Louise Penny’s New Book 2025: The Black Wolf

I am so excited about Louise Penny’s new book: The Black Wolf. I have been eagerly waiting for this since the minute I finished book #19, The Grey Wolf. There is so much to unpack in this book, so I wanted to take detailed notes to help with all the small details.

I am so excited to share everything I have learned from the book. I will give a summary and discuss the ending. There will be spoilers as well. If you read The Grey Wolf last year, you may need a refresher before you dive into this book. I tried to include all the pertinent details in my Summary of The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny to jog your memory before delving into this book.

This is the twentieth book in the Chief Inspector Gamache series. It is also the second book narrated by Jean Brassard, a French Canadian actor. Initially, it took me some time to adjust to the new voice of Inspector Gamache. Now I am acclimated to the new voice and the French Canadian accent. Reminder that at the beginning of The Grey Wolf, Louise Penny commented that she wanted a French Canadian actor to be the voice of Chief Inspector Gamache, who is also French Canadian.

The Grey Wolf ends with the words: We have a problem, not the words ‘the end’. The Black Wolf picks up where we ended. Also, be aware that this book was written one year before there was any talk of Canada becoming the 51st state.

Louise Penny’s New Book 2025: The Black Wolf

Louise Penny’s new book is the second half of a story arc. When this book ends, it is an ending, unlike The Grey Wolf. If you are planning on reading Louise Penny’s new book and have not read Beautiful Mystery, How the Light Gets In, and The Grey Wolf, I would recommend going back and reading these books before reading The Black Wolf.

Beginning of The Black Wolf by Louise Penny

The Black Wolf starts exactly where The Grey Wolf left off with the words: “We have a problem”. Armand Gamache still has hearing loss from the explosion at the end of the last book. Gamache, Isabelle, and Jean-Guy realize that the plot to poison the drinking water in Montreal was actually the beginning.

They are examining the notebooks of Charles Langlois, whose last word before he died was “family”. They know that by concentrating on the drinking water plot. The other plot has had time to grow.

Evelyn Tardiff is in her office and on the phone with Joseph Moretti, the crime boss. He is mad at Tardiff for not having Gamache killed. We know that Tardiff is an informant for Moretti. We are not sure whose side she is really on. Tardiff is worried that not having Gamache killed was a mistake and wonders what the consequences will be.

Clara Morrow is working on portraits for a solo show called Just Before Something Happens.

We learn some of Moretti’s background. Moretti’s father let the crime family become disrespected. He dies in a house fire that was ruled an accident by a young officer in the arson division. That officer was Tardiff. Joe Moretti takes over the sixth family, which becomes the most powerful crime family in Canada. Tardiff says she accepted the bribe to get in with the family. It was planned by the Sûreté, but did she know about the plan to poison the drinking water?

Jean Guy and Armand are walking through Three Pines. They wonder if Marcus Lauzon really is the Black Wolf. Gamache has the map that was hidden in the Abbey. The map shows a line from Canada to Vermont. Trying to determine why Charles went back to a particular lake a few days before he died.

Tardiff makes a plan to meet Moretti at the market. Yvette Nichol is outside Tardiff’s office, taking note of that meeting.

Brother Simon is a server in the bistro. He is mad at Gamache and will not serve him. Gabri, Myrna, and Clara are trying to figure out what is going on with Gamache because he looks very stressed.

Isabelle and Vivienne are going to the lake to determine why Charles Langlois went there so many times. They find the campsite. Trying to determine why he was so interested in the lake. Is there something in the water? They find a sign from Charles and follow it through the snow.

Marcus Lauzon is being held in the Archambault Penitentiary in Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, a maximum security prison. Jean Guy is going to visit him to try to get some answers. He is in solitary confinement for his own protection. Was he set up, or is he the Black Wolf? Lauzon is insisting that Jean Caron set him up to take the fall. He only wants to speak with Gamache

Reine Marie notices something strange on the map. The arrows are showing something moving into Canada, ot the other way around. The line on the map is through Jericho, Vermont. She drives there.

The papers across Montreal and Canada are reporting that the water poisoning attempt is a lie and that Marcus Lauzon is innocent.

Gamache invites Jean Caron to Three Pines. They have an old history related to Daniel Gamache. Gamache shares that Caron’s assistant, Frederick Castonguay, is missing. They think he is dead. He also shares that he does not think Lauzon is the Black Wolf.

Armand brings Ruth with him to Montreal for lunch. He needs her with him during his meeting. It is with Shona Dorion, a journalist who hates Gamache. He knew the two women would get along well.

Why does Dorion hate Gamache?

Gamache had Dorion’s mother arrested for the murder of a drug dealer. She killed herself in jail, and Shona blames Gamache. He found out later that the dealer was trying to rape Shona.

Dorion is working with Gamahe even though she hates him. She is at Action Quebec Bleu (AQB) and wonders if it is being used to funnel money. It has millions of dollars despite not being funded by the government. She keeps seeing the term FEDS.

Lacoste and Vivien find the body of Castonguay. How was he involved? He was executed to look like a mob hit.

Armand has Tardiff, Lauzon, and Jean-Guy for dinner. He makes sure that Reine Marie is out of the house. Armand keeps asking Marcus, “If not you, who?” He also confronts Tardiff about being the informant and informs her that Yvette Nichol works for him. Which side is she actually on?

Reminder

Gamache arrested Lauzon’s daughter years ago for manslaughter after she hit and killed a biker before driving away. The charges went away.

Lauzon is hinting that the Prime Minister of Canada is the Black Wolf. He mentions FEDS to Gamache.

The Black Wolf: We Start to Get Answers

*from this point on, some of the information may contain spoilers. If you have not read Louise Penny’s new book, you may not want to read past this point

Lacoste heads over the Frederick’s house to inform his parents that he was killed. She finds a fourth-grade class picture with Charles. They were friends, and that is how Frederick knew about the lake.

Gamache is slowly getting his hearing back, but risks flying with Isabelle to the lake to find out what Charles hid and find out more about Frederick. How did Charles realize he was in danger? They eventually find a sack up a tree, which contains the missing laptop.

FEDS stands for Fire Event Detection Suite.

Nichol hears Tardiff on the phone, arranging to have Lauzon killed. Nichol rushes to Three Pines. Tardiff did this on purpose because she knows Nichol is reporting to Gamache. Gamache needs Nicholl to crack the password on the computer.

Gamache needs to speak with his friend, Bert Whitehead, who is the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Neither of them can cross the border, but the general is expecting something bad to happen. In order to speak privately, Gamache invites him to see a Billy Bishop musical. He does not come.

Nichol uses the numbers and symbols on Charles Langlois’ map to open the computer and finds a file with IP addresses that lead to the dark web. The articles all say that Canada is going to invade the U.S and that the Prime Minister of Canada started the megafires on purpose.

Isabelle and Gamache head to Parliament to see the Prime Minister. They inform the PM about Castonguay and ask why the PM’s fingerprints were on the laptop. The PM explains that he does not trust Tardiff and wants to stay on top of things.

Hint

Penny dangles a hint in chapter 20 when she explains how Reine Marie got her name. Her name was supposed to be Marie Reine.

Armand has a meeting with Tardiff. She says Moretti is keeping things from her, and he wants to know what the Surite knows. She is asking for more information than was in the brief about Castonguay’s death. He reveals that they think Charles Langlois hid a laptop and a map. He purposely misleads Tardiff because he does not trust her. He tells Tardiff that whoever killed Castonguay has the computer.

The dark websites on the computer are leading them to .family sites that are deep within the web. Gamache finally understands Langlois’s last words

Jean Guy, Isabelle, and Gamache are finally meeting Albert Whitehead at the Haskell Opera House and Free Library. It sits on the border between Vermont and Quebec.

What happens when the water runs out?

The team thinks that Canadian water will not run out. The question is not what happens when the water runs out in Canada; the question is what happens when the water runs out in the United States.

If the water runs out in the United States, they would take it from those who have it. The plan is not Canada invading the US, but the other way around. Whitehead shares that all contingencies have been thought of in the United States. The US would start draining the Great Lakes. After polite requests to stop fail, there would be a trade war. Canada would stop providing oil to the United States, which would be a trigger for war.

Someone is trying to create a war between the United States and Canada. Who is writing all of this on the dark web?

Shona discovers that the numbers in Charles’s notebook are isobars which predict storms. Gamache realizes that FEDS can predict ash from fires. If someone starts a fire at the right time bracket when the isobars lineup bracket, they can predict where the fire will spread. Whitehead and Gamache agree to speak with the president and the PM to alert them.

The Black Wolf by Louise Penny, Almost at the End

Shona discovered that money is being laundered through AQB. She goes to see the PM with Gamache and Lacoste. Woodford starts quoting Mein Komf. First, create a common enemy. The Prime Minister realizes he must speak with the US president after Gamache reveals what he found out from Gamache. Shots are fired!

Background

Gamache’s father helped liberate the concentration camps during WWII. He found a woman dying in the camps and brought her back to Montreal. Gamache grew up with her as his adoptive grandmother, and she raised him after his parents died.

Tardiff has a meeting with Moretti. She reveals that Margaus Charlifoux went to the lake with Castonguay. Moretti wants Tardiff to plant stories about Gamache in various newspapers to discredit him. Moretti is about to kill Charlofoux when they see that shots have been fired.

Jean Guy is with Lauzon. Mme Gamache is with Yvette Nichol when they hear that shots are being fired.

Washington and Parliament both go into lockdown.

Whitehead is with the president when he hears a gun being drawn.

Around the world: Shots Fired at the White House

PM of Canada demanding feed from inside the White House. They find three bodies on the floor in the room next to the white house. Two are valets, and one is in full military uniform. A third valet is standing with a gun in his hand and blood on his shirt. When armed guards charge into the room, the president stands between the valet and the armed guards to protect the valet.

Bert Whitehead is still alive. Medics are trying to save his life. Meanwhile, in Ottawa, Shona insists on talking to Gamache. She points out that Payette was not surprised when they heard the shots fired were not in Canada. They are locked down in parliament and cannot leave.

Sherry Caufield, Counterintelligence in the UK, sends a text to Gamache with the words “What do you make of this?” When he clicks the link, he sees the video of the assassination attempt. Gamache believes that the video shows the valets meant to kill Whitehead, not the president. They were trying to prevent him from discussing what they talked about at the opera house.

Lauzon is with Jean Guy and says that he is innocent and put himself in jail so he would not be killed. Could it be that he is NOT the black wolf?

Shona reveals that her mentor is Paul Workman, a top foreign correspondent. Gamache says it is time to involve him. Newspapers are publishing that Gamache is crazy to discredit him. Tardiff has done her job for Moretti well.

Back at AQB, Charlifoux’s office is completely empty. Moretti is with Caron. He killed Charlifoux.

Gamache sends a message to Caron saying, “I need your help.” Haskell Opera House- 4:00 pm.

Gamache gets Douglas Walls, a senator and the oldest guy in the room, to fake a heart attack so he can slip out of the room with Lacoste and Shona. He needs to speak with the PM.

Tardiff tracked Moretti on his phone and watched him speaking with Jean Caron. She sends pictures of them together and then there is another image of Moretti’s soldiers coming for her.

Jean Guy is in Three Pines with Marcus Lauzon.

Spoiler

Lauzon reveals that Tardiff is working for Canadian intelligence (CSIS). She is not really working for Moretti. Moretti is just the enforcer. He does not know the plan.

Gamache goes to the PM’s office and starts yelling WPR repeatedly until the PM lets them in. WPR stands for War Plan Red, the name of the plan for the United States to invade Canada. Whitehead was shot to keep this a secret because he was going to ask for permission to share. The Prime Minister calls the chief inspector crazy. Clearly, they have all seen the articles in the paper. Finally, Woodford admits that there is such a thing as War Plan Red, but it was from the 1930s, and it no longer exists. It was also called the Atlantic Strategic War Plan.

Isabelle and Manon Payette slip out of the room so Isabelle can ask a question in private.

Jean Guy, Nicol, and Lauzon drive to Montreal to find the body of Tardiff. Where would he take her? To caves outside Montreal. Bouvoir hates small spaces.

Tigger warning (torture)

Tardiff is tied in such a way that she will eventually strangle herself.

Louise Penny’s New Book 2025: Ending!

Shona had found a way to keep her phone when they went into the Prime Minister’s office. Now, she has it when Woodford orders their IDs stripped. Gamache remains calm when he asks Woodford to come clean about War Plan Red. The Prime Minister orders that Gamache be arrested. Only then does he notice that Shona is recording and streaming. Isabelle takes a butt of the gun to the head.

Spoiler

Isabelle confirms that the Prime Minister left his office to get Manon, but made a phone call as well. This is suspicious behavior. They begin to suspect that the PM is actually the Black Wolf

Payette found documents from the Minister of Public Safety, Ferguson, that were very incriminating. Paul Workman receives the video from two different feeds. One is from Shona and the other is Payette. He uploads the videos, and they go viral. As well, Gamache had the foresight to put something in in ID badge, so when it was confiscated, someone would find it.

Spoiler

What was in his pocket? An IP address and a password to the .family darkweb

Beauvoir, Nichol, and Lauzon are in the caves when they see two bodies ahead. One is Charifoux, and the other is Tardiff, who is still alive. Shots are fired, and Lauzon saves Jean Guy.

Trudel, the Minister of Defense, tries to come up with excuses as to why the PM would order that they be arrested. Gamache convinces her to look at the IP address, and she is shocked. It is beyond anything she could imagine. War Plan Red has been updated and put into action. This is what Charles Langlois found, and the real reason he was killed.

Trudel orders the guard to arrest Gamache, Lacoste, and Dorion. The guard refuses. It was actually a test to see if the guard could be trusted. The Guard, Pinsent, gets Lacoste and Shona out of Parliament. However, Manon has Isabelle’s gun. Gamache is going a different way out.

The document that Manon uncovered is a step-by-step guide to uniting North America under one flag and a return to Christian values.

Spoiler

• Manon Payette is Marie Lauzon, Marcus Lauzon’s daughter. She is the person Gamache had arrested for manslaughter.

Jean Guy arrives in Three Pines with Lauzon, Nichol, and Tardiff. He has no idea what was happening with Gamache. Myrna and Clara help Evelyn. Meanwhile, the viral video has been edited to look like Lacoste and Gamache attacked the PM.

Who is the Black Wolf? We still do not know. Caron is doing the dirty work.

Payette finds Gamache as he tries to find his way out of parliament. He assures her that despite everything, he was not on the wrong side of the law 22 years ago, and he is not on the wrong side of the law now. She gives him the gun, his phone, and a file that she makes him read immediately.

The document outlines everyone’s role in the plot to start a war between Canada and the United States. It all comes down to the weather- FEDS. They need to get back to the Prime Minister!

The isobars are perfect to start a fire that will spread, become a mega fire, and send ash into the United States. Gamache and Marie wait for the PM in his bathroom. They are trying to get him out of Parliament. They are blocked by an RCMP officer who has the file. Will they get out?

Jean Carron is sending incendiary bombs smuggled into Canada from the US. Canada would look like it was doing nothing to stop the fires, and the US would blame Canada. Gamache sends Lacoste, Shona, Nichol, and Beauvoir to the airport to stop the plans from taking off.

Carron is at the Opera House waiting for Gamache to arrive with snipers. She is going to try and kill Gamache. He hands her the document that she wrote. She is arrested by Homeland Security when she inadvertently steps into Vermont. Gamache inquires about General Whitehead, and we learn that he did not make it.

Jean Guy and Nichol arrive at Mirabel airport. They knock the guards unconscious. Nichol shoots Moretti, and they realize that they are at the wrong airport. There are no bombs, just sand.

Shona arrives at the airfield and begins streaming what she sees to Paul. She is with Lacoste, who gets hit in the head by Robert Ferguson, the Minister of Public Safety. Shona says the name of the airport while livestreaming to let Paul know where she is. Ferguson puts both Shona and Lacoste in the helicopter and lets them know he will be dropping them out of it into the fire.

Louise Penny’s New Book: The Black Wolf Conclusion

Jean Guy arrives back in Three Pines with Lauzon. Lauzon keeps repeating “you got him” when he sees that the PM is with them in Three Pines. Lauzon is insisting that the PM is the Black Wolf. Daniel and Reine Marie appear and declare that they are putting him under arrest- a citizen’s arrest. Lauzon panics and insists he is not the Black Wolf, it is the PM.

The helicopter arrives with Isabel and Shauna inside. Behind them was Pinsent, gripping the minister of public safety.

Two Days Later

Reine Marie, Armand, Daniel, Annie, Isabelle, Jean Guy, Tardiff, Yvette, Paul, and two of his proteges meet at Open Da Night.

Prime Minister Woodford created a team to find everyone involved in the plot. Shauna is suffering from PTSD and has dreams about being thrown into the fire.

Gamache had to tell Marie that the documents all pointed to her father. They needed to get the Prime Minister out of Parliament because otherwise, he would be arrested and killed, and Lauzon would be presumed innocent and reinstated as the Prime Minister. Ferguson put the document in Trudel’s office.

After her conversation with Payette, Pinsent rounded up her squad, read the file, and went to the airfield with her squad and trusted members of the Canadian Armed Forces. She left her lieutenant to wait for Marie and Gamache and escort them out of Parliament. Jean Guy is upset that Armand sent him to the wrong Airport and withheld vital information, but forgives him.

Characters in the Black Wolf by Louise Penny

Frequently Asked Questions

Epilogue

Did you read The Black Wolf by Louise Penny? What did you think of Louise Penny’s new book? Did it take you any time to adjust to listening to the new narrator? I would love to hear your thoughts.

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