Welcome to my website! I'm so glad you've found it, and the books. The sixth Armand Gamache book is called BURY YOUR DEAD and will come out on September 28th. It's February and bitterly cold in Quebec City. But Chief Inspector Gamache barely notices. He's nearly consumed with grief and guilt over a police action he led - and the mistakes he made. He spends his time with his now-retired mentor, and in the peaceful library of the Literary and Historical Society. A bastien of the dwindling English population. But if Gamache thought death was finished with him, he was wrong. The body of a celebrated eccentric is found in the Lit and His, and Gamache is drawn again into hunting a murderer. As he digs through the crime, and the venerable old city it becomes clear this murder is rooted in an event 400 years old, and in people long dead. But perhaps not buried. It also becomes clear to the Chief Inspector that to find the truth he needs to confront his own ghosts, and bury his own dead. This book cuts close to the bone for me, and many scenes haunt me still. Booklist have given BURY YOUR DEAD a starred review Penny’s first five crime novels in her Armand Gamache series have all been outstanding, but her latest is the best yet, a true tour de force of storytelling….Penny hits every note perfectly in what is one of the most elaborately constructed and remarkably moving mysteries in years. Kirkus, in a starred review, said: Gamache's excruciating grief over a wrong decision, Beauvoir's softening toward the unconventional, a plot twist so unexpected it's chilling, and a description of Québec intriguing enough to make you book your next vacation there, all add up to a superior read. Bring on the awards. And Library Journal, in yet another starred review, wrote: Superb...brilliantly provocative and will appeal to fans of literary fiction, as well as to mystery lovers. You can pre-order BURY YOUR DEAD at your local book store, or on Amazon. It's always a good idea to pre-order since the first editions go fast, and then you have to wait! I adore this book - and hope you will too. We've had some terrific news on other fronts. STILL LIFE has been nominated for the Best Crime Fiction Novel of the Decade in the US. This is a special Barry Award and you can imagine how thrilled I am! Here are the other nominees - you might recognize a name, or two: MYSTERY/CRIME NOVEL OF THE DECADE Ken Bruen The Guards Michael Connelly The Lincoln Lawyer Stieg Larsson The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Dennis Lehane Mystic River Louise Penny Still Life Carlos Ruiz Zafón The Shadow of the Wind

I suspect there'll be all sorts of debate about this list...who isn't on it? Who should be? Why this selection?

I, however, will not be among the debaters.

In other STILL LIFE news, the French version is finally about to come out, thanks for Flammarion Quebec. It will be called En plein coeur and for more information (in French) please go to the 'French Quebec homepage' .

Now, over to news on the current book, THE BRUTAL TELLING. After blasting out of the starting gate and onto the New York Times, USA today, US Weekly and the ABA bestsellers lists, it's now been nominated for the Anthony and the Macavity awards in the US. Both will be given out in October.

The Brutal Telling has also won the Agatha Award for Best Traditional Mystery in the US (the first series in history to win three Agathas in a row). And was named by Dorothy L the most popular crime fiction book in 2009 and was the Barnes and Noble Main Selection for Fall 2009.



There is a scene in THE BRUTAL TELLING where a new agent, Paul Morin, plays a priceless violin. Here is part of that scene:

What came out surprised them all. A Celtic lament left the bow, left the violin, left the agent. It filled the cabin, filled the rafters. Almost into the corners. The simple tune swirled around them like colors and delicious meals and conversation. And it lodged in their chests. Not their ears, not their heads, but their hearts. Slow, dignified, but buoyant. Agent Morin had changed….His eyes were closed and her looked the way Gamache felt. Filled with joy. Rapture even. Such was the power of this music. Of this instrument.

Agent Morin is playing a piece called Colm Quigley. Here it is now. Written and performed by the Canadian Celtic group, Leahy. They have very kindly supplied this link. (Click here to download the music).

New Pronunciation Guide
Another piece of news is that after fielding lots of emails asking how to pronounce all the French words, including Armand Gamache's name, I finally realized (d'oh) that maybe a pronunciation guide would help! So, with the help of my terrific assistant Lise Page, and the local community radio station, CIDI, I've recorded a pronunciation guide. You can click here, or the new menu button at the top of this page.

It sometimes comes as a shock that I have any books out. It can still feel a wonderful dream. But the reality is, the sixth is about to be published! And I know people can now be understandably confused about the order the books were written in. If you're like me it matters because it's often fun to read a series from the very beginning. So, as a public service and with absolutely no self-interest, here's the list of books, from first published to the most recent:

STILL LIFE
A FATAL GRACE / DEAD COLD
THE CRUELEST MONTH
A RULE AGAINST MURDER / THE MURDER STONE
THE BRUTAL TELLING
BURY YOUR DEAD

Some of the books have different titles, as you might have noticed. The publishers did this not, as you might suspect, to be annoying but because they genuinely feel their readers respond to different titles. I hope it's not too confusing. It is for me.

And finally, a small note about the themes in my books, and why I write them. They're all inspired by two lines from a poem by WH Auden, in his elegy to Melville. He wrote: Goodness existed, that was the new knowledge/his terror had to blow itself quite out to let him see it.

How powerful is that?

My books are about terror. That brooding terror curled deep down inside all of us. But more than that, more than murder, more than all the rancid emotions and actions, my books are about goodness. And kindness. About choices. About friendship and belonging. And love. Enduring love.