As the protagonist of the novel, Armand Gamache holds the primary responsibility for solving the murder of Laurent Lepage. He is also the one responsible for deducing how the murder, the supergun, and John Fleming are all connected. Gamache is a middle-aged man who is happily married; he has two grown children and several grandchildren whom he loves very much. When the plot begins, Gamache has recently left the Sureté du Quebec (the provincial police force) and has retired to live a quiet life in the village of Three Pines, Quebec. Gamache’s status as a recent retiree gives him pause throughout the novel, as he often reflects on how the next portion of his life will unfold. Throughout this internal process, Gamache encounters criticism from characters such as Mary Fraser, who taunt him for abandoning his investigative calling and hiding from the world. Gamache is even critical of himself, initially wondering whether he complicates or invents suspicions so that he can feel a sense of purpose, questioning whether he has “turned a little boy’s tragic death into murder, for his own selfish reasons” (49).

Gamache has very strong investigative instincts and exhibits a Sherlockian ability to notice small details that others miss.