And that was all I needed, to keep going.
And so Kingdom of the Blind was born. It is the child that was never going to be. But happened. My love child.
I want to thank a number of people for their patience and kindness.
My assistant, Lise, my great friend, who held my heart when it was too heavy for me.
Andy Martin, the head of Minotaur Books in the U.S. My editor, Hope Dellon, to whom this book is dedicated. Paul Hochman and Sarah Melnyk. Sally Richardson and Don Weisberg. All so much more than colleagues.
Thank you to Kelley Ragland, for leaping in where needed.
To Teresa Chris, my long-suffering and passionate agent and friend.
To Ed Wood, Kirsteen Astor, David Shelley, and all the team at Little, Brown UK.
Thank you to Louise Loiselle at Flammarion Québec, for placing the books in the hands of so many French Canadians.
Thank you, Linda Lyall in Scotland, for the great social media design, and for answering so many of the emails.
I want to thank Kirk Lawrence and Walter Marinelli, for their unwavering friendship and support. And Danny and Lucy at Brome Lake Books.
Thank you to Rocky and Steve Gottlieb for their courage in allowing me to use a story from their own lives.
Thank you to Stephen Jarislowsky, a great character himself, for being, with good humor, the inspiration for a new character.
To Troy McEachren, who helped me with a legal plot point. Where there’s a will …
And my family. Rob and Audi. Doug and Mary. My nieces and nephews. For enveloping me in their lives. I promise not to make too much of a mess.
As I sit here, at the long pine table, writing to you, I see forests and hear birds. I see a bench inscribed with Surprised by Joy. Just down that path through the trees is a café, and the bookstore.
I choose to live in the beautiful little Québec village of Knowlton. For the simple reason that this is home.
I want to thank my neighbors, for their patience and kindness. For saving a place at the table for both Michael and me.
And I want to thank you. For your company.
We are very fortunate, aren’t we? To have found each other in Three Pines.
ALSO BY LOUISE PENNY
Glass Houses
A Great Reckoning
The Nature of the Beast
The Long Way Home
How the Light Gets In
The Beautiful Mystery
A Trick of the Light
Bury Your Dead
The Brutal Telling
A Rule Against Murder
The Cruelest Month
A Fatal Grace
Still Life
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
LOUISE PENNY is the author of #1 New York Times and Globe and Mail bestselling series of Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novels. She has won numerous awards, including a CWA Dagger and the Agatha Award (six times), and was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Novel. In 2017 she received the Order of Canada for her contributions to Canadian culture. Louise lives in a small village south of Montréal. Visit her on Facebook or at www.louisepenny.com, or sign up for email updates here.