A Trick of the Light

A Trick of the Light (2011) is the seventh novel in Louise Penny’s Armand Gamache mystery series. The case centers around Clara Morrow, as the body of a former friend, Lillian Dyson, is discovered in her garden in Three Pines the day after her first solo art show in Montréal. Gamache and his protege, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, work the case together while grappling with The Challenges of Grief and Trauma, The Destructive Power of Jealousy, and Art as a Reflection of Self. Gamache and Beauvoir’s relationship comes under strain as they face ongoing police corruption, and is not fully repaired until book 10 in the series, How the Light Gets In.

Several novels in the series have won Agatha awards for best contemporary mystery novel, including 2022’s A World of Curiosities. Several early books were adapted for Amazon Prime’s miniseries, Three Pines. The 20th installment, The Grey Wolf, is slated for publication in October 2025.

This guide uses the 2011 Kindle e-book edition published by Minotaur Books.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of cursing, graphic violence, death, antigay bias, substance use, addiction, and child death.

Plot Summary

The mystery novel opens in Montréal as Clara Morrow prepares for her vernissage, the private showing of her work before its public exhibition at the contemporary art museum, known by its French name, Musée d’art Contemporain. Clara is nervous, and her husband Peter is consumed with jealousy over her success. Armand Gamache, head of homicide for the provincial police force, the Sûreté du Québec, attends in a personal capacity with his family and his protege, Jean-Guy Beauvoir. Gamache is somewhat anxious about seeing Olivier Brulé, who was recently released from prison after Gamache wrongfully arrested him for murder. Beauvoir is in love with Gamache’s daughter and battling his substance use disorder and trauma from his recent near-death experiences. Gamache meets a prominent art dealer, Francois Marois, who instantly notices Clara’s portrait of her neighbor, Ruth Zardo, as a geriatric and alienated Virgin Mary. Marois wonders if he imagines the lingering sense of hope in the old woman’s gaze.

The next day, before Clara can read the reviews of her show, a body is discovered in her garden. To her shock, it is Lillian Dyson, a childhood friend who later attended art school with her. Lillian could be supportive but was also envious and demanding, leading to an estrangement between the two women. Clara’s work is a resounding success, and Marois, along with his rival gallery owner Andre Castonguay, stay in the village hoping to sign both Morrows for themselves. Gamache discovers that Lillian Dyson became infamous for ruining careers while working as an art critic. One review was so cruel that Gamache has a senior team member, Isabelle Lacoste, search for it in the newspaper archives. Lillian recently returned to Montréal after years away. Gamache is mystified how Lillian found the village, or Clara’s home, as the two were estranged and Three Pines is not depicted on maps of the province.

Clara and her friends perform a cleansing ritual in her garden. They discover an Alcoholics Anonymous chip there, one given to every new member. Gamache visits with Denis Fortin, a prominent Montréal gallery owner, and discovers that despite his fractious relationship with Clara, she invited him to her party. Fortin was cruelly prejudiced toward Olivier and his partner Gabri due to his antigay bias, and dropped Clara as a client when she refused to countenance his views. Clara herself becomes furious with her husband when he does not celebrate any of the positive reviews of her work. Peter, desperate, confesses that it is her faith in humanity and God that he resents.

Gamache and Beauvoir discover Lillian attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in the city, and the members there speak of her fondly. She had also resumed painting, and Gamache is struck by her art. Gamache is shocked to see Québec’s Chief Justice in attendance and observes his close relationship to a young man who admits to having killed a child in a drunk-driving episode. Lillian’s AA sponsor, Suzanne Coates, is initially reluctant to share any of Lillian’s confidences. Beauvoir, a deeply secular skeptic, is increasingly alienated by the atmosphere of AA. He struggles to tell Gamache of his feelings for Annie and is overjoyed to learn she and her husband are having marital problems.

Gamache takes Lillian’s paintings to a friend and fellow Sûreté member, Thérèse Brunel, knowing her expertise in art. Brunel finds the paintings remarkable. The two friends reluctantly discuss the leaked video of the warehouse raid, suspecting a conspiracy against Gamache. Beauvoir routinely watches the video after he has taken opioids. Ruth Zardo urges Clara to focus on the success of her work, and routinely sits outside the village, waiting for the return of her beloved duck, Rosa.

Suzanne eventually comes to Three Pines and admits that Lillian may have been working too quickly through AA’s 12 Steps—she was apologizing to those she had harmed, which can sometimes compound damage. Lacoste discovers that Lillian’s harshest review was about Suzanne, making her a key suspect. Suzanne insists she had forgiven Lillian and would have told Gamache the truth soon. Lacoste goes back to the archives.

Beauvoir, wracked with guilt over Gamache’s near-death experience and the pain of his own wounds, watches the video again. While under the influence of narcotics, he decides Gamache abandoned him to die. He angrily confronts his mentor but does not remember the events the next day. Gamache makes him promise to return to therapy. Gamache apologizes to Olivier for wrongfully arresting him, suggesting they both deserve to heal.

At a dinner party at Clara’s home, Gamache gathers with his suspects. Castonguay provokes a confrontation with Judge Pineault and tries to kill Marois for taking a client from him, presumably Lillian. Gamache reveals that Denis Fortin killed Lillian, as she ruined his hopes of an art career, and that he did so in Clara’s garden to get revenge on her for damaging his standing. Judge Pineault tells Gamache that his sponsor, Brian, is the same man who killed his granddaughter—Brian quietly helped his family with household chores for years, and then offered his support when Pineault was ready for sobriety. Clara asks Peter to leave the village for a year. Beauvoir invites Annie to dinner, though he continues using pills. Gamache is at peace with the case, and watches with some satisfaction as Ruth’s duck returns to her.