‘Three Pines’ and 18 Books: How To Read Louise Penny's Chief Inspector Gamache Books In Order

Allie Nelson

Tue, December 13, 2022 at 12:30 AM UTC

10 min read

Time to solve the mystery of how to enjoy the series!

The premiere of Three Pines on Amazon Prime has introduced a whole new set of fans to Louise Penny’s Chief Inspector Gamache. The eight episode streaming series starring Alfred Molina as the beloved character has sent many viewers back to the source material, eager to engage in more mysteries. But as the Chief Inspector Gamache books have been coming out for almost 20 years, that can be quite the undertaking.

Viewers are wondering how to best approach reading Penny’s Chief Inspector Gamache books. Is there a particular order that it is best to start in? Or should they just dive in wherever they want?

Here is everything you need to know about how to read Louise Penny’s Chief Inspector Gamache books in order!

Is Three Pines based on a book?

The Prime Video streaming series Three Pines, starring Alfred Molina as Chief Inspector Gamache is based on a series of books by Louise Penny. The first book, Still Life, came out in 2005. The most recent as of this writing, A World of Curiosities, was published at the end of November 2022—coinciding with the series’ debut on Amazon.

The streaming series covers four crimes over the course of eight episodes. The book series covers a different crime in each novel. As a result, the streaming series Three Pines is not simply based on one book but on the book series itself.

Related: Can't Get Enough Bridgerton? How to Read Julia Quinn's Bridgerton Books in Order

How many books are in the Three Pines series?

As of the end of 2022, there are 18 books in total in the Chief Inspector Gamache book series—with the most recent book debuting Nov. 29, 2022. The books have been coming out since 2005.

Should Louise Penny's books be read in order?

Now this is the question! According to author Louise Penny, the short answer is, “It's not necessary to read previous books—but it is recommended.”

Let’s dive into the longer answer. It’s not essential to read all 18 Chief Inspector Gamache books in a specific order to enjoy the experience or get the most out of them. Each book has been crafted to be a standalone mystery, so in theory, you should be able to pick up and dive into any book in the series at any time without feeling lost.

The author has tried to write in a way where even new readers will be able to pick up on the issues that were explored in detail in previous installments. However, as the books are part of a larger series, the characters will have pasts, some of which will have been created and explored in previous books in the series. As a result, it’s important to remember that the books are part of a continuing series and that each story is a peek into the characters’ lives at the moment in time that particular book takes place.

Penny makes sure to explain anything from the past, or a previous book, that the reader needs to know in order to enjoy their reading experience. Some issues will be referenced in passing, but just to demonstrate that the characters have rich, full lives outside of the story.

Keeping all of that in mind, Penny does try to include a strong, dynamic arc of character development throughout the series. She describes this herself as, “I think of the books as having two streams—one is the plot—the crime. The other is the personal life of the characters. The first will, for the most part, be contained in a single book. The character development, though, gets deeper and deeper across the series.”

So, all of this is to say, it’s not 100% necessary to read the Chief Inspector Gamache books in a certain order to enjoy them, however, you may gain extra insight into the characters’ development if you do.

What is the order of the Louise Penny novels?

1. Still Life (2005)

A suspicious death brings Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surêté du Québec and his team of investigators to a rural village south of Montreal. In the tiny hamlet of Three Pines, located just north of the U.S. border, Jane Neal—a fixture in the community—has been found dead. While the locals are convinced this is nothing more than a tragic hunting accident, Inspector Gamache is not so sure…

2. A Fatal Grace (published as Dead Cold in the U.K.) (2006)

In the small village of Three Pines in Quebec, CC de Poitiers had her fair share of enemies—from her husband, to her lover, even her daughter and pretty much the rest of town—so when she winds up electrocuted in the middle of a frozen lake in front of the entire village, Chief Inspector Gamache has his work cut out for him.

3. The Cruelest Month (2007)

Even springtime in Three Pines doesn’t bring relief when a séance at the Old Hadley House ends with one party member dying of fright. It’s up to Chief Inspector Gamache to determine whether this was a natural death, or if something more sinister is going on…

4. A Rule Against Murder (published as The Murder Stone in the U.K.) (2008)

Chief Inspector Gamache and his wife Reine-Marie are celebrating their wedding anniversary at Manoir Bellechasse, a secluded, luxurious inn not far from Three Pines. The celebration does not go as planned as some surprise guests crash a family reunion at the inn and a summer storm leaves a dead body in its wake. Once again, Chief Inspector Gamache is on the case.

5. The Brutal Telling (2009)

All the residents of Three Pines love Olivier’s Bistro—that is, until a stranger’s dead body is found on the restaurant’s floor. Chief Inspector Gamache is called in to solve a case that will involve first editions of Charlotte’s Web and Jane Eyre—and even a spiderweb with the word "women" into it!

6. Bury Your Dead (2010)

When Chief Inspector Gamache attends the beautiful Winter Carnival in Quebec City, he’s hoping for a respite from murder. Unfortunately, his wish is not granted when an obsessive historian’s quest to find the remains of Quebec’s founder Samuel de Champlain somehow ends in homicide. Still plagued by his most recent case in Three Pines, Gamache must solve this new murder while dealing with ghosts from his past.

7. A Trick of the Light (2011)

When Lillian Dyson is found dead amongst the flowers in Clara Morrow’s garden in Three Pines, the art world takes center stage. In a community of secrets and intrigue, Gamache and his team must work hard to uncover the truth.

8. The Beautiful Mystery (2012)

When the renowned choir director of the peaceful monastery of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups is murdered, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir of the Sûreté du Québec are admitted to the isolated community to solve the mystery.

9. How the Light Gets In (2013)

It is a chaotic and somber holiday season for Chief Inspector Gamache when he receives a message from Three Pines resident Myrna Landers informing him that her friend has failed to arrive for Christmas as planned. When he discovers the missing person is world-famous poet Ruth Zardo, his curiosity is peaked and the investigation takes off!

10. The Long Way Home (2014)

Now retired and living happily in the village of Three Pines, former Chief Inspector of Homicide, Armand Gamache learns from his neighbor, Clara Morrow, that her estranged husband has failed to come home. Hesitantly drawn back into the homicide world, he teams up with his former second-in-command, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, and Three Pines resident Myrna Landers to see what they can find of Peter Morrow.

11. The Nature of the Beast (2015)

Armand and his wife Reine-Marie Gamache, still happily retired in Three Pines, are among the residents disturbed by the disappearance of 9-year-old Laurent Lepage. As Gamache worries he may have ignored the boy’s attempts to warn others about his fate, he gets drawn into the mystery of the missing child.

12. A Great Reckoning (2016)

When an old map is found stuffed in the walls of a Three Pines bistro, it is given as a gift to former Chief Inspector Gamache to celebrate his new job. The map leads him to uncover a web of secrets, where he finds four young cadets in the Sûreté academy —along with a dead professor!

13. Glass Houses (2017)

Newly crowned Chief Superintendent of the Sûreté du Québec Armand Gamache is disturbed by a mysterious figure that arrives in Three Pines. When the figure vanishes, leaving behind a body, Gamache is plagued for months over his own inaction. He must determine what caused the crime—and if he could have done anything to stop it.

14. Kingdom of the Blind (2018)

Armand Gamache, now the former head of the Sûreté du Québec after being suspended, receives an odd letter inviting him to an abandoned farmhouse — where a complete stranger has named him one of the executors of her will. The other two executors are a young builder and Myrna Landers, also strangers to the woman. The mystery takes a deeper turn when a body is found which Gamache seeks to unravel while still investigating the case that led to his suspension six months before!

15. A Better Man (2019)

Armand Gamache is back as the head of the Sûreté du Québec, well, co-head along with his former second-in-command Jean-Guy Beauvoir. Gamache finds himself too personally invested in a case of a father looking for his missing daughter, an investigation to leads to a body being found—and mistakes being made…

16. All the Devils Are Here (2020)

The Gamaches are in Paris to visit Armand’s billionaire godfather when they see the old man critically injured in what Armand knows is no accident. The mystery sends Armand, his wife Reine-Marie, and his former second-in-command Jean-Guy Beauvoir to the top of the Eiffel Tower to the bowels of the Paris Archives, all to uncover the secrets Armand’s godfather has kept closely guarded for years.

17. The Madness of Crowds (2021)

When Chief Inspector Gamache is asked to provide security for a lecture given by a Professor of Statistics at a nearby university, he is appalled by what he finds when he looks into Professor Abigail Robinson. Professor Robinson’s agenda leads to division, fighting and an eventual climate of madness that culminates in a murder that it is up to Inspector Gamache and his second-in-command Jean-Guy Beauvoir, to solve.

18. A World of Curiosities (2022)

As springtime emerges in Three Pines, Armand Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir are troubled when the grown children of a woman murdered in a previous case the investigators worked on—their first case together—come back into their lives. With them comes a world of decades-old mysteries, puzzles and an old enemy.

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