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What plot twist (red herring, reveal, etc) did you enjoy the most and why?
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I most enjoyed it when the armed enemy broke into the control room at the water plant and found it empty. It was almost a comedy of errors and misinterpretation. They found the chief engineer bound and gagged, an empty room and a chair under an open vent. Instead of removing the gag from the engineer to find out what he was trying to tell them, they pointed the rifle down the vent and fired. The smoke screen was the open vent because Beauvoir stepped from behind the console and dropped both men.
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I enjoyed this scene too and admit that I didn’t see it coming at all so it was a great twist.
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I agree with that! Knowing of Jean-Guy’s claustrophobia, I was preparing for disaster in my mind, but I should have known he’d figure out something, ANYTHING other than squeezing himself into that tiny hole!
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Yes, exactly, Nancy, Jane and Susan!! That one caught me by complete surprise and I remember reading that part of the book and thinking ahead in anticipation of a chase down the vent, hoping JG would escape, but worrying quite a bit. I think that this might have been particularly surprising because LP seems to put our friends in very uncomfortable situations regularly. Like Gamache’s fear of heights, and there he is in a hunting blind or on top of a roof!!! So I almost expect that she will continue to make our friends suffer in the worst ways possible and in ways that are specific to each character.
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I understand your point, Katherine. I think that LP shows, time and time again, that being courageous involves not so much the absence of fear, but the ability to draw on more courage and get the job done despite it. Giving Armand the fear of heights and JG claustrophobia is like the example that was once given in regards to Superman needing to have his Kryptonite because if he had nothing to fear, then he had nothing to overcome. Armand and JG have their fears, yet usually overcome them for the greater good, and it showcases their bravery. In JG’s case this time, I’m glad he was able to come up with another solution to his dilemma — it got the job done, and really was more effective, and less stressful! It kind of reminded me of the scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark, where Indiana Jones faced the big man with the big sword, and just pulled out his gun and shot the guy rather than fight him, if anybody here remembers that scene!
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Loved that scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark! Excellent point about fear and bravery to overcome.
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The RCMP officer Sergeant Gauthier being one of the bad guys was a bit of an enjoyable twist for me. I just took for granted that because he said he lost his sister in the warehouse raid that Gamache led that he would be naturally sympathetic and given he was also in the police force. So that was a nice surprise.
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I was surprised by that one, too. But, I should have known something was off; he was too accommodating.
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I loved when Gamache revealed to Jean-Guy that he switched the vial of toxin with the aspirin bottle. I should have picked up that he was up to something when he was looking at the medicine cabinet but even if I had, I think I still would have loved this twist.
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I liked the red herring of Archangelica / Angelica. When it was first mentioned, I knew it could be used as a poison so I thought there would be something to do with that but its use in the plot turned out completely different than I imagined.
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I agree with Susan W. and Nancy about the surprise of Gauthier being one of the bad guys, and coupled with that, that Lavigne was as well, simply because I’m so used to trusting Armand’s instincts when it comes to his gut reactions to people. I know he’s fallible, and I know he did realize that Lavigne could possibly be untrustworthy, but he is so often right that this double-whammy of error did indeed surprise me!
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James’ utterance of “Family” before he dies and Gamache’s subsequent misinterpretation was a great plot twist because it actually felt quite organic that Gamache made that mistake. It didn’t seem contrived or “out of the blue” to me because it makes sense that Gamache would have this lapse in reasoning and judgement based on his own traumatic memories and experiences. And I was completely fooled.
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Well, I appreciate all of the examples here. They remind me of what made TGW so interesting and engrossing. I found that every time I thought I was identifying a red herring, it turned out to be a reveal later in the story! The execution style slayings were really connected. The trip to the Abbey produced Langlois’ map and important clues about communications that included Frere Sebastien who we ultimately learn is involved in the plot. The story of the three religious and their karaoke routine turns out to be a central link and the underlined letter “B” is a clue that connects Freres Sebastien and Robert. This plot twisted so many ways, I am still figuring things out. I am expecting that “The Black Wolf” is going to provide more of the same.
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Would the scene with Armand and Daniel in the bistro be considered a twist? I did not expect Daniel to be the one who had sat down next to Armand after he had already gotten up to leave the Bistro. To read that it was Daniel who had suddenly grown up enough in maturity to have a moment with his father after Armand opened his eyes, was, for me, a surprising but lovely moment.
And the reveal that Manon Lagacé worked in sanitation engineer and was not the type of engineer we expected her to be was a very comical twist that I did not expect at all.
I thoroughly enjoyed these little moments. They’re not “twisty” in the way psychological thrillers are these days, but they still caught me by surprise and added a layer of complexity and satisfaction to my read of The Grey Wolf.
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Oh, I liked those, too. Both were little surprises that delighted me.
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Like mei lan, I thought the angelica stems might lead us somewhere. I remember angelica being mentioned before as an herb that can be toxic or be confused with a poisonous herb (Angelika being my full name, I like that I can be mistaken for a highly toxic plant, haha). This weekend I spent some time going through the Kingdom of the Blind because I was sure that was the book where Angelica was mentioned. I did not find the reference but I am still wondering if the next part will lead us back into the international drug trade with its mafia connections.
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I was thinking the same thing about the international drug trade and mafia after recalling the threat Anton made to Gamache in Glass Houses.
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A plot detail – that I first thought was a red herring- made me smile the most: letter “b”. It was important because it linked the 3 young people in Rome, singing karaoke “Let it Be” in thier robes. First, the team tries to run down first names with “B”, and it’s only when Gamache hears Honore’ singing the Sesame Street version that he connects the dots in a new way. Why are these young people watching Sesame Street and sharing a secret karaoke? Because when under the stresses of a young life they crave a soothing 22minutes of tv that takes them back to a simpler, carefree childhood or youth. And they are not the only ones – remember the others? Jean Guy and Annie! It resonates because that’s why as an adult I still love a “Charlie Brown’s Christmas” from my youth.
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This also took me back to Bean and “A Rule Against Murder.” I so appreciate how even new stories and characters connect us to previous ones.
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Last night I stumbled upon another clue. Since I have a track record of being misled by obscure red herrings (proud of that, ha!), this is probably another one. But hear me out.
There is a painting by Georges de La Tour called Saint Sébastien attended (tended ) to by Saint Irene. It is mentioned in the book.
And here are two friends by that name at the center of the plot. and yes. La Tour means tower.
What is Sister Irene’s role? Are we done with her place in the story or is she coming back? She is Italian American (no stereotype here) and she became friends with Sebastien early on. Could she be an accomplice? Aaaah, probably not…
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