A Trick of the Light (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #7)

by Louise Penny

Oh, no no no, thought Clara. Now she was simply trying to survive. To keep her head above water. To not faint, or throw up, or pee. To remain conscious and continent was her new goal.

Across the room, Annie Gamache laid a hand on her husband’s arm, but he seemed oblivious. Beauvoir put his hand on his own arm, gently. That’s what it would feel like.

My favorite lines ever written

“My two flaws. Jealousy and nosiness. And I’m bossy. Oh, God. I really am fucked up.”

The problem with a pissing contest, as Gamache knew, was that what should have remained private became public. Chief Justice Pineault’s privates were on display.

“Beautiful isn’t in fashion. Edgy, dark, stark, cynical, that’s what galleries and curators want. They seem to think they’re more complex, more challenging, but I can tell you, they’re not. Light is every bit as challenging as dark. We can discover a great deal about ourselves by looking at beauty.”

“You aren’t expecting a miracle today?” Gamache asked. “Are you?” “Always. And I’m never disappointed. I’m about to go home to the woman I love, who loves me. I do a job I believe in with people I admire. Every morning when I swing my legs out of bed I feel like I walk on water.”