Friday, March 25, 2011

Still Life by Louise Penny

Chief Inspector Gamache Novel

The residents of a tiny Canadian village in Quebec, Canada called Three Pines are shocked when the body of Miss Jane Neal is found in the woods. Miss Neal, the village's retired schoolteacher and a talented amateur artist, has been a good friend to most of the townsfolk, so her loss is keenly felt. At first, her death appears to be a tragic accident--it's deer-hunting season, and it looks a stray hunter's arrow killed her.

But since no one can find the murder weapon Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Montreal Surete is called in to investigate. Accompanying Gamache are his loyal assistant Beauvoir and Yvette Nichol, a new addition to Gamache's team. The trio soon finds that the seemingly peaceful, friendly village hides dark secrets.

This intriguing cozy was much more graphic than I expected and was a pleasant surprise as now I want to read more. It has the flair of a Miss Marple but the drama of Hercule Poirot.