"This is Penny's most suspenseful book to date," says Hank. Come Meet Louse Penny Tonight At Tattered Cover!

“There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” —Leonard Cohen

Christmas is approaching, and in Québec it’s a time of dazzling snowfalls, bright lights, and gatherings with friends in front of blazing hearths. But shadows are falling on the usually festive season for Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. Most of his best agents have left the Homicide Department, his old friend and lieutenant Jean-Guy Beauvoir hasn’t spoken to him in months, and hostile forces are lining up against him. When Gamache receives a message from Myrna Landers that a longtime friend has failed to arrive for Christmas in the village of Three Pines, he welcomes the chance to get away from the city. Mystified by Myrna's reluctance to reveal her friend's name, Gamache soon discovers the missing woman was once one of the most famous people not just in North America, but in the world, and now goes unrecognized by virtually everyone except the mad, brilliant poet Ruth Zardo.

As events come to a head, Gamache is drawn ever deeper into the world of Three Pines. Increasingly, he is not only investigating the disappearance of Myrna’s friend but also seeking a safe place for himself and his still-loyal colleagues. Is there peace to be found even in Three Pines, and at what cost to Gamache and the people he holds dear?

Hank says:
"Following the monastic side trip of The Beautiful Mystery, Louise Penny returns to the remote Quebec village of Three Pines in How the Light Gets In. The storylines involve the family history of a fictionalized version of the Dionne quintuplets, and the police corruption that Chief Inspector Gamache has been contending with, over the course of the last several books. This conflict finally comes to a head, precipitated by Gamache out of desperation. Loyalty and trust are tested to the limit, and always in question.

This is Penny's most suspenseful book to date, the result of careful building of plot and character throughout the series. The story arc wraps up many loose ends in a way that would be satisfying, if this should happen to be the end of the series. I hope it is not, and my instinct is that Penny is not through telling the stories of Three Pines. If I'm right, it will be interesting to see whether the situation somehow reverts after this pivotal book, or continues off in a drastic new direction."

Louise Penny will be reading from and signing her latest book at our Historic Lodo store TONIGHT, August 29, 2013 at 7:30 pm.  Don't miss this chance to meet this beloved mystery writer.

C.J. Box and Lisa C. Team Up For Another TC Event

The thrilling new Joe Pickett novel from the New York Times–bestselling author.

Breaking Point takes Joe Pickett into uncharted territory. The question is: What will he do when he gets there?

It was always good to see Butch Roberson, Joe thought—a hardworking, upright local business owner whose daughter was friends with his own. Little did he know that when he talked to Butch that day in the forest, the man was about to disappear. He was heading into the mountains to scout elk, he said, but instead he was running. Two EPA employees had just been murdered, and all signs pointed to him as the killer.
As the manhunt organized itself, Joe heard more of the story—about the tract of land Butch and his wife had bought to build their retirement home on, until the EPA declared it a wetland. About the penalties they charged him when he balked, new ones piling up every day, until the family was torn apart . . . and finally, it seems, the man just cracked.

It was an awful story. But was it the whole story? The more Joe looks into it, the more he begins to wonder—and the more he finds himself in the middle of a war he never expected and never wanted. Powerful forces want Roberson not just caught but dead—and the same goes for anyone who stands in their way.

Every man reaches his breaking point. Joe Pickett may just have reached his.

Lisa says:
"I'm a big fan of C.J. Box's novels. I love his Joe Pickett mystery series because the books always take off from page one. Breaking Point, like his others, deals with timely, ripped-from-the-headlines topics involving the EPA and other Big-Brother-is-watching themes. Joe not only finds himself in the middle of double homicide, he has a new boss bent on changing his job, and the Feds demanding his help. I like reading Joe Pickett mysteries because Box does a great job of making readers feel connected to Joe and his family, the town and its residents. I don't want to talk about the plot too much, but I will say, I read the book in a day. At one point the TV news was on in my house. I was right in the middle of reading the exciting wilderness chase, when I heard the TV reporter talk about how the US government has a new tool it can use in the American skies. I continued reading and, on the next page, that tool made a violent appearance in Breaking Point. C.J. Box does his homework!"

Wednesday, March 13, 2013 at 7:30 pm at our Historic Lodo Store, C.J. Box will be reading from and signing his latest book.


Can’t make it to the signing? Request an autographed copy here: books@tatteredcover.com