Louise Penny is a Canadian author. She has written over 20 novels (s0 far…) in the Inspector Gamache series, which are set in Quebec and feature the fictitious town of Three Pines. Each story weaves through more twists and turns than a pass in the French Alps. In addition to Inspector Gamache, there’s a small cast of characters common across the books that become like old friends to the regular reader.
I am an unabashedly proud member of the Louise Penny fan club. If you love a good mystery and haven’t read any of her crime-fiction novels, pick one up and read it. You’ll be glad you did.
In real life, Louise lives in Knowlton/Lac Brome, a pretty lakeside community in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. According to her website, when the building in town that housed the bookstore – Lac Brome Books – came up for sale, she was afraid that new owners might close the bookstore, so she bought the building, retained the bookstore, and opened an integrated coffee shop called Cafe Three Pines downstairs. The coffee shop is decorated to reflect the bistro in her novels (which is also attached to a bookstore) with two fireplaces, bookshelves, and lots of groupings of comfortable seats and tables. Also as in the book, the cafe serves delicate pastries and croissants.
Of course, Doug and I stopped at the cafe for breakfast. Having read 10 of the books, the bistro in my imagination was similar to Cafe Three Pines in comfort and vibe, only older and more rustic. And although I am not an afficionado of croissants, I did have one with my piscine of coffee, just to complete the vibe.
We also visited the bookstore. What a treat! We were greeted by Poppy, the calmest and mellowest golden retriever we’ve ever met, who just looked at us, expectantly wondering who’d be first to scratch his ears. Naturally, there was a Louise Penny corner with all of her books, T-shirts and other merch. Doug bought a book for himself and a Three Pines sticker (‘I’m F.I.N.E.’) for his guitar case. I bought myself a T-shirt, as well as one book in English and one in French (we promise to share…). So numbers 11, 12 and 13 are on deck.
While I was busy with Poppy, Doug saw something that grabbed his attention. When he was young, Doug’s dad traveled often to Belgium and brought Tintin books back from his trips for Doug and his brothers. These were Doug’s faves!
So glad we stopped by!
For anyone interested, more Knowlton/Lac Brome pix…
