The Grey Wolf

Armand’s “second-in-command and son-in-law” (12), Jean-Guy, is married to Annie, Armand’s daughter, and is close with her father. Jean-Guy and Armand have “guarded and protected each other from the moment they[] met, lifetimes ago” (89). At this point in the series, they look out for each other both professionally and personally. In the rare moments when Armand uses a gun, he usually borrows Jean-Guy’s gun. Jean-Guy is more aggressive than Armand but tries to follow the model that Armand sets for a detective. For instance, Jean-Guy feels bad about pressing a member of the clergy for answers. He thinks that being too aggressive is acting like “a gangster.” Law enforcement professionals should be more compassionate than members of the Mafia, Jean-Guy believes.

Throughout the novel, Jean-Guy serves as Armand’s sidekick but also expands the field of their inquiry. For example, Jean-Guy travels to Washington, DC, to follow up leads there, and when he splits off from Armand, Jean-Guy becomes another point-of-view character. He obtains important evidence and offers insight, in addition to assisting his boss. Jean-Guy and Armand differ in their opinions of the institution of the Catholic church. Jean-Guy hates the church but only vaguely alludes to why in this novel. Conversely, Armand doesn’t dislike religion and faith. They’re foils in this regard.

Armand’s “co-second-in-command” (20), Isabelle, supports him and Jean-Guy in their brainstorming efforts. Like Armand, Isabelle “hate[s] murder, [but] she love[s] this process. She love[s] these people” (95). She’s fond of the community around Armand but also travels extensively, such as going to Rome as part of the investigation. Isabelle, like Jean-Guy, believes in a gentle approach and feels like a member of the Mafia when her questioning of a nun becomes aggressive. The narrator notes this similarity, bringing attention to how the two seconds-in-command reflect each other.

Isabelle brings a different perspective to the case. She doesn’t simply imitate Armand but questions what he thinks. For instance, she “wonder[s] if this Dom Philippe, whom she’[s] never met and so ha[s] no preconceptions, was really the decent man the Chief seemed to think. Decent people d[o] not, generally, have so many secrets. And so much to hide” (144). She doesn’t have history with Philippe, like Armand does, and can therefore see him from another angle. In this way, she’s a foil to Armand, offering greater impartiality. At the novel’s end, Isabelle tries to accommodate Armand’s hearing loss: Instead of brainstorming out loud, they brainstorm via text messages or on paper.

Armand’s wife, Reine-Marie, is 57 years old and works as the “senior archivist” at the “Bibliotheque et Archives nationales du Quebec” (16). Armand shares everything about his cases with her. She worries about him and sometimes questions him but emotionally and physically supports him whenever possible. They’re well-off but not wealthy. For instance, she must “call the bank and increase [their] limit” to keep the helicopter ride to the monastery in France off the Sûreté’s books and under their radar (269). Finances are just one way that Reine-Marie supports Armand. She tries her best to mouth her words clearly for Armand when he struggles with hearing loss, but distance between them increases slightly when their casual conversation is limited.

Reine-Marie and Armand have two children, Daniel and Annie. Daniel was previously addicted to drugs. In an earlier case, Jeanne had him framed for distribution and sent to prison. This set back his sobriety journey, but he completed rehab before The Grey Wolf. Daniel is married to Roslyn, and they have two children, Florence and Zora. Annie and Jean-Guy have two children, Honore and Idola. All three generations of the Gamache family stay in Three Pines, where they have well water, throughout the investigation into the attack on water-treatment plants. This causes chaos, and the adults, along with their neighbor Ruth, take turns watching the children.

One of Armand’s nemeses and antagonists is Jeanne; in a previous installment of the series, she had Daniel imprisoned for drug trafficking, which led to him relapsing and using drugs again. She started out as an “executive assistant to a member of Parliament” and became deputy prime minister (46). Armand refers to Jeanne’s boss, Marcus Lauzon, as “That Politician” (109). Marcus “controls both Environment and Industry, Trade, and Commerce” (209). With the help of Joseph Moretti, the head of the Canadian Mafia family, Lauzon has become corrupt. After learning about his involvement in the plan to poison the drinking water, Jeanne is no longer loyal to Lauzon and works to put him away.

However, Armand believes that Jeanne is on Lauzon’s side and is involved in planning the attack until the very end of the novel. She leaves him a note in his coat pocket after he refuses to talk to her on the phone. The note contains the recipe for chartreuse, which she obtained from her uncle Yves (Philippe). She also hires Charles to investigate water-treatment plants that are likely targets. In the novel’s climax, David shoots Armand in the plant, and Jeanne shoots David, saving Armand’s life. Armand’s opinion of her changes after this: Jeanne “was his enemy. And had saved not just his life, but thousands of lives” (410). Jeanne illustrates how Armand is fallible since he mistakes her for an enemy after she switches sides. Adapting to her new role in his life illustrates Armand’s capacity for growth and change.

As part of the coverup of the attack on the water-treatment plant, Charles is murdered in front of Armand. Only 27 years old when he dies, he was formerly addicted to drugs but became sober, like Daniel. Hired by Jeanne to investigate the treatment plants, Charles also worked as a marine biologist at the environmental group AQB, investigating pollution of Canada’s lakes, under Executive Director Margaux Chalifoux. Charles kept two notebooks (one about each investigation) and an annotated map. Armand finds these during his investigation, and they provide important clues.

Armand discovers that Charles hid the notebooks with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Langois. This is a surprising location because his parents wanted no contact with Charles because of his addiction. He ended up unhoused and living at The Mission. Eventually, he became a volunteer there, working for Claudine McGregor. She fiercely supports the residents and staff at The Mission and only reveals information about Charles to the police after learning that he’s dead. Charles’s death haunts Armand throughout the novel, as evident in the symbolism of hands. Armand holds Charles’s hand as he dies, which represents comfort. After that, Armand works to find justice for Charles’s killer and the people who arranged to have him killed.

While Armand has a small apartment in Montreal, his home is in the small fictional village of Three Pines. Next door is Ruth Zardo. She’s the local poet, referred to as “[t]he laureate,” and has a pet duck. When Armand’s grandchildren come to stay with them, “[t]he mad old poet cast[s] a spell over [the] children” (134). She’s strange and commanding enough to get children to behave. Her willingness to help babysit shows the interconnectedness of the village residents.

Clara Marrow is a “painter” and artist who lives in Three Pines and is part of Armand’s community. She sculpts him two gray wolves to honor Philippe/Yves after his death. The wolves sit at two lakes—one in the monastery where Philippe was abbot and one in Yves’s hometown of Blanc-Sablon.

A couple, Olivier and Gabri, own the local bed and breakfast. It has a bistro that Armand’s community frequents. Philippe, under the pseudonym Gilbert, stayed at the bed and breakfast, leaving behind a bottle of chartreuse as a clue for Armand. Olivier used Philippe’s bottle and recipe for a drink called the Last Word, which even Ruth—who is known for her love of alcohol—hates. Olivier helps Armand figure out that Gilbert was Philippe and discover that he should go to the monastery in France where the bottle Philippe left was made.

Myrna Landers is another resident and friend of the Gamache family. She’s the “owner of the bookshop” and a retired psychologist (8). In this novel, she’s somewhat static and appears as part of the group rather than as a distinct individual.

Dom Philippe has two other names in the novel: Yves Rousseau and Monsieur Gilbert. Philippe is the abbot of the monastery Saint-Gilbert-Entres-les-Loups and uses the name Gilbert when staying at Olivier and Gabri’s bed and breakfast. He’s described as “calming. There was that word again” (120). The word is used multiple times by multiple people to describe Philippe. He took the name Philippe when he became a monk. His birth name is Yves Rousseau; he’s from Blanc-Sablon, and he’s Jeanne’s uncle. Eunice, his sister and Jeanne’s mother, is dead.

Armand meets Yves’s brother, Raymond Rousseau, and Raymond’s wife, Miriam, when his investigation leads him to Blanc-Sablon. Raymond is initially suspicious of Armand because Yves warned Raymond that someone would come looking for him. When they first meet, Raymond pulls a gun on Armand. After learning that he’s a friend of Yves’s, Raymond trusts Armand and helps him as much as he can.

Frere Simon is the monk whom Philippe left in charge of Saint-Gilbert-Entres-les-Loups. He did this because he knows that Simon, who was working as the secretary to the abbot, goes through the mail. His unethical snooping aids Armand’s investigation: Simon can tell Armand about important letters that help him learn who is behind the attack on the water-treatment plant. Like Philippe, Simon is a Gilbertine monk. Simon is a static character; his snooping remains the same throughout the novel.

Sebastien Fontaine is a Dominican monk and one of the three members of clergy who sang karaoke in bars while wearing their religious garments. He’s responsible for the deaths of Philippe and Brother Robert; Sebastien killed them because they discovered that he was part of the plan to poison the drinking water. He believes that killing humans will save the planet. Another member of the clergy who keeps the recipe for chartreuse, Brother Constantine, helps Isabelle arrest Sebastien by knocking him unconscious with the large recipe book. Sebastien remains unrepentant for his attempted ecoterrorism; he’s a static antagonist.

Sister Irene is another member of the clergy who sang in karaoke bars. She’s a Dominican nun who works in the Office of the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican in Rome. However, she’s originally from Cleveland and thus speaks perfect English. Irene initially resists helping Isabelle, but when they arrive in the Carthusian monastery in France, she’s more willing to help. Her character becomes more trusting over the course of the novel.

Brother Robert is the third karaoke singer. A Carthusian monk, he’s the other keeper of the recipe for chartreuse. Multiple people consider him “a coward” (297). For instance, Irene says that Robert is “afraid of the color beige” (308). The first two murders that Armand investigates in The Grey Wolf are of Robert’s aunt and a random stranger. They were committed by contract killers to keep Robert silent about Sebastien’s involvement in the terrorist attack on the water supply. Later, Sebastien kills Robert himself to try to keep the secret of the attack.

David Lavigne is an antagonist who weaponizes his friendship with Armand in The Grey Wolf. He’s the “assistant commissioner of the RCMP” and aided Armand in the past (136). Armand chooses to trust David with information about the attack despite having doubts about him. David is, in fact, involved in the attack on the drinking water. Him taking aspirin foreshadows his involvement: The poison is transported into the water-treatment plant in an aspirin bottle. After Armand reveals that he’s aware of the attack, David avoids him. In the novel’s climax at the plant, David reappears. He shoots Armand but only grazes him because Jeanne shoots David at the same time.

Chief Inspector Goudreau is another corrupt law enforcement professional. He’s the head of the Highways division, and Armand disliked how Goudreau monopolized meetings at the Sûreté and demonstrated his incompetence. He’s a static character who is arrested at the end of the novel.

Evelyn Tardiff is either corrupt or unintelligent. She’s Armand’s “counterpart” as the head of Organized Crime at the Sûreté (16). She won’t accept that the killings of Robert’s aunt and the other stranger meant to silence Robert connect to the Mafia. She also denies the connection between the head of the Mafia family in Canada and the deputy prime minister. Armand doesn’t trust her for most of the novel and remains unsure of her loyalty and competence at the end.

Sherry Caulfield is a law enforcement professional who isn’t corrupt, or at least not corrupt in this installment of the Gamache series. She works as the “head of counterintelligence in the UK” and appears once in the novel, via phone call, to assist with Armand’s investigation (216). Sherry is a minor, static character.

General Albert Whitehead is another uncorrupted law enforcement professional. He works as the “Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the United States” and meets with Jean-Guy in Washington, DC (239). Whitehead is associated with the symbolism of maps in that he maps out some devastating effects of poisoning the drinking water. Whitehead is forthcoming with information and aid until Jean-Guy begins questioning if the US president or other politicians could be involved in the attack.

Claude Dussault is the most helpful law enforcement professional. The “former head of the Paris police” (249), he travels with Isabelle to the monastery in France where chartreuse is made. He assists with her investigation and arrest of Sebastien. He’s an unambiguously good but static character.