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Saturday, August 18, 2012

Still Life by Louise Penny (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surêté du Québec and his team of investigators are called in to the scene of a suspicious death in a rural village south of Montreal. Jane Neal, a local fixture in the tiny hamlet of Three Pines, just north of the U.S. border, has been found dead in the woods. The locals are certain it’s a tragic hunting accident and nothing more, but Gamache smells something foul in these remote woods, and is soon certain that Jane Neal died at the hands of someone much more sinister than a careless bowhunter."

My Thoughts:

I'm so glad that I finally gave this mystery series a try! I found Still Life to be a quiet, easy read that pulled me in to the small town atmosphere where the book was set. In this book I found characters that I want to revisit again and again. I loved the setting that the author created so vividly. It all came across so realistically, and I instantly connected with the characters. The mystery was important to the story but not in the typical whodunnit way. It was more a study of the characters and the reasons behind their interactions with one another. I appreciated that the characters weren't portrayed without their own flaws. These flaws and differences added layers to both the mystery and the story. The ending of the book didn't surprise me completely but I was okay with that. It didn't bother me because for me what made the book was the experience of reading it. Allowing myself to get sucked down into the town that the author created while getting to know each character. I can't wait to go back and visit Three Pines in future books!

Overall, I found this book to be a very solid beginning to this mystery series. It isn't your typical edge of the seat, suspenseful mystery but rather a quiet, endearing book that still pulls the reader along. I loved it and can't wait for more! And I'll admit that I was super excited to see that I have a lot more books to look forward to :)

Bottom Line: A quiet but enjoyable read!

Disclosure: Checked out from my local library. I need to find more mystery authors like this!

6 comments:

  1. Sounds like a good start to a mystery series!

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  2. This is one that keeps popping up in my goodreads recommendations. I will definitely have to give it a try!

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  3. I really enjoyed this one too and look forward to more of her books! It was a character study and made me look at people in a different way. I liked the main characters quietness!

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  4. I enjoy quiet books, and movies. This sounds like a great start to a series.

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  5. I have been meaning to read this for a while. One day!

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  6. Naida- It was a really good start to this series!

    Beth- You really should. I had it on my TBR list for way too long and I'm glad that I finally read it.

    Staci- I think it was your review of this one that made me finally grab it from the library. So I should say thank you :)

    Suko- I do too! And this definitely fit the bill!

    Kailana- You should really give it a try if you are in the mood for a mystery :)

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