…

And while I do love Three Pines and the characters, I completely understand why Louise needs to set the occasional book in another location (which she mentions in the afterward). I agree it’s necessary for the health of the series, to step away and return. For one thing, it’s a small village; by book 20 you’d have run out of characters to be victim or killer, unless you clearly make every new character one or the other!

What I would say to anyone considering this book, is that as a bare minimum, you need to read the preceding book The Grey Wolf, because this is the only two parter in the series. A lot won’t make sense if you’ve not read TGW. You could drop in with that book, and you’ll pick things up - but if you read right from the beginning, it will be so much richer an experience. So many of the characters undergo such huge evolution and development, and there are past events such as an ambush situation years before, that are still affecting the characters now. Without having read those events, you can’t fully feel the impact in the later books. And because I hope for everyone else to love and experience this series as much as I do, I beg you start at the beginning the spend the journey with Gamache, his family, friends and colleagues.

I received a free ARC copy of this via NetGalley and the publishers Hodder & Stoughton, in return for an unbiased review. I’ve ordered a signed copy for release date, from my local indie ❤️

I usually love Louise Penny’s Gamache books but this one really didn’t grab me.

It is a continuation from The Grey Wolf and I think that needs to be read first. I enjoyed The Grey Wolf but found the follow up to be very convoluted and with too many twists and turns for me. I know that in 2025 Trump is president so when I say some of the plot seemed preposterous, it is with the thought of unbelievable events really happening in North America right now. Nevertheless, I want Gamache to be a detective rather than star in a thriller with worldwide implications.

I ended up skimming through the last half as it was just not for me this time. I should add that I have read most of the series often giving 5 stars.

I read an ARC provided by NetGalley and the publishers.

What a great pleasure it is to be back in the company of Armand Gamache and his family, friends and colleagues in Montreal and the tiny village of Three Pines. There is a plot afoot to harness the water shortages caused by climate change to begin a major conflict between Canada and the US, with some very shady and violent characters involved. It’s Gamache’s job to hunt these people down and to stop the plot. Such a story would have seemed pretty far fetched even a few years ago, but with recent political events it was easy to suspend credibility and take the story as something that could very much happen. Louse Penny has the ability to make each of the characters so real the reader can visualise them, along with some really excellent scene setting, especially in Three Pines, which has become a real village in the minds of her readers - this reader wants to go there and have hot chocolate and a croissant in Gabri’s bistro!

One of the great things Louise Penny knows how to do is to make her books address the issues of the moment. The Gamache series has evolved form a largely local whodunnit to one with much more universal involvement. Some readers may not like this but I believe it is impossible to keep rehashing the same characters and plots and with this last book she shows she knows how to go beyond the obvious and create a (well, mostly) believable plot integrating climate change, pollution, corruption and politics. The reason it's not five stars for me, is that it veers into the realm of the impossible once too often. I would like to believe that, if something like this happened, there would be people like Gamache to rescue the world, but this is, as we have seen, highly unlikely. There are a lot of fools in this world so it is nice to be able to be able to invest your hopes into fictional heroes when reality remains harsh. This is good for a couple of hours of enjoyable reading, just make sure you read The Grey Wolf first.

Underpinned by philosophical musings and melted brie this is once again an edge of your seat thriller.

Reading a Louise Penny novel is like a moral reset. We are reminded that, "goodness exists" despite us living in a world where that is challenged every day and at every level.
This sequel to "The Grey Wolf" is no less daunting in tone and action. Gamache realises that the plot to poison the nation's water is the just the tip of a much bigger plot involving nations, government and climate change. With his team he becomes embroiled in a quite unbelievable, but sadly almost credible, plot that twists and turns until the very end. It plays with your mind and leaves you questioning everything you have ever read or heard on line. At its heart it's a storyline about greed ,truth and desperation. However, for fans of the lovely fictional village of Three Pines more action takes place there than in the previous story. The bistro is visited and food and friendships are shared - goodness exists!

I greatly enjoyed this - I do question whether one man can really take on the might of government but this is fiction and we now know lines between fiction and fact blur daily. It's another triumph, although I would appreciate a more straightforward case next time!

Louise Penny has long been one of my all-time favorite crime writers—firmly planted in my top ten—and The Black Wolf is a powerful reminder of why. Over more than twenty books, her characters have grown into familiar companions: layered, evolving, deeply human. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache in particular remains a towering moral force—calm, principled, but with steel beneath the surface—and in this latest installment, we see that center tested like never before.

Where past novels leaned into the warm, psychological depth of Three Pines, The Black Wolf bursts onto a broader, more combustible stage. The result is a breathtakingly tense and eerily timely thriller. Penny deftly trades the village green for global intrigue, exploring a chillingly plausible conspiracy rooted in cross-border tensions between the U.S. and Canada over water rights and natural resources. The specter of the “51st state” looms in the background—an unsettling concept that appears here months before Donald Trump returned to the White House. It’s a prescient move that gives the novel an added jolt of realism and urgency, proving once again that Penny’s intuition for the pulse of the world is razor-sharp.

This novel is a direct continuation of The Grey Wolf, and I’d strongly recommend reading that first. The payoff in The Black Wolf is richer for it. The plot picks up just weeks after the foiling of a domestic terror plot in Montréal—a supposed victory that quickly begins to unravel. What if the wrong man was arrested? What if the real Black Wolf is still out there, gathering power in the shadows?

What follows is a tightly-wound investigation conducted from the heart of Three Pines, with Gamache, Beauvoir, and Lacoste working quietly, urgently, against an invisible adversary. The clues are fragmentary: two notebooks, a cryptic map, a line from scripture. But the danger is seismic. Penny masterfully builds tension, layer by layer, as the team uncovers a web of corruption and complicity that stretches into industry, law enforcement, even government.

This book crackles with momentum. It’s pacy, explosive, and—despite the scale—never loses its emotional core. The intimacy of Three Pines remains, but the stakes have soared. Penny’s writing is as elegant and assured as ever, delivering not just suspense, but insight, wisdom, and heart.

The Black Wolf is a triumph—both a brilliant thriller and a bold evolution in the Gamache series. Louise Penny has not only raised the stakes; she’s redefined what this series is capable of.

Absolutely loved it.

4.5
Folks, I was honestly nervous to read this and went into it fully braced. Like others, I'm getting uncomfortable with how superhuman Gamache has become and 'conspiracy intrigue' of the plots, not to mention how much I did not want to read the 51st state stuff. But, I'm relieved to say that I enjoyed this one!

It started super slow; like, for the first 20% I was like "come on, do something!" but I think a lot of this was because Louise Penny openly shared the trigger warning that is the 51st state theme (which doesn't show up until around 60%). The 51st state plot is terrifying as a Canadian. How Penny crafts the rationale for it was disturbingly plausible. I was physically squirming and felt sick to my stomach, it was that uncomfortable. But, I hung in there.

While Gamache is very lucky in this story, and some of the coincidences and twists require a strong suspension of disbelief, I liked how some of our side characters have more prominent roles. While we still don't spend a lot of time in Three Pines, Penny addresses this in the afterword. She knows her readers are clambering for a story set in the village (and maybe a plot that doesn't mirror the horrors of reality quite so closely); but her rationale is well argued and shows some insight into the choices she's made for these last two books. I'm still not convinced that all of Penny's (pretty awesome) plots need to be set in the Three Pines universe, but I understand her thought process better. Bottom line: IMO, Penny's incredible writing will always counteract her wilder plots.

My main concern with the 51st state plot, is the same concern I had The Madness of Crowds. It represents the world Penny wants, not necessarily the world we have; if, like me, your nerves are frayed, you may feel despondent. <spoilers removed> Despite the anxiety I felt, I did love how Penny wove very real climate breakdown themes into the narrative.

Was I surprised by this? Yes, I was. And relieved that I enjoyed it.
Am I keen to read another political intrigue plot in the Gamache series? Absolutely not.

If you like the series, don't give up on it yet. In a lot of ways, I found the storytelling stronger in this than Grey Wolf.

Second instalment in a two part book started with The Grey Wolf.
CI Gamache knows it’s not over there is more than a terrorist attack on a major city in Canada.
With his 2 sidekicks he must follow the trail even though he cannot see the woods for the trees for such a long time.
There are great risks to life and reputation but the repercussions could be devastating.
A very relevant story dealing with climate change social media and how a small voice can influence the masses.
You really need to read the first book The Grey Wolf to place all the characters and bring relevance to this story.
I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest unedited feedback.

Another riveting tale from Louise Penny. The incomparable Armand Gamache continues his search for the black wolf begun in The grey wolf. All of the favourite inhabitants of Three Pines are present while Gamache uses his worldwide connections to solve the most dangerous case he has ever investigated.
An absolute page turner that I read over a couple of days. Can’t wait for the next one.
Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for the chance to read and review an advance copy of this book.

“In a dry and parched land, where there is no water…”

My best book moment of the year so far was being approved for an advance copy of Louise Penny’s latest novel, The Black Wolf, #20 in the hugely popular Inspector Gamache series. Its predecessor, The Grey Wolf, left readers hanging after the successful foiling of a terrorist attack on a major Quebec water plant, ending with Gamache’s ominous declaration: “We have a problem…”

There’s so much I could say about this book! The storyline is so uncannily prescient that Penny takes the unusual step of including an author’s note at the beginning: “Imagine my surprise in January 2025 when I started spotting headlines that could have been ripped right from the book….”
The main action unfolds beyond the familiar sanctuary of Three Pines, as Gamache and his team uncover an even more chilling conspiracy—one rooted in environmental warfare. In a world increasingly shaped by the disruptive force of social media, Penny deftly explores how the inconceivable can quickly shift into the realm of the acceptable, and how dangerously thin the line is between misinformation and catastrophe.
In a world gone crazy, this is ultimately a story about the power of choice—and the courage it takes to be a dissenting voice. I’m in awe of Louise Penny’s skill in pulling together such a multi-layered and complex story. To say I loved this book is an understatement. It’s easily my favourite read of the year so far—and one I know I’ll return to again.

With sincere thanks to @NetGalley and @HodderBooks for an advance copy in return for my honest review.

The Black Wolf by Louise Penny is book 20 in the Armand Gamache series. It is published on 28 October. Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for the advance copy. This book is a continuation of book 19, The Grey Wolf. Domestic terrorism in Montreal. Armand had thought they had wrapped up their previous case, but it is just beginning. With all the terrorists’ tentacles and their powerful allies, there is an uphill battle. Armand has confined himself to Three Pines to recover from his injuries and is joined by Jean-Guy Beauvoir and Isabelle Lacoste to continue the investigation. They don’t know who their enemies are, or their friends. In their investigation, the unthinkable is uncovered – a diabolical plan which will have far-reaching ramifications. This is an intense read with comic relief provided by Ruth and Rosa the duck. There is a real sense of place when talking about the village of Three Pines. The Gamache books are beautifully written, and it is very easy to get lost in them. The characters are a joy to read about and having followed them through from book 1, I know them inside and out. I love the books.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of Black Wolf. Louise Penny’s writing was elegant and layered, with a strong sense of place and character. The plot is deeply political and quietly tense, drawing on real-world events that kept me turning the pages.

While I did finish and enjoy the book, I found myself pausing at points to look things up or reread previous summaries, as my understanding of the plot would definitely have been richer had I started further back in the series. I will definitely go back to review the build up to the history between Gamache and the other characters in this series.

A rewarding read for fans of thoughtful, character-driven crime fiction, just one that benefits from a bit of background first on my behalf.

This is a captivating read though really frightening... The intricate and complex plot needs the reader to concentrate on what is happening. One does not know whom to to trust up to the conclusion of the novel. That's good! I loved the parts taking place in the Three Pines and loved meeting the inhabitants again. The novel was cleverly done, no question (hence the 4*). However, the plot dealt too much with politics as did the previous book. I do prefer the other books... That's only my opinion.
I received a digital copy of this novel from NetGalley and I have voluntarily written an honest review.