Fiction Review: Still Life

When one of my book groups chose Still Life by Louise Penny (her first Chief Inspector Gamache novel) for our September discussion, I was happy for two reasons: the mystery fit with my RIP Challenge for fall, and LOTS of my friends like Penny's novels and have recommended them. I enjoyed this classic detective mystery, set in a small village in Quebec.

Chief Inspector Gamache is called to the small rural town of Three Pines when an elderly woman is found dead there one morning on Thanksgiving weekend (which is in October in Canada). She seems to have been killed by an arrow, and it is bow-hunting season, so it could have been an accident. Besides, who would want to hurt sweet Jane Neal, who seemed to be loved by everyone? Gamache, though, suspects foul play and approaches the case with his way of quiet observation, along with his team, including his usual sidekick Inspector Jean Guy Beauvoir and new, abrasive rookie Yvette Nichol. The townspeople are stunned by Jane's death and a bit flustered by the police presence in the midst of their normally quiet village life.

In our book group, we all agreed this is a unique approach to a mystery novel, in which the residents where the crime took place are just as central to the story as the investigators. Throughout the novel, the reader gets to know the villagers, as well as the police officers investigating the crime, quite well. We found out that the rest of Penny's books in this series all take place in Three Pines, which explained the character development but also made us wonder how so many murders could take place in such a small, quiet village! There are 12 Chief Inspector Gamache novels out so far and another one due soon. I don't usually read this sort of classic mystery/police procedural very often anymore, but I very much enjoyed Still Life. In fact, it grew on me the more I read, as I got to know the characters better. Most of my book group agreed we'd like to live in Three Pines and hang out with these people (except for all the murder, of course). Penny included a raft of dead ends and red herrings that kept us all guessing, and only one person figured out whodunit before it was revealed. She also incorporates a wonderful sense of humor that occasionally had me laughing out loud. I would definitely read another novel in this series.

P.S. My only remaining question is why French Canadians swear by saying Tabernacle!

312 pages, St. Martin's Minotaur

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The audio book sounds like it would be a great way to read Still Life - then you could hear the French Canadian words pronounced properly, too (though I enjoyed using my high school French!). Listen to a sample of the audio here.

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