Miss Wolcott's Ghost
Out now!
The latest Three Pines mystery series featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. Miss Wolcott’s Ghost is now available wherever books are sold – see below for purchase links.
synopsis
“There’s a body in Lost Nation.”
“Where?” demands Armand as he scribbles on the pad by his bed.
But the line goes dead before Chief Inspector Gamache can question the caller.
The head of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec has no idea where Lost Nation is, or who woke him in the small hours of the morning at his home in Three Pines. What he does know is that the man was terrified.
And so Armand is thrust out of a deep sleep and into the surrounding forests in search of the mythical Lost Nation. And a body.
Soon, Gamache and his team are faced with tracking down not just the legend of Lost Nation, but a lost ship, lost documents belonging to an eccentric Victorian botanist and a mysterious plant not seen in a century, that might save, or take, countless lives.
As the murder investigation deepens, nightmarish spectres from the past begin to haunt the Sûreté officers. As the ghosts begin to gather, Gamache, Beauvoir, and Lacoste, with the help of Reine-Marie, Clara, and the other villagers of Three Pines, realize that the body on the grave is far from the only death. To solve the crime and avert catastrophe they must look to rancid secrets and old lies no longer dead and buried.
#1 on the NYTimes Hardcover and Ebook list
#1 Bestseller Publishers Weekly
#2 on the USA Today list (that includes all books in all formats!)
#2 on the USA Today list (that includes all books in all formats!)
In Canada Miss Wolcott’s Ghost is the #1 bestselling book: #1 New Release #1 Hardcover Fiction #1 Canadian Fiction # 1 on The Toronto Star’s New Fiction list # 1 on the Globe and Mail Hardcover list
Named one of B&N's "the best mysteries and thrillers of 2026”
Amazon has named Miss Wolcott's Ghost one of the Best Mysteries and Thrillers of the Month
Miss Wolcott's Ghost was named a "Must Listen" pick at Apple Books.
If you’re like me, or even entirely new to Ms. Penny’s long-running series, MISS WOLCOTT’S GHOST is an excellent starting/returning point… Can history be so dangerous? Can archival clues point to contemporary truths? Of course, the answers to these questions are yes.
"Penny, in top form, digs into cowardice, courage, and the importance of remembering, all with wisdom and warmth" - MISS WOLCOTT'S GHOST was also included in their Best Books of October list.
Deep and thoughtful, with themes of gender bias in science and the danger of forgetting history running through it, along with such Gamache favorites as honor, forgiveness and second chances... Plot aside, Penny’s finest achievement here is managing to include pretty much every Three Pines regular without seeming to check them mechanically off a list...Descriptions of so many evolving and deepening relationships are lovingly tucked into the chapters...reading 'Miss Wolcott’s Ghost' made me as happy as an afternoon in the Gamaches’ garden with a glass of pink lemonade.
Gamache and his team grapple with ghosts of their own as Penny characteristically delivers a grim and determined investigation with charm—“not much seemed to happen in Three Pines. Though when it did, it was often quite shocking and took some telling.” As always, this Gamache tale is fueled by the offerings of the Bistro. Readers should savor every bite and every word.
Exemplary... Penny's talent for nail-biting suspense and quiet character moments fuse with surprisingly topical subject matter to deliver an unputdownable installment of an ever reliable series. Readers will cheer
...The intricate mysteries of Louise Penny are always an education as well as delightful entertainment: “Even Rosa stared, but then ducks often did.” This one involves a real-life shipwreck and a former colleague sacked for cowardice. Despite the research rapture, feelings are to the fore: “The ‘how’, even the ‘who’ of a murder investigation, was important, but never as interesting or telling as the ‘why’s.” Penny has written 21 novels featuring Gamache and this is one of the very best.
Molina handles everyone, from cantankerous Ruth to troubled Jean Guy, with ease, and his French and British accents are impeccable...even newcomers will be caught up in the intricate plot and Molina’s stellar performance
A superpowered mystery shrouded in mysticism and history whose power endures past its closing revelations.
Molina’s intense, intelligent performance makes the novel’s bizarre circumstances believable, terrifying, and compelling."
‘…absorbing….intriguing.’
Spending time with Gamache in the Quebec-set Three Pines is always a treat, and this satisfyingly complex murder mystery is an absolute joy
MISS WOLCOTT’S GHOST is one of Crimereads’ Most Anticipated Books of Fall! click here.
AARP has included MISS WOLCOTT’S GHOST as one of their Most Anticipated Books of Fall! click here.
Fun initiative to celebrate MISS WOLCOTT'S GHOST
To celebrate the publication of MISS WOLCOTT’S GHOST St. Martin’s Press, has launched a wonderful initiative called THE GARDENS OF THREE PINES.
The Lost Nation Cemetery
One of the main scenes in the book takes place in Lost Nation Cemetery, which actually exists. We visited it to take photos and videos to share with you.
Our pledge is to donate some of the proceeds from the book towards the restoration and upkeep of this peaceful place.
In this video, I explain the site in more detail. You can also click here to watch the drone footage.
