Best-selling and Multiple
Award-Winning Canadian Mystery Writer Louise Penny made a
special visit to Heffers
Bookstore in Cambridge to talk about her writing. This was the only UK
The event was organised by
one of the most knowledgeable booksellers we know, Richard Reynolds, who is
also the Chair of The
Crime Writers Association [CWA] Gold Dagger Award. Though the historic Heffers Bookstore is now part of
the Blackwell Books Chain, but retains its independent feel, with Richard
maintaining one of the best selections of Crime, Mystery and Thrillers in the UK
I was delighted to meet Louise
Penny again. Joining me were Chris Simmons
of Crimesquad and The Talented Mr Ripley, critic, crime writer and raconteur at Shots and Deadly Pleasures Magazine - Getting Away
With Murder column, and many others.
I recall Louise Penny being
a runner-up for the CWA
Debut Dagger Award in 2004. Her entry ‘Still Life’ was highly commended and
missed taking the Debut Dagger ‘by only a
whisker.' This resulted in her getting ‘Still Life’ into print. I first met
Louise at the launch of Still Life at the Canadian Embassy in London
We highly recommend the work
of Louise Penny, if you like your mystery fiction with compassion and dark
insight into the psychological – then Penny’s work will enthrall, and her latest
‘How The Light Gets In’ is no
exception –
“There is a crack in everything.
That’s how
the light gets in.”
—
Leonard
Cohen from his Poem / Song Anthem
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.
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
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?
How the Light Gets In is the ninth Chief Inspector Gamache Novel from Louise
Penny.
One of Publishers Weekly's Best Mystery/Thriller
Books of 2013 and a #1 New York Times Best Seller
For Shots Readers, we have
some video footage from the Heffers’ event for those who have not explored the
mysterious world of Louise Penny -
Bibliography – all of Louise
Penny’s work is available from the Shots Online Bookstore, with discounts HERE
Time to start saving your pennies, because if you’ve not experienced Louise Penny’s Chief
Inspector Armand Gamache, it’s time you did.
Still Life [2005].
Winner of the New Blood Dagger award
in the United Kingdom,
the Arthur Ellis Award in
Canada for best first crime novel, the Dilys Award, the 2007 Anthony Award and
the Barry
Award for best first novel in the United States.
A Fatal Grace [2007] Alternate
title: "Dead Cold"
Winner of the Agatha Award for best novel of 2007
The Cruellest Month [2008]
Winner of the Agatha Award for best novel of 2008, Nominated
for the 2009 Anthony,
the Macavity and
the Barry awards
for best novel of 2008.
The Murder Stone [2009] Alternative title “A
Rule Against Murder”
A New York
Times bestseller and nominated for an Arthur Ellis Award in
the category of best novel
The Brutal Telling [2009]
Winner of the Agatha Award for best novel of 2009, as
well as the 2010 Anthony Award for
best crime novel in the U.S.
Bury your Dead [2010]
Winner of the Agatha Award for best novel of 2010, the 2011 Anthony and Macavity Award for best crime novel in
the U.S., the 2011 Arthur Ellis Award best
crime novel in Canada, and the 2011 Nero Award.
A Trick of the Light [2011]
Named one of the best crime
novels of 2011 by The Globe &
Mail and The New York Times
The Beautiful Mystery [2012]
Macavity and Anthony Award for best
crime novel in the U.S
How the Light Gets In [2013]
A New York
More Information on the work of Louise Penny is
available here
As a long-time follower of
the Canadian Poet Leonard Cohen, I was very impressed that when Louise Penny
approached Mr Cohen about the use of the famous existential lyric [from his
song / poem ANTHEM] for her latest novel, Leonard graciously agreed, and
refused any payment for its use -
Photos (c) 2010-2013 Ali Karim
Cover Photos (c) Headline Publishing and (C) Little Brown UK
2 comments:
It's a shame that this event was not miked. I have turned up the speakers on my computer to 100% and I can barely hear anything she has to say. Something about the intimacy of a bookstore leads people to talk as if they are in a public library, I guess.
...that's a pity as on my PC Laptop internal speakers it comes across load and clear?
Post a Comment