First, he is disturbed by a bizarre phone call. Then, a delivery man brings back a missing coat with a cryptic note and a list of plants and spices in the pocket. These bizarre events will only get worse when a young man is murdered in front of Gamache. Slowly, alongside Jean-Guy and Isabelle, he uncovers an enormous plan to poison the waters of Quebec. Initially, I thought I was reading an earlier Gamache novel, before realising it was the nineteenth, the last one. I missed some elements of Gamache’s personal life, but the story is understandable without them. The plot is very intricate, and it is difficult to tell who the good guys or the bad guys are before the end. It’s really quite captivating. I love this series of novels.
“One evening, as they sat by a fire on the shore over there, the Cree elder told the Abbot something that had happened to him when he was a child. His grandfather, the Chief at the time, told the boy that he had two wolves at war inside him, tearing at his insides. One of them, a grey wolf, wanted the old man to be strong and compassionate. Wise and courageous enough to be forgiving. The other, a black wolf, wanted him to be vengeful. To forget no wrong. To forgive no slight. To attack first. To be cruel and cunning and brutal to friends and enemies alike. To spare no one. Hearing this from his grandfather terrified the child. He ran away. It took a few days before he dared approach the old man again. When he did, he asked his grandfather, ‘Which wolf will win, the grey or the black?’” Armand was now watching Jean-Guy. It was as though they were the first, last, and only people on earth. “His grandfather said, ‘The one that I feed.’” Jean-Guy exhaled, then dropped his head, staring at the sparkling water at his feet. After taking a deep breath, he nodded and looked up at Armand. “Saint Gilbert Between the Wolves.” “We all have them, inside. Best to acknowledge that. Only then can we choose which one we feed.”
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