“Miss Jane Neal met her maker in the early morning mist of Thanksgiving Sunday.”
The first line of Still Life pulls you into a world created by Louise Penny that you will want to revisit again and again. And you will be able to as this month she released her 16th book in the Inspector Gamache series. Still Life is the first book in that series. You will want to read them in order and you will not be disappointed.
In Still Life, Inspector Gamache is called to Three Pines– a small rural town in Quebec, Canada. Jane Neal has been found dead in the woods and the townspeople believe it is a hunting accident but Inspector Gamache suspects otherwise. As you read past the first page, you will be introduced to many quirky and wonderful characters that live in Three Pines. Some you will love and some you will consider hating. You will wonder who could have murdered Jane Neal who was beloved by so many friends in the village in which she lived.
Even if you are not a person who enjoys a good mystery, I believe you will enjoy this story. From the book store owner, Myrna, to the bed and breakfast owners, Olivier and Gabri, to Jane Neal herself, you will be happy to have met them all. If you are a fan of murder mysteries, this story is a perfectly woven tale of deceit, jealousy, and intrigue.
At the end of Glass Houses, the 13th book in this series, Penny writes:
“The village does not exist, physically. But I think of it as existing in ways that are far more important and powerful. Three Pines is a state of mind. When we choose tolerance over hate. Kindness over cruelty. Goodness over bullying. When we choose to be hopeful, not cynical. Then we live in Three Pines.”
Grab Still Life today and dive into this series and enter into the village of Three Pines.
Reviewed by: Rachel Maggard
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