Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache series has long been on my TBR list after hearing such rave reviews, and I finally picked up Still Life.  I'm a little torn, to tell you the truth.  This, I believe, was my first "cozy mystery", and I found myself loving some aspects of the book while being meh about others.  Let's start with the not so good (for me) and end on a positive note, shall we?⁣
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The not so good:  This book kind of dragged for me.  I realize cozy mysteries are slower in pace and not really edge-of-your-seat reads, and I do think with more exposure I'd learn to be okay with this, but I must admit to struggling a bit with this first book.  I also had trouble, at least initially, keeping all the characters straight in my head because there were quite a few of them. This did get easier, however. ⁣
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The good:  I absolutely loved the setting of this book!  The oh-so-cozy and charming Three Pines had me lingering over warm cups of tea and wishing I could transport myself to this picturesque little community. I also fell in love with the characters. Eccentric and snarky, they felt like my kind of people. And last but not least, I thought the way in which the "whodunnit" was revealed was super creative...I was hooked through those chapters and couldn't wait to see how that all would play out. ⁣
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Verdict:  All in all, I'm happy to have read this book.  I think I'll pick up book 2 when winter is in full swing since these books are perfect for snuggly fireside reads. Still Life, for me, was a ⭐⭐⭐