Glass Houses

Examine Jacqueline Marcoux as a dark reflection of Armand Gamache. Both characters operate outside the law, driven by a personal code of justice. How does the novel use their parallel quests to explore the fine line between a principled conscience and a “warped” one?

How does the nonlinear narrative, which alternates between the November investigation and the July trial, shape the reader’s perception of Gamache’s integrity and motives?

Explore how the novel portrays performance and disguise as essential tools for both crime and justice. Analyze the calculated antagonism between Gamache and Zalmanowitz, Lacoste’s off-duty act in the bistro, and the shared costume of the cobrador to show how deception functions as a central moral and tactical battleground.

Analyze Penny’s use of pacing and prose style in the climactic bistro shootout. How do shifts in sentence structure, perspective, and sensory detail create a sense of chaos and reflect the collapse of Gamache’s carefully constructed plan?

How do the novel’s allusions to Pinocchio and William Golding’s Lord of the Flies present contrasting views on human nature and the fragility of civilization?

Discuss how the motif of “burning ships” evolves from a strategic concept into a personal moral reckoning for Gamache.

Analyze the church’s symbolic significance as a space that harbors both sanctuary and corruption, connecting its history as a rumrunner’s depot to its role in the modern drug trade and the manipulations of the murder investigation.

How does Jean-Guy Beauvoir’s journey from loyal subordinate to conflicted co-conspirator, informed by his past addiction, reveal the psychological cost of complicity?