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Still Life: 1 (Chief Inspector Gamache) [Paperback]

Louise Penny (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
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Book Description

Publication Date: 7 April 2011 | Series: Chief Inspector Gamache (Book 1)

The discovery of a dead body in the woods on Thanksgiving Weekend brings Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his colleagues from the Surete du Quebec to a small village in the Eastern Townships. Gamache cannot understand why anyone would want to deliberately kill well-loved artist Jane Neal, especially any of the residents of Three Pines - a place so free from crime it doesn't even have its own police force.

But Gamache knows that evil is lurking somewhere behind the white picket fences and that, if he watches closely enough, Three Pines will start to give up its dark secrets...

Frequently Bought Together

Still Life: 1 (Chief Inspector Gamache) + Dead Cold: 2 (Chief Inspector Gamache) + The Cruellest Month: 3 (Chief Inspector Gamache)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Sphere (7 April 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0751547387
  • ISBN-13: 978-0751547382
  • Product Dimensions: 12.6 x 19.8 x 3.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 21,391 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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› Visit Amazon's Louise Penny Page
Louise Penny
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Review

“A rare treat.”
—"People "magazine
“It’s hard to decide what provides the most pleasure in this enjoyable book: Gamache, a shrewd and kindly man constantly surprised by homicide; the village, which sounds at first like an ideal place to escape from civilization; or the clever and carefully constructed plot.”
—"Chicago"" Tribune
"“Cerebral, wise and compassionate, Gamache is destined for stardom. Don’t miss this stellar debut.”
—"Kirkus Reviews" (starred review)
“Terrific. Like a virtuoso, Penny plays a complex variation on the theme of the clue hidden in plain sight.”
—"Publishers Weekly" (starred review)
“A gem of a book.”
—"Booklist" (starred review)
“[An] auspicious debut… [Penny’s] deceptively simple style masks the complex patterns of a well-devised plot.”
—Marilyn Stasio, "The New York Times Book Review

Book Description

The CWA Dagger-winning first Louise Penny novel, reissued and repackaged by Sphere
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars a very impressive first novel 18 Feb 2011
By Granny J
Format:Paperback
A beautifully written Agatha Christie style mystery with a sympathetic Chief Inspector Armand Gamache in the style of Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti.
Set in an idyllic village in Quebec with a terrific atmosphere. It has enticed me to buy the next two in the series. Louise Penny also produces a good blog with a monthly newsletter.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Still Life 26 May 2011
By P. J. Pearson
Format:Paperback
Another really well-written novel from this Canadian writer. The story is full of suspense and the characters are well portrayed. I would highly recommend this book to crime-reading enthusiasts like myself.
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23 of 26 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Splendid 22 Mar 2007
By Hugh Sutherland VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
Louise Penny has gone against the latest trends in modern crime fiction, blood, gore, forensics, post-mortems, shock tactics and has instead relyed on her talent as a good writer. This novel and author are a refreshing additon to the crime genre.

Her characters and setting are so well created that you can't help but get lost amongst the inhabitants of Three Pines.

The story is interesting and well thought out, with enough hints and clues to keep us guessing.

The only downfall was having to finish it but thnkfully there is more on the way.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Top-notch cosy village whodunnit set in Quebec with nice cuddly cop with no stock flaws 14 Oct 2012
By J. Sawyer
Format:Paperback
I picked this up at a charity stall for 25 pence and spent half a second glancing at the back-cover blurb and took it to be an English police procedural. In fact, it is a cosy village whodunnit set in Quebec. The police are certainly involved but you don't read much about them plodding through computer files or the SOCOs' painstaking work.

The characters are credible and the author is either insightful about people or just has a great imagination. There are plenty of suspects, clues and red herrings. There isn't as much psychological business as there is in, for instance, most U.S. and Scottish crime thrillers (the ones I've read, anyway). Penny successfully misdirected me away from the culprit(s).

I am a slow reader but galloped through this in about four evenings and immediately ordered the second one in the series. As long as you don't mind your crime novels populated by nice, creative, artistic middle-class people (I don't, as I read this kind of thing for escapism), there is plenty here to enjoy. This one is being made into a film with Nathaniel Parker so that sounds rather like Inspector Lynley being relocated but it will probably be watchable. Now let me go off to Olivier's bistro for a coffee and croissant.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars will appeal to readers who like their police procedurals with a cozy bent 12 May 2012
By Rob Kitchin
Format:Paperback
Still Life is the opening novel in Penny's Chief Inspector Gamache series. The book won the CWA New Blood Dagger in the UK, the CWC Arthur Ellis Award in Canada, and an Anthony Award in the US. The book is a modern twist on the kind of cosies written by Agatha Christie and her ilk, though a police procedural rather than an amateur detective. Cosies are not my favourite kind of crime novel and I wasn't sure how I was going to get on with the story and its telling. The cosy feel lessened as the book went on, and the read was entertaining. Part of the story hinges on an unlikely coincidence, though the puzzle itself is clever enough, and Gamache is a plausible and engaging character. Some of the characters are a little clichéd and the character of Nicole seemed underdeveloped and her subplot doesn't really go anywhere. Overall, a book that will appeal to readers who like their police procedurals with a cozy bent.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A real find 21 Dec 2011
By ichthus
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I am now on my seventh (sequential) book by Louise Penny in the Armand Gamache series and there is not a "dud" one amongst them. With such a high standard of creative writing from this author I suppose it is a little insulting to expect there might be a below standard book in the series.
Each one is a 'gem' of detective fiction. I'm still wondering how I managed to pass by this author for so long.
Chief Insp.Gamache is in a similar vein to Donna Leon's Brunetti but he is a certainly not a pastiche. Her writing style is very creative and pleasingly individual and the humour - not an overused aspect of the genre - is a welcome treat. The characters are so well realised that you become really involved with them as the novels progress (and they are a mixed and fascinating bunch). At the same time their village of Three Pines draws you in.
There is a sort of Brigadoon feel about Three Pines and despite the murders in the area, it is a place where one could happily go and live. There is no gratuitous violence or reliance on crudity in the novels but neither are they prudish.
Obviously, like any series of books, I can't guarantee that they will be to everyone's taste but i am sure there will be many, like me, who will get thoroughly involved, entertained and be glad they discovered Gamache, Three Pines and its inhabitants.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Great storyteller 11 Jan 2013
By Kirsten Nordenbaek
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I felt entertained and intrigued by a different storyline, different characters and an unusual setting. You feel you become one with the characters.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent author! 29 Nov 2012
By Mrs. S. Owen
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
A superb murder mystery, combining sympathetic characters with the most wonderful of environments. I want to go to Three Pines, to sit in Gabri's bistro and eat!!
The list of suspects is made up of artists, poets, archers and psychologists, most of whom have escaped the toils of Montreal to enjoy a more tranquil life.

As soon as I finished this, I bought the next one. Highly recommended!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars A marvellous mystery
I stumbled across the novels of Louise Penny whilst I was browsing. What a wonderful discovery! Louise Penny's novel has such a sense of place and character, which never lets the... Read more
Published 3 hours ago by Amazon Queen
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Who Dunnit
This is the first of the inspector Gamache series. I started with number 6 - loved it and then read this one and carried on until I was up to date - can't wait for the next!
Published 2 months ago by frances mills
4.0 out of 5 stars Nostalgic
As a Canadian Quebecois living in the UK it is a delight to have read a book which so reminds me of my home country. Read more
Published 2 months ago by S. Ward-Booth
4.0 out of 5 stars Canadian version of Agatha Christie
An isolated Canadian village who dunnit with twists.
Written from the police perspective with their internal politics thrown in.
An easy read.
Published 3 months ago by L. Shiell
5.0 out of 5 stars Great start to series
This is the first of the Inspector Gamache series, of which I have now read the first three, and am delighted to know there are more. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Lynne Benton
2.0 out of 5 stars Swedish Crime
Not a lot to say other than I have nearly given up on it, too slow by half. Not a patch on the Swedish crime writers
Published 4 months ago by Maurice Howse
3.0 out of 5 stars Still Life (Chief Inspector Gamache)
This is an easy to read and entertaining novel. I enjoyed reading about the French Canadian way of life and particularly enjoyed the hero Chief Inspector Gamache and the fact that... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Jennifer Florence Gray
4.0 out of 5 stars First time reader of this Author
Had Louise Penny Recommended to me, enjoyed it and will read follow up books in the near future? You need to get to know the characters.
Published 7 months ago by Georgina M Fox
4.0 out of 5 stars Marvellously Well Written
It took me a while to get into "Still Life". At first I didn't like the folksy small-town scenario and the irritatingly middle-class creative types that populated it. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Mr. Ross Maynard
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