I really enjoyed this mystery looking forward to reading more of Louise Penny

This was my introduction to the Three Pines series and sadly, I wasn't a fan. This book was about a mysterious murder that happens on the weekend of Thanksgiving in a small Canadian town. I'm not typically a fan of this genre, but I have so many bookish friends who recommended this one to me, so I wanted to give it a fair read. I had many issues with it. There were so many characters, it was difficult to keep up with them all. The writing was not that great and the story moved so slowly, I quickly lost interest. It could have been written better, but I wasn't invested enough in the story to really care about the day I wasted reading it.

I’ve heard a lot about this author lately so I thought I’d give this a try. Really slow and I just didn’t enjoy it.

Cozy mysteries typically aren't my thing but I have nothing against them, either. My mom loves this series and wanted me to read it so we can discuss it, thus, I am and we will.

This is the first book in the series and this tiny, charming Quebecois town (I kept thinking it was British even though Montreal is mentioned ten-million times and most everyone has a French name) has great potential. It's full of quirky characters (Mom's favorite is crabby, old Ruth. Apparently, she gets a duck later on) a B&B, bucolic scenery, and the like.

The story was fine. There were a few things that stood out and seemed illogical (like walking into a freshly-painted and wallpapered room that had been shut up for five days yet there was no scent? I don't think so) and I felt a little bit jerked around at finding whodunnit since we were lead one direction then another and then the one who did it wasn't really all that satisfying. But that's ok, these stories don't have to fit together perfectly. At least there were clues along the way, unlike some books that are all "HA HA! You never guessed it was THIS PERSON!" and you're all, "I didn't even know that person existed until just this very minute..."

We did not find out, though, what became of Yvette Nichol, the self-involved, delusional brat who somehow made it onto the police force. It seemed there should have been some resolution there.

This book was entertaining and I'm glad I listened to it at work. I look forward to discussing it with my mom, though I know she really wants me to hurry up and get to the book that has a duck.

My review for book 2

It was… SO obvious who the killer was from the beginning. Stick with Agatha Christie.