A Journey to Three Pines: a Deep Dive into Louise Penny's Mystery Series Meredith Monday Schwartz and Roxanna Kassam-Kara

We are so excited to journey with you to Three Pines, the fictional French-Canadian village created by Louise Penny for her Three Pines series, featuring Armand Gamache. This spin-off podcast series will tackle each of the books in the series in turn, in a spoiler-FILLED format. Be sure you’ve read the book before listening to the episode.
As you’ve come to expect with all Currently Reading content, Meredith and Roxanna will follow a regular episode format, with regular segments, so you know what to expect each and every time. We love staying focused on the book, rather than conversational rabbit holes. 
Show notes for this series will not be time-stamped except for broad sections, but will include links to Bookshop dot org or Amazon for any books or resources referenced in the episode.


3:45 - Putting the Book Into Context
The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny
Published Sept. 29, 2009 by Minotaur Books
4.20 rating on Goodreads
Seasonal setting - Autum
Book Awards: Anthony Award for Best Novel in 2010
Critic Reviews
Meredith’s and Roxanna’s encounters with the book
Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny
10:50 - The Setup
16:22 - A Deeper Exploration
Setup and first paragraph
First paragraph hooks the reader so completely 
Reminds Meredith of the Vera series by Ann Cleeves
The pacing of the novel
The deliberate pulling away from the “quaint village mystery”
Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree
Quality of writing itself - if it could be written as a whole series in today’s publishing
Themes: human behavior, conscience, Thoreau’s Walden, contentment, fathers
p.172 quote about conscience
p. 298 quote about happiness
p.175 quote about Walden
P. 495 quote about fear and contentment
The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny
Side plot with Jean-Guy and the notes left by Ruth Zardo
The Oddness Factor (is usually in superlatives but gets talked about early in this episode!)
The Ending
1:15:31 - Superlatives
Biggest Flaw
Character MVP
p. 403
Favorite Character
Biggest loser
Best food description
Fear Factor
1:29:47 - Within the Series
Is this book skippable?
Favorite Quote (gets asked after the skippable portion so I added it here for time stamp sake)
1:34:08 - SPOILERS AHEAD HERE
Next episode’s read: Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny
Support Us:
Become a Bookish Friend | Grab Some Merch
Shop Bookshop dot org | Shop Amazon
Bookish Friends Receive:
The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. March’s IPL is brought to you by our anchor store, An Unlikely Story.
Trope Thursday with Kaytee and Bunmi - a behind the scenes peek into the publishing industry
All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the special insights of an independent bookseller
The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts
Connect With Us:
The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Threads
The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Roxanna | Kaytee
Affiliate Disclosure: All affiliate links go to Bookshop unless otherwise noted. Shopping here helps keep the lights on and benefits indie bookstores. Thanks for your support!

We are so excited to journey with you to Three Pines, the fictional French-Canadian village created by Louise Penny for her Three Pines series, featuring Armand Gamache. This spin-off podcast series will tackle each of the books in the series in turn, in a spoiler-FILLED format. Be sure you’ve read the book before listening to the episode.
As you’ve come to expect with all Currently Reading content, Meredith and Roxanna will follow a regular episode format, with regular segments, so you know what to expect each and every time. We love staying focused on the book, rather than conversational rabbit holes. 
Show notes for this series will not be time-stamped except for broad sections, but will include links to Bookshop dot org or Amazon for any books or resources referenced in the episode.


2:40 - Putting the Book Into Context
A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny
Publication date (2009)
4.21 rating on Goodreads
Seasonal setting - Summer
Book Awards: Crimewriters of Canada Award for Excellence in 2009
Critic Reviews
Alternate Title: The Murder Stone
Meredith’s and Roxanna’s encounters with the book
9:25 - The Setup
8:46 - A Deeper Exploration
Setup and first paragraph
Perfect prologue - sets us up for Manoir Bellechasse, but then chapter 1 goes back to Three Pines shortly
An entire family of characters we as readers cannot really root for
Mic drop moments
Flimsy mystery, great building of suspense
The pacing of the novel
Quality of writing itself - last major action scene 
Themes: Rest, oppressive heat, paradise lost, prisons, things being unnatural, bravery in vulnerability
The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny
Still Life by Louise Penny
Character Development - Gamache’s misstep
57:08 - What Do We Need to Know?
History within the book as it pertains to reality
The Oddness Factor
1:07:11 - Superlatives
Biggest Flaw
Favorite Quote
Character MVP
Biggest loser
Best food description
1:22:37 - Within the Series
Is this book skippable?
Setting the foundation
1:23:34 - SPOILERS AHEAD HERE
Easter eggs to future books
Next episode’s read: The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny
Support Us:
Become a Bookish Friend | Grab Some Merch
Shop Bookshop dot org | Shop Amazon
Bookish Friends Receive:
The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. December’s IPL will be a yearly recap from us, so we can give our beloved Indies a break for the holidays!
Trope Thursday with Kaytee and Bunmi - a behind the scenes peek into the publishing industry
All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the special insights of an independent bookseller
The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts
Connect With Us:
The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Roxanna | Kaytee
The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Threads
Affiliate Disclosure: All affiliate links go to Bookshop unless otherwise noted. Shopping here helps keep the lights on and benefits indie bookstores. Thanks for your support!

We are so excited to journey with you to Three Pines, the fictional French-Canadian village created by Louise Penny for her Three Pines series, featuring Armand Gamache. This spin-off podcast series will tackle each of the books in the series in turn, in a spoiler-FILLED format. Be sure you’ve read the book before listening to the episode.
As you’ve come to expect with all Currently Reading content, Meredith and Roxanna will follow a regular episode format, with regular segments, so you know what to expect each and every time. We love staying focused on the book, rather than conversational rabbit holes. 
Show notes for this series will not be time-stamped, but will include links to Bookshop dot org or Amazon for any books or resources referenced in the episode. These are affiliate links, so they kick back a small percentage to us if you buy through them, and help support the work we do on Currently Reading.
1:56 - The Set Up
The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny (one L simply due to demographic of readers? Please don’t fight me over this!)
3:05 - Putting the Book Into Context
Publication date 
Seasonal setting - Spring, around Easter
Book Awards: Agatha Award for Best Novel in 2008, Nominated for: The Anthony Award, The Macavity Award and the Barry Award for Best Novel of 2008
Critic Reviews
Alternate Title: Cruelest vs Cruellest - that’s the only difference dependent on geographic location of publishing.
Meredith’s and Roxanna’s encounters with the book
Currently Reading Season 5: Episode 45 w/Ezeekat
8:46 - A Deeper Exploration
Setup and first few paragraphs
A seance as the driving source of the mystery
Still Life by Louise Penny
One note character in Madeline/lack of care for her as a character
Gamache not introduced until chapter 9
Pg. 69 - Make note for future reads
Gamache as a father and grandfather figure versus an inspector
The pacing of the novel
Quality of writing itself
Themes: Regeneration, Resurrection and its unpredictability, jealousy, equanimity, grief, platonic love, 
Character Development - Gamache’s Pride, Beauvoir
The Fear Factor
55:58 - What Do We Need to Know?
Village of Three Pines - The Hadley House, Hazel’s House
A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny
Homes as a driver for the plot/characters
The Oddness Factor
Gamache’s accented English
1:06:00 - Superlatives
Favorite scene
Character MVP
Biggest loser
Best food description
1:16:32 - Within the Series
Is this book skippable?
Setting the foundation
Favorite quote
*Does the reading of passages take you out of the conversation or help enhance it? Let us know at the socials below!
Next episode’s read: A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny
No Spoilers this episode! 
Connect With Us:
Please note the change in Meredith’s Instagram handle. This was recorded prior to the change. 
Meredith is @meredithmondayschwartz on Instagram
Kaytee is @notesonbookmarks on Instagram
Roxanna is @roxannatheplanner on Instagram
currentlyreadingpodcast.com
@currentlyreadingpodcast on Instagram
currentlyreadingpodcast@gmail.com
Support us at patreon.com/currentlyreadingpodcast and www.zazzle.com/store/currentlyreading

We are so excited to journey with you to Three Pines, the fictional French-Canadian village created by Louise Penny for her Three Pines series, featuring Armand Gamache. This spin-off podcast series will tackle each of the books in the series in turn, in a spoiler-FILLED format. Be sure you’ve read the book before listening to the episode.
As you’ve come to expect with all Currently Reading content, Meredith and Roxanna will follow a regular episode format, with regular segments, so you know what to expect each and every time. We love staying focused on the book, rather than conversational rabbit holes. 
Show notes for this series will not be time-stamped, but will include links to Bookshop dot org or Amazon for any books or resources referenced in the episode. These are affiliate links, so they kick back a small percentage to us if you buy through them, and help support the work we do on Currently Reading.
2:02 - The Set Up
A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny
3:34 - Putting the Book Into Context
Publication date (mentioned that it is the last book pre-iPhone which comes into play later)
The rating is higher on Audible than Goodreads, speaking to the quality of narration.
Seasonal setting - Winter
Book Awards: Agatha Award for Best Novel in 2007
Critic Reviews
Release date confusion
Alternate Title: Dead Cold (Canadian title), TV Show on Amazon Prime titled this episode “Whiteout”
Meredith’s and Roxanna’s encounters with the book
9:37 - A Deeper Exploration
First few paragraphs
Still Life by Louise Penny
Gamache is not introduced until chapter 8
Immediate body shaming of CC’s daughter by CC herself
The Oddness Factor
P.148 highlighting the oddness of the murder
The Canadian Perspective
Exploration of art used in A Fatal Grace
The pacing of the novel
The Villagers and the Village itself
Themes: Three Pines as a place of respite, Introspection and the acceptance of oneself, Light and Dark
The comparison of CC, Peter and Clara Morrow
Vulnerability and authenticity at superpowers
Lack of small children belonging to main characters
The Fear Factor
 
46:57 - What Do We Need to Know?
Village of Three Pines - The Bistro, The Hadley House
How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny
Enneagram Corner
Introduction to Arnoult
1:00:22 - Superlatives
Biggest flaw or disappointment
Fat shaming and appearance shaming
Favorite scene
Character MVP
Biggest loser
Best food description
Favorite quote
1:20:44 - Within the Series
Setting the table
Favorite quote
Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny
A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny
Next episode’s read: The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny
No Spoilers this episode! 
Connect With Us:
Please note the change in Meredith’s Instagram handle. This was recorded prior to the change. 
Meredith is @meredithmondayschwartz on Instagram
Kaytee is @notesonbookmarks on Instagram
Roxanna is @roxannatheplanner on Instagram
currentlyreadingpodcast.com
@currentlyreadingpodcast on Instagram
currentlyreadingpodcast@gmail.com

We are so excited to journey with you to Three Pines, the fictional French-Canadian village created by Louise Penny for her Three Pines series, featuring Armand Gamache. This spin-off podcast series will tackle each of the books in the series in turn, in a spoiler-FILLED format. Be sure you’ve read the book before listening to the episode.

As you’ve come to expect with all Currently Reading content, Meredith and Roxanna will follow a regular episode format, with regular segments, so you know what to expect each and every time. We love staying focused on the book, rather than conversational rabbit holes. 

Show notes for this series will not be time-stamped except for broad sections, but will include links to Bookshop dot org or Amazon for any books or resources referenced in the episode. 
3:50 - The Set Up
Still Life by Louise Penny
4:40 - Putting the Book Into Context
Louise Penny’s age at publication
Publisher rejection
Seasonal settings and Canadian Thanksgiving
Book Awards: CNA New Blood Dagger Award, Arthur Ellis Award, Dilys Award, Anthony Award for Best First Novel
The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny
Glass Houses by Louise Penny
How did it sell
Meredith and Roxanna’s first encounters with the series
No other titles for this volume (but many do have alternates!)
12:17 - A Deeper Exploration
First few paragraphs
Louise’s writing style and character introduction
Our first meeting with Gamache
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
The Oddness Factor
Diagnosing the end
Exploration of human nature
Overarching themes
Still Life and Still Lives
Pacing 
Is this is a cozy?
50:50 - What Do We Need to Know?
Village of Three Pines
Canadian History
59:28 - Superlatives
Biggest flaw or disappointment
Language around LGBT characters and large bodies
Favorite scene
Best food description
Character MVP
Biggest loser
Favorite foods
1:12:23 - Within the Series
Pivotal or skippable
Favorite quote
1:16:03 - Stop to Avoid Spoilers for Other Books
How it Fits within the series
Recurring visuals
Ruth’s poetry
Connect With Us:
Meredith is @meredith.reads on Instagram
Kaytee is @notesonbookmarks on Instagram
Roxanna is @roxannathereader on Instagram - This is NOT what it says in the episode. She got locked out between recording and drop day!
currentlyreadingpodcast.com
@currentlyreadingpodcast on Instagram
currentlyreadingpodcast@gmail.com
Support us at patreon.com/currentlyreadingpodcast and 
www.zazzle.com/store/currentlyreading