Still Life (Chief Inspector Gamache Series #1) by Louise Penny
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Web ID: 14390998Just Average for Me
I have never read this author before and this book was recommended to me. Penny did a good job with character building, especially Chief Inspector Gamache; however, it was somewhat confusing to keep track of all the towns people, and Officer Nichol's character was never fully fleshed out (was she a good guy or a bad guy). The premise of the story--Jane Neal being murdered and definitely by one of the towns people--was good, but the story took a long time to be told. And, it seemed like it rehashed some of the dynamics between characters throughout. It was just an average book for me, but I do think some people will enjoy it. (Clearly, the person who recommended it to me did.) I probably won't read this author again.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Cozy mystery fans will love this one!
The pacing of this one is slower than the average mystery/thriller these days, but that works for it. This story takes place in a small town, moving at light speed would feel unnatural. Instead, this feels like the pacing was done to match the vibe of the small town. Making progress and moving forward but not rushing. I loved that! This one also features beautiful descriptive language. Penny describes things in incredible detail, making it easy to picture the setting of this Quebec story. Overall, this one is an intriguing opening to the series. You know the detective well but still have a few questions about some of his choices. You’ve seen him solve one case and you’d give him another. The series has potential!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Character driven mystery series
A character driven murder mystery with such fully developed, engaging characters, and enough red herrings to keep you guessing that I read it straight through in two days. A bit of a slow burn, with focus on the interconnections of these small town characters rather than a fast paced plot but a thoroughly enjoyable read. This is the first book in the long running Inspector Gamache series, now on its 19th book. I will definitely be reading the entire series. Highly recommended
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Kept my interest
This is the first book I've read by this author. I wasn't sure what to expect because I normally don't read this genre, however, I was captivated! I also found several instances humorous, which was a delight. It was long, I must warn you. I read it over the Christmas Break while I was on vacation, which gave me ample time to read. Good book.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Maybe, just, pass
After high accolades from my Nana and Mama Lu, I finally came around to giving Louise Penny's Armand Gamache series a test by reading "A World of Curiosities" (the 18th of the series). Having enjoyed "A World of Curiosities" I decided to go back and begin the series from the start; mistake made. If "Still Life" had been my first read of Penny's I would not have picked up a second. Even having liked "A World of Curiosities" I still don't know if I'll continue on with the series or simply leave having enjoyed Curiosities at that. The cast of villagers in this cozy series, are pitiable rather than endearing making the reader feel as 'of course someone(s) were murdered here and y'all can't figure it out, I would expect nothing less from this lot'. Additionally, the writing was repetitive, repetitive, repetitive. (Annoying right?) As a generality, I don't read book series, preferring instead standalone reads. So perhaps I'm just not use to character build ups that you see in overtime in series, maybe all book 1s read similarly and I just don't know. But based on this book, I would not continue in the Gamache series. That being said, my Nana and Mama Lu devour everything Louise Penny writes, so she's definitely got her fans (else she would have never written 18 Gamache books!), I'm just not one of them.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Easy, fast read
Still Life (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #1) by Louise Penny Even though this is the first in a series, the book is a stand-alone book. In the quiet Village of Three Pines, Quebec, Canada, in a forest near a dear path, a 76 y/o woman by the name of Jane Neal is found dead from an arrow wound. Benjamin (Ben) Hadley found the body. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Quebec is assigned the case. The first thing that is suspicious is that within a week, Timmer Hadley, Ben's mother, died after a long bout with kidney cancer. Coincidence? The second thing that is curious, is if it was an accident, no one seems to have claimed responsibility. After asking around, it is found that Jane had quarreled with three people who were pasting manure at the local B & B, Olivier's Bistro, owned by two gay people: Olivier Brulé and Gavriel (Gabri) Dubeau. The third thing that is curious is that Jane never allowed anyone inside her house and she was killed a week after she submitted a painting to the Williamsburg Art Contest. She opened her house to a few people after her art piece was accepted for the contest. Gamache decides to inspect the wound and it turns out that it was from an old wooden arrow - not the new metal ones - and it had real feathers, instead of synthetic material. The arrow pierced Jane's heart, so it must involve a very experienced archer. Gamache cannot understand why anyone would want to deliberately kill well-loved artist Jane Neal, especially any of the residents of Three Pines - a place so free from crime it doesn't even have its own police force. But Gamache knows that evil is lurking somewhere behind the white picket fences and that, if he watches closely enough, Three Pines will start to give up its dark secrets. Narrated from the third person point of view, this is an easy, fast read. The characters are real and come out of the page. My only problem is that there are too many of them - and I believe some of them distract from the plot. The plot is interesting, a typical "who done it." Even though I enjoyed the book, I don't think I will read any of her other work.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
3-stars for me, but most will enjoy more
This story wasn’t quite what I expected. It was a pick from my book club and I know a few of the members are great fans of Louise Penny. That fact may have had me going in with high expectations, I’m really not sure. I just couldn’t get into this story until well over halfway through. Even while I wasn’t fully immersed in the story, there were still things I liked. But it’s hard to read a mystery when it’s easy to put down for long stretches. For some reason, I thought the main character of this book was going to be a woman. I had heard about this series but never really paid attention to the actual name of the series. So that threw me off right from the start. And while I ended up liking Armand Gamache, there were other characters that really bothered me. For the most part, the townspeople were fun and quirky and enjoyable to read about. Agent Yvette Nichol was a whole other story. On one hand, the character must have been written well for her to annoy me so well. I believe that was a bit of the point. Her interactions with the others and how they reacted to her was more of the problem for me. I’m all for second and third chances, but she needed to be put firmly in her place and that didn’t happen often enough. I understand this is a long-ish series and this character may pop up again, which may explain her initial introduction. It was interesting but then dropped. It just didn’t make sense to me. Here’s the thing, this story was just not my cup of tea. I can very easily see the appeal to other readers and very much think the author has a smooth writing style that has a nice flow. For me it was only a 3 star read, but I’m bumping that up to 4 stars since I know my personal rating has more to do with the genre and my own preferences and not the writing or story. ********************** This was a book I read for me book club. Below are some thoughts from them... There were five of us at book club this time with two of the members in my book club really loving this author and loving this book. Another enjoyed it a lot and wouldn’t mind reading more of the series. One was a DNF, and you’ve read my thoughts above. The DNF didn’t get far. She just wasn’t feeling it and (kudos to her) decided to not continue when there were other books for her to read. I have such a hard time DNF-ing a book. I wish I could make the cut much sooner without “what ifs”. Anyway, having our discussion of this story really made me glad I had decided, for posting on my usual outlets such as Goodreads and StoryGraph, that I’d give this story 4 stars. I knew, for the most part, my issues with the story wouldn’t be issues for other people. My sister (being one of the two who love this story) pointed out that this is also this author’s first published work and assured us all that her writing gets better and better as the series progresses. My aunt agreed. They are both quite a ways into the series and really can’t say enough good things about the writing, stories, and characters. They find Louise Penny to be a very smart author who really pays attention to details and how certain things will come out in future books. My thoughts are that if you are a fan of mysteries and quirky small towns, give this series a try.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A Lovely Mystery
I’m forever seeing the name of this author in bookstores, so I finally read a book of hers, and loved it along with her character Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. Began with the first in the series (and I must have known I’d love it as I also ordered the next three!) I will surely be reading all her books. I was surprised at the ending, loved all the flawed characters (well, maybe not everyone), and in the midst of the story, I found humor. I also wrote down two different thoughts of Gamache to remember as they spoke to me.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com