Still Life (Armand Gamache Series #1) [NOOK Book]

Faith in Modern Mystery Writers Restored !!!

A great fan of the Golden Age of Mysteries, I am frequently disappointed when I try new writers of this genre. There seems to be an abundance of modern authors who write in a style that is horrifically violent, and even more who weave a "cutesy" humor in and out of the fabric of the crime yarn. Louise Penny is above all this, a great story teller with intriguing and believable characters, grand plots, and settings that make you go put the kettle on and get comfortable for a good night's read.

14 out of 14 people found this review helpful.

More than just a mystery...

Penny is Canadian, lives in Quebec, and that's her setting. Her detective is Armand Gamache, chief inspector of an elite branch of the state police in charge of investigating murders. Gamache believes the seeds that lead to murder are planted in the murderer's past, something emotional that most people would get over but in this particular individual, they remain and fester and eventually lead to the person committing a murder. The investigation, therefore, has to involve getting to know all those involved and delving back into the suspects' and victim's past to find the cause that eventually led to the murder.

Her setting is the very small and seemingly idyllic village of Three Pines. It is not shown on any map; those who find it do so either by accident or while exploring randomly in the area south of Montreal but still north of the border with the USA. The village is home to artists and poets, very interesting characters.

Penny is brilliant at including all the detail - when they eat, you get hungry - and presenting very interesting characters. Some of them feel that Three Pines is a sort of Brigadoon, the Scots village that magically appeared on earth for only a single day many years apart - a magical place apart from the rigors and ups and downs of the rest of the world. And yet, it is the site of murders which bring Chief Inspector Gamache and his eclectic team of investigators in to delve into everyone's lives because in Three Pines everyone is involved in all that goes on.

Highly recommended. This work and the entire series.

11 out of 11 people found this review helpful.

Very disappointed, Poorly researched

I don't usually write reviews on books, but I had to this time. This is one of the worst books I've picked up in a very long time. Rarely do I ever put a book down without finishing it, but this time I did, and it went straight into the trash. The author really should have done more research. If you know anything at all about archery, or if you are a hunter of any kind, you will probably find this book quite irritating. The author spent a whole chapter supposedly explaining different types of bows, arrows, tips, and "feathers," and in the process made very general statements about the equipment that are simply wrong. Considering the murder being investigated was committed with a bow and arrow, she should at least have tried to get her terminology right, and learn something about the murder weapon. The author also has a problem with hunting, which she makes abundantly clear with ridiculous stereotypes, painting all hunters with a broad brush as all being mindless, blood-thirsty, illiterate, poaching criminals who would just leave someone on the ground to die in the event of an accidental shooting. If you're into mindless tripe, this is the book for you. If you're looking for a well-written thriller of a detective story, don't waste your time and money on this book.

8 out of 31 people found this review helpful.

Still Life paints a wonderful portrait!

Louise Penny's first Three Pines Mystery with Armand Gamache is WONDERFUL! I love the way she writes - and her analysis of human nature and the foibles and failings. I love the way she explores not only the mystery of the murder, but also uses simple vignettes to illustrate the tragedy the murder visits on the people of Twin Pines, from the friends to the victim's dog. She writes about people as they really are, not idealized versions of themselves.

It's one of those books, that when you have to put it down, it whispers to you and you can't stop wondering what the characters are doing now, what Gamache will observe next to move the story along. You want to meet and interact with the characters of the novel and can't wait to get back to the story.

6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

ENLOYED!

The story takes place in Three Pines, a small rural village south of Montreal where gentle seventy-six year old woman named Jane Neal is shot through the heart with an arrow. This is a humorous, thoughtful, and captivating study of close-knit friends and relatives who celebrate their successes and mourn their losses together. Miss Marple anyone?

5 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

So much more than you think

I'm so glad that the NYT Book Review introduced me to this series last week. This book was wonderful. I was so excited when I checked it out and saw it was $2.99, so I got it immediately and devoured it. It is so much more than a "cozy" mystery - no cutsey gimmicks, no horribly convenient plot twists, no stupid coincidences. Just solid writing, engaging characters, and plenty of surprising, insightful lines of prose that definitely should make a reader step back and recognize that this goes well above and beyond most mysteries. I immediately downloaded book two, and I'm excited that I have several more waiting for me after that.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Great read!!

I started reading this series with the latest book, The Brutal Telling, and fell in love with the characters in Three Pines. I had to get all the books in this series. Still Life is an awesome read and is well written and thoughtful. Inspector Gamache is like a great big teddy bear, but with some bite when necessary. The inspector goes about his discovery with a slow and steady approach to finding the real killer, but the truth comes out eventually. And they do love to eat. It always leaves me wanting to have lunch in Three Pines, just listening in on their conversations or reading a book at the bistro and feeling so comfortable. All the characters are strange and wonderful at the same time. Can't wait to start the next book.

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Beautifully written - can't wait to read the rest of the series!

Still Life was a murder mystery written in such elegant prose it seems to create a new genre. Delightful, eccentric characters in a unique environment, and so many suspects I couldn’t put it down.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

favorite

Louise Penny is my new favorite author. It is no wonder she is winning awards. She writes true literature. My husband agrees.
Read her books in order and fall in love with the characters.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Wonderful Series!

I absolutely LOVE these books! Each character becomes a part of your family while reading about them. After finishing this book I was sad to see my friends go...and looked forward to the next mystery awaiting me in 3 Pines.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Great Cozy Mystery

Suprisingly good small town mystery. Anyone who likes to curl up with a good mystery full of interesting characters and strong main characters will love this book.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

What a Mystery should be!

Such a breath of fresh air from the thoughtlessly violent mystery books that abound the shelves today. Penny has a delightful way of getting us into the heads of the characters so that you can relate to them from a human perspective. At a few points the conversations were so true to life they became hard to follow. Penny seemed to have smoothed this awkwardness out in later books. As a Mystery you are kept guessing and second guessing all the way to the end but in hindsight makes perfect sense. And as life there are unresolved threads that wind throughout several books in the series keeping me wanting more. I look forward to curling up with a cafe au lait and visiting Three Pines and my new found friends many more times in this series!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Wonderful book - couldn't put it down!!

Recommended by a friend. I read "Still Life" and then ordered the rest of the series. Have since finished the second book. I love the author and her stories!!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

One of the best mystery authors currently writing. Amazing, well-developed characters that you follow through the series and become attached to. So many wish they could write like Louise Penny.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Good read

I read this a while back but I remember that I enjoyed it. So well written and engaging on many levels. Set in Quebec, the Chief Inspector is called in to investigate the death of an older woman, whose body is found in woods. He believes it's murder but the local think it's an accident.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great start to a mystery series.

I enjoyed the setting and the characters more than the plot, but still enjoyed the read.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Decent cozy

This well written, well paced book just did not catch my fancy. I had some trouble keeping some of the characters straight, disliked one intensely, and didn't really care too much about the others. The setting was very nice, and very nicely written. The mystery was fairly plotted, but something fell short for me. I will read the next because I really don't understand what was lacking. This book should be a delight to any cozy reader.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A great mystery!

I'm really glad I discovered this author. She has a great writing style and the characters are wonderful! The setting is different and the whole package is just a refreshing change from the mysteries I've been reading. The ending was a surprise. I have fallen in love with this town and the characters that live in it, and can't wait to read the rest of these books.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

offbeat not sure if I liked a lot or not

While I had to finish the book to find out what happened, at times I disliked the book because of its 'darkness'. It just seemed a little off at times. However there were also some clever parts, like when the author kept you waiting for a few pages to find out what book had been read. I probably will read more books by the author but I'll get them out of the library rather than pay for them.

1 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

The first in this series, a lovely mystery with Gamache as an en

The first in this series, a lovely mystery with Gamache as an enjoyable detective, human and thoughtful and kind. The secondary characters, the residents of the small eastern Canada town of Three Pines, were the best set of secondary characters I’ve run across in a long time. The mystery was set up and paced well with well-structured red herrings, fit-and-start progress, and that most enjoyable trait of ending in such a way that it’s clear the reader (and Gamache) had solution information available before the ending. The victim, retired unmarried teacher and long-time resident Jane Neal was found killed in the forest surrounding town. She was, by all reports, universally liked, although it was thoroughly pleasant to find out about her quirks as the story progressed. Investigative problems included who would have motive, if the death was accidental or murder, some issues involving Jane’s will and relatives, and a rookie investigator on Gamache’s staff who was a decidedly mixed blessing. The secondary characters were a fascinating bunch, including romantically linked men Gabri and Olivier, cranky poet Ruth, a psychologist turned used book seller, Jane’s friend and daughter figure Clara and her husband, Peter of odd personality and background, and his friend Ben, with similar personality issues, the latter three all artists. There was also the Matthew Croft family, whose teenage son took a notable turn for the worse several months before the death, Jane’s VERY odd niece and her husband and problem son, and Gamache’s staff. All together, they made for a strongly structured story and mystery in an interesting small town setting, away from Gamache’s home base of Montreal. This puts me in the pleasant position of adding another worthwhile mystery series to two others I’m enjoying, Spencer-Flemings’ Ferguson/Alstyne books and Rankin’s Rebus novels. I’ve already purchased Gamache’s book two and will be reading it soon, led by this one to expect something good and enjoyable.