"Still Life"

"Still Life" by Louise Penny is the first book in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series. After picking up "Bury Your Dead" from my local library and reading it I knew I must read more of this series and decided to read it in order -- as is my favorite way to follow characters. This was Penny's debut novel and her talent shines throughout the book. The book is rich in details about the characters and the case but not the kind of detail that bogs down your reading but the kind that adds depth to a story and makes it come alive so that you feel like you're in the middle of the story itself. This book develops the character of Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and sets the stage for the books to follow.

Why "Still Life" for a title? Page 140 of the hardback copy has a couple of paragraphs I'd like to quote to explain the title: "Life is change. If you aren't growing and evolving you're standing still, and the rest of the world is surging ahead. Most of these people are very immature. They lead 'still' lives waiting.....Waiting for someone to save them. Expecting someone to save them or at least protect them from the big, bad world. The thing is no one else can save them because the problem is theirs and so is the solution. Only they can get out of it."

If you love mysteries and want to discover a new writer and new character, don't miss Louise Penny's Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series!

pazt