What a beautiful, sunny weekend we had in the Seattle area! Much of my time was spent sitting on the deck reading a really good book. That’s after I swept away the new spider webs (they love my deck as much as I do) and cleaned the winter grime off my reading chair. Then I settled in with Louise Penny’s first book in her Armand Gamache mystery series.
I’d never heard of Louise Penny until just recently when I read a number of references to her on friends’ blogs. But I love mysteries and haven’t read one in quite awhile, so when I saw this at the bookstore on Friday, I decided it was time to give her a try. I’m so glad I did because it ended up being a book I couldn’t put down, and a very enjoyable read! I’m off to the library today to find more of her books.
Still Life takes place in an imaginary Canadian village called Three Pines, south of Montreal, where one of the townspeople has been found dead in the woods on Thanksgiving morning. Was it a hunting accident or murder? The circumstances of the death were suspicious enough to call in Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Quebec, a detective with great insight and compassion.
Armand Gamache sat on the bench, watching the birds but mostly watching the village. Before his eyes the village of Three Pines seemed to slow right down. The insistence of life, the bustle and energy became muffled. The voices dropped, gaits slowed. Gamache sat back and did what he did best. He watched. He took in the people, their faces, their actions, and where possible he took in what they said, though people stayed far enough away from his wooden bench on the grass that he couldn’t hear much. He noticed who touched and who didn’t. Who hugged and who shook hands. He noticed who had red eyes and who gave the appearance of business as usual…
…As he sat quietly and let the village happen around him he was impressed by how beautiful it was, these old homes facing the green, with their mature perennial gardens and trees. By how natural everything looked, undesigned. And the pall of grief that settled on this little community was worn with dignity and sadness and a certain familiarity. This village was old, and you don’t get to be old without knowing grief. And loss.
At the center of this mystery is a controversial painting by the victim, Jane Neal, retired school teacher and amateur artist. It is a painting of Fair Day in the village, and hidden within the painting are answers…
This book won the New Blood Dagger, Arthur Ellis, Barry, Anthony, and Dilys awards. I read it for pure enjoyment, and also, because it is a story about art, I’m counting it as a book read for my Art History Reading Challenge.
A Fondness For Reading 
I love the cover of Still Life. I think Book Nook Les read it last year, but I’m not certain about that. It sounds great!
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I love Louise Penny’s books they are a good read. Take a look at her web site, http://www.louisepenny.com/ and her blog. One interesting lady.
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Sunny weekends are great, huh? Nice to see the weather improving out. 🙂
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sounds fun! We are still gray and gloomy here. I am waiting for the sun to come out again!
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Nancy, the cover sold me, too. It’s beautiful. And the book was a lot of fun so I’m definitely going to read more Louise Penny!
Thanks, Jennifer. I agree–she’s a very interesting lady, and I’m enjoying getting to know more about her. Thanks for the link.
Kailana, it felt like an incredibly long winter this year, so I’m especially enjoying the warmth and the sunshine … although it will get too warm soon and then I can complain about that! 🙂
Jessica, I hope your return to sunlight will happen soon!
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So glad you enjoyed it! Isn’t Gamache a great character? I’ve read the second book which I liked too and need to get the third one. I know I wouldn’t mind visiting Three Pines – without the murders of course 🙂
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Iliana, I just picked up the second book and am looking forward to reading it. I look forward to them all!
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Oh, I’m so glad you loved her! I got my mother reading her also. I just read books two and three and have a post about it somewhere, but I just got up and I’m too lazy with our sunshine to go get it…..isn’t the sun wonderful when it finally breaks through? Where in the Pacific Northwest do you live? I’ve lived in Victoria, Nanaimo, and Vernon many times in the past. I miss BC!
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I went and got the link to my review: Here it is: http://susanflynn.blogspot.com/2009/05/sunday-salon-finally-some-book-reviews.html
I really like this series. And I really want to move to Three Pines myself!
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Susan, we live in the Seattle area (Kirkland). It’s not sunny here this morning, after a week of sun with very hot temperatures. It’s quite gray, but we’re looking forward to the sun and milder temperatures returning soon. — Thanks for the links, too! I’m going to enjoy reading ALL her books.
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