Reviews with content warning for Murder - Still Life

This story wasn’t quite what I expected. It was a pick from my book club and I know a few of the members are great fans of Louise Penny. That fact may have had me going in with high expectations, I’m really not sure. I just couldn’t get into this story until well over halfway through. Even while I wasn’t fully immersed in the story, there were still things I liked. But it’s hard to read a mystery when it’s easy to put down for long stretches.

For some reason, I thought the main character of this book was going to be a woman. I had heard about this series but never really paid attention to the actual name of the series. So that threw me off right from the start. And while I ended up liking Armand Gamache, there were other characters that really bothered me.

For the most part, the townspeople were fun and quirky and enjoyable to read about. Agent Yvette Nichol was a whole other story. On one hand, the character must have been written well for her to annoy me so well. I believe that was a bit of the point. Her interactions with the others and how they reacted to her was more of the problem for me. I’m all for second and third chances, but she needed to be put firmly in her place and that didn’t happen often enough. I understand this is a long-ish series and this character may pop up again, which may explain her initial introduction. It was interesting but then dropped. It just didn’t make sense to me.

Here’s the thing, this story was just not my cup of tea. I can very easily see the appeal to other readers and very much think the author has a smooth writing style that has a nice flow. For me it was only a 3 star read, but I’m bumping that up to 4 stars since I know my personal rating has more to do with the genre and my own preferences and not the writing or story.

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This was a book I read for me book club. Below are some thoughts from them...

There were five of us at book club this time with two of the members in my book club really loving this author and loving this book. Another enjoyed it a lot and wouldn’t mind reading more of the series. One was a DNF, and you’ve read my thoughts above. The DNF didn’t get far. She just wasn’t feeling it and (kudos to her) decided to not continue when there were other books for her to read. I have such a hard time DNF-ing a book. I wish I could make the cut much sooner without “what ifs”. Anyway, having our discussion of this story really made me glad I had decided, for posting on my usual outlets such as Goodreads and StoryGraph, that I’d give this story 4 stars. I knew, for the most part, my issues with the story wouldn’t be issues for other people. My sister (being one of the two who love this story) pointed out that this is also this author’s first published work and assured us all that her writing gets better and better as the series progresses. My aunt agreed. They are both quite a ways into the series and really can’t say enough good things about the writing, stories, and characters. They find Louise Penny to be a very smart author who really pays attention to details and how certain things will come out in future books. My thoughts are that if you are a fan of mysteries and quirky small towns, give this series a try.

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amystark's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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littlefoot1919's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

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lexa's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

3.75

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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

In Still Life Inspector Gamache is sent to Three Pines, just outside Montreal, to investigate the death of Jane Neal via a hunting arrow. Was it a simple hunting accident or something more sinister? I thought the book was…fine. The plotting was good and I enjoyed picking out the clues and red herrings as they were sprinkled throughout the story. I also enjoyed the taste of Quebec - swear words in French, a hint of the tension between French and English speakers etc. It was nice to see an older gay couple fully integrated in the community as a matter of course. However, this is a cozy mystery and it seems I prefer a little more grit and complexity in my mysteries. But if cosy mysteries are your thing and you haven’t yet read anything by Louise Penny then check out this series. It has legions of fans.

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grifgirl's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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kimveach's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

4.0

2019: Found a "new" series for me to read!

2022: Came back to this again after the reading the first nine in the series. It's just as good as the first time and so fun to see details I didn't know the first time through.

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