Still Life by Louise Penny

The discovery of a dead body in the woods on Thanksgiving Weekend brings Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his colleagues from the Surete du Quebec to a small village in the Eastern Townships. 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..

Genre: Mystery

Published: October 2005

Angela's Review

I've been thinking about reading this series for a long time. It was a little different from most of the mysteries I usually read. I tend to lean toward psychological thrillers. This was more on the line of a cozy mystery, but I did enjoy it.

I liked the small town vibe and I'm thinking this is part of the charm of the series (and what makes this a cozy mystery). I also like the main character, Armand Gamache. Because it was a cozy mystery, we got to read the thoughts of multiple characters and I enjoyed that. It did not take away from the element of mystery. I did not guess the murderer halfway through the book, and that is a mark of a good mystery for me.

I found myself liking the characters and I am looking forward to reading more of this series. I give this one 4 stars.