Still Life

Louise Penny

Apr 2011 · Hachette UK

About this ebook

The CWA Dagger-winning first novel from worldwide phenomenon and number one New York Times bestseller Louise Penny, introducing Chief Inspector Armand Gamache.

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...

'Chief Superintendent Armand Gamache of the Quebec police is one of the most interesting detectives in crime fiction' The Times

'A cracking storyteller, who can create fascinating characters, a twisty plot and wonderful surprise endings' Ann Cleeves

Ratings and reviews

A nice, meandering who dunnit. So much of it is about the people and the village, the murder almost takes a back seat. It's much more like Midsomer Murders than a typical murder mystery. Very enjoyable.

There is no over-the-top violence. Still, there is a subtle creepiness throughout the novel; until the dramatic climax. The author's take on the psychological world of the characters is deeply insightful! Will definitely buy more of Louise Penny!

Found it hard to get into, and kept on forgetting who everyone was. Not edge-of-your-seat-stuff, it was just OK.

About the author

Louise Penny is the number one New York Times bestselling author of the Inspector Gamache series, including Still Life, which won the CWA John Creasey Dagger in 2006. Recipient of virtually every existing award for crime fiction, Louise was also granted the Order of Canada in 2014 and received an honorary doctorate of literature from Carleton University and the Ordre Nationale du Québec in 2017. She lives in a small village south of Montreal.