A World of Curiosities

A high-ranking homicide investigator on the Quebec police force, Gamache is a mild-mannered and unremarkable man who seldom draws attention to himself. Multiple characters remark that he looks “more like a college professor than a man who chase[s] killers” (16). Gamache leads a quiet life living in the small, close-knit village of Three Pines. He is devoted to his beloved wife, Reine-Marie, and also very close with his children and grandchildren. Gamache’s professional and personal lives exist in stark contrast; while he enjoys a blissful and peaceful domestic life, he spends his career chasing down violent killers: “Every evening Armand Gamache was reminded that goodness existed. And every morning he drove away, to face the horrors” (11).

Gamache is known for his shrewd psychological insights and his ability to stay calm even in the most high-pressure situations. Gamache often solves problems by controlling his initial emotional reactions; for example, he keeps his cool during the dangerous confrontation with Dagenais and his agents: “While his face was composed, Gamache’s heart pounded” (86). Gamache generally trusts his instincts and intuition, but he is also very self-aware and interrogates those instincts as well. As the plot unfolds, he is able to uncover the elaborate revenge plot that Fleming has designed by using both his intellect and his instincts.