STILL LIFE

TITLE: STILL LIFE
AUTHOR: LOUISE PENNY
Pages: 312
Date: 08/07/2010
Grade: 5
Details: no.1 Chief Inspector Armand Gamache
Own

Completely out of order, sine I've already read the next three books in this series, I at last managed to get my hands on and read the book introducing Armand Gamache, his team and the village of Three Pines.
Inspector Gamache is send to Three Pines, a small rural village south of Montreal, when Jane Neal, a local spinster, is found dead, killed by an arrow during hunting season.
The locals all assume they're dealing with a tragic accident, but the fact that nobody claims responsibility combined with other, more intuitive doubts, make Gamache think something more sinister is going on. And before long the apparently peaceful village has provided several viable suspects, leading to a final showdown that is far from peaceful.
I really love this series. With Three Pines, Louise Penny has created a lovely and very real village and community. Her characters come to life on the page, with both their good and their not so nice sides, their quirks and their charms.
The mystery is well plotted, the detection realistic and the motives plausible. I would be hard pressed to say anything negative about this book. The only minor down point was that I already knew what was to follow in he next books, but that's my fault and has nothing to do with the quality of this brilliant mystery.