The Black Wolf by Louise Penny

This is the second book in the two-book "Wolf" series, The Grey Wolf being the first. This is a classic Louise Penny book — fast-paced and intriguing. The only problems were the many times I had to suspend disbelief and the confusing ending.

After having thwarted a domestic terrorist attack, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is recovering at home in Three Pines. As he ponders a map and a notebook left behind from the attack, Gamache and agents Jean-Guy Beauvoir and Isabelle Lacoste are convinced a second, more deadly attack is coming. But what and where, or who is behind it, they don't know. What they do know is that people high up in the government and their own police force are involved. Trusting very few around them, they seek to uncover the plot and the person pulling the strings, whom they dub the Black Wolf. It's a race against time with a cunning enemy who always seems one step ahead of them.

I love Louise Penny's writing and the characters she creates. The Black Wolf is a ripped-from-the-headlines book with a plot that, while at times far-fetched, is just believable enough to make parts seem plausible. Where it fell apart for me was the confusing ending and the motive of the Black Wolf. I was left scratching my head. 

3/5 stars.

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The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer by Ragnar Jonasson

 

I usually enjoy Ragnar Jonasson's books. He's dark, and his settings are atmospheric. I especially liked Reykjavik and Death at the Sanatorium, both of which had interesting characters and excellent plots. This book, which brings back a character from Death at the Sanatorium, billed as a standalone, ends so abruptly that I wondered if this isn't meant to be a series.

Helgi Reykdal is enjoying a break from his police duties among his beloved vintage crime novels when he is asked to look into the disappearance of popular crime writer Elin Jonsdottir. None of her friends or associates has heard from her, so Helgi has little to go on. On top of that, he is under pressure to find Elin before the press breaks the story. The more Helgi digs into Elin's life, the more secrets he uncovers, leading him to believe there are multiple reasons for her disappearance. 

The story shifts focus from Helgi's investigation, set in 2012,  to another disappearance, that of a police detective, years earlier, and the case of a bank robbery that she was investigating. Jonasson does a good job of weaving the subplots together, but the reader is left hanging about the solution of one of the storylines. Additionally, the ending was so abrupt that I wondered if some pages were left out. 

The pacing is good, and the plots are intriguing, so I was caught up in the book from the start. I wish it hadn't ended on a cliffhanger with an unresolved plot line. 

3/5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and Minotaur Books, for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is September 9, 2025. 

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