The Grey Wolf

A Novel (Chief Inspector Gamache Novel, Book 19)

By: Louise Penny

Narrated by: Jean Brassard

"Brassard's accents—whether French Canadian, Italian, or continental French—create indelible characters. His performance lets us feel Reine Marie's warmth and Armand's affectionate nature, and he adds an additional layer to surly Ruth and her potty-mouthed duck. Exciting and entertaining."—AudioFile (Earphones Award winner)

The 19th mystery in the #1 New York Times-bestselling Armand Gamache series.

Relentless phone calls interrupt the peace of a warm August morning in Three Pines. Though the tiny Québec village is impossible to find on any map, someone has managed to track down Armand Gamache, head of homicide at the Sûreté, as he sits with his wife in their back garden. Reine-Marie watches with increasing unease as her husband refuses to pick up, though he clearly knows who is on the other end. When he finally answers, his rage shatters the calm of their quiet Sunday morning.

That's only the first in a sequence of strange events that begin THE GREY WOLF, the nineteenth novel in Louise Penny's #1 New York Times-bestselling series. A missing coat, an intruder alarm, a note for Gamache reading "this might interest you", a puzzling scrap of paper with a mysterious list—and then a murder. All propel Chief Inspector Gamache and his team toward a terrible realization. Something much more sinister than any one murder or any one case is fast approaching.

Armand Gamache, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, his son-in-law and second in command, and Inspector Isabelle Lacoste can only trust each other, as old friends begin to act like enemies, and long-time enemies appear to be friends. Determined to track down the threat before it becomes a reality, their pursuit takes them across Québec and across borders. Their hunt grows increasingly desperate, even frantic, as the enormity of the creature they’re chasing becomes clear. If they fail the devastating consequences would reach into the largest of cities and the smallest of villages.

Including Three Pines.

A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books.

©2024 Louise Penny (P)2024 Macmillan Audio

HATE this new narrator! So stilted! Give us back the former excellent one!!!

Love the story- one of Ms.Penny’s best! Was so excited to download it today! Dislike the narrator:((

Disappointed

After eagerly waiting for the latest book in the series, I was sadly disappointed. The new narrator made following the storyline difficult to follow. As others have noted, I had to keep rewinding. I worked so hard at trying to discern one character from another I would loose track of the story. If possible, I would like to see this book re-recorded with a better narrator.

Too many characters

I have all 19 of Louise Penny’s books on my phone . I love all of them except this one .

The New Narrator Was Just Awful

The new narrator did not enunciate clearly. I won’t say that he mumbled exactly but it was close. I had to work very hard to understand him. He did not use a distinctive voice for any of the characters, not even Inspector Gamache. Whenever there was back and forth dialogue between several people I quickly lost track of who was speaking. Every character sounded male even when he did occasionally offer a slight variation. There were places where both Isabel and Jean-Guy were talking, and he used exactly the same voice. At other times there was a slight variation, but never one distinct sound for any individual.

There was also no richness to his voice. Gamache is a good-sized man who has been a leader for decades. There was no sense of this in the way he was portrayed. It was a bit of an adjustment when Ralph Cosham passed, but Robert Bathurst still brought all the things we loved about this series to bear. The distinctive individuals, and the sense of who they each were. This narrator brings none of this. I’m really disappointed.

It’s hard to rate the story in light of how badly the narrator butchered it. If I can’t follow the dialogue, it isn’t going to be a good story. And I didn’t like the sound of the characters at all. It used to be such a pleasure listening to Gamache talking with his people. Now I can’t even tell when it’s him speaking.

I have to wonder if Ms. Penny listened to any of his readings prior to selecting the new narrator. There wasn’t much explanation for why Robert Bathurst wasn’t been used, and in fact she stated that Mr. Brassard would be reading all of her future books. That makes me sad.

I Feel Cheated

I feel cheated. The Gamache series was my #1 favorite. I was so excited to start listening to this newest episode. To my surprise, the narration prevented me from following the story. I couldn’t understand the French names nor distinguish the characters’ voices. I was constantly confused and had to replay many chapters. This took my enjoyment away.

Mush mouth narrator

Great story!! But the new narrator was terrible!!
He might be from Quebec but that was the only good thing about him. It was impossible at times to tell which character was speaking! He didn't change his voice for each character.
He didn't enunciate clearly.
Numerous times we had to re-listen to passages to try to figure out who was speaking and what was being said.
It was very disconcerting! His poor narration made it very difficult to follow what was happening! He needed to pause slightly when the location changed.It was confusing.
And Daniel became Danielle!!
We feel like we need to get a copy of the book and read it to really figure out what we missed with the awful narration!! Very disappointed in the new narrator!!!

Intense.

I am amazed at the genius of Louise Penny. The twists and turns, the cast of characters was immense. I found listening was difficult if I wasn’t paying close attention. And the cliffhanger…another book in the future for sure.

Enjoyed the story

It was wonderful to step back into this series for another book. I was really disappointed with the new narrator’s reading of the Three Pines characters, he totally changed the relationship I’ve built in my heart with these people. Their voices and relationships seemed less intimate. Not a fan and if this narrator continues, not sure if I’d listen to another book.

Hard to get through

I looked so forward to reading The Grey Woolf, but the narrator spoiled my reading/listening experience! There are so little differences between the characters that I found the novel difficult to finish. This was definitely not Louise Penny’s best. Please use another narrator the next time.

Overall Disappointing

Besides the Narrator, whose voice of Armand was weak, Ruth's was too strong, He did give a flare for the French words. I thought the story was weak and seemed disconnected. Not her best and disliked the narrator.