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Still Life (A Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery Book 1) by [Louise Penny]

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Louise Penny

Still Life (A Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Louise Penny (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

11,071 ratings

Book 1 of 17: A Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery

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The CWA Dagger-winning first novel from worldwide phenomenon and number one New York Times bestseller Louise Penny, introducing Chief Inspector Armand Gamache.

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...

'Chief Superintendent Armand Gamache of the Quebec police is one of the most interesting detectives in crime fiction' The Times

'A cracking storyteller, who can create fascinating characters, a twisty plot and wonderful surprise endings' Ann Cleeves

Print length

385 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Sphere
Publication date

7 April 2011
File size

1736 KB
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Review

Full of twists and turns . . . Wonderfully satisfying -- Kate Mosse on How the Light Gets In

Louise Penny's writing is intricate, beautiful and compelling. ― Peter James

Penny's elegant style is deeply satisfying, while Gamache is contemplative even when under pressure, and remains a man you want to spend time with ― Metro

Impossible to put down ― Globe and Mail on The Murder Stone --This text refers to the paperback edition.

CrimeSquad.com

'Gamache is certainly Quebec's answer to Morse with a soupcon of Poirot. Definitely a winner' --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Toronto Globe & Mail

'A highly accomplished debut... Ever since Agatha Christie, we long for that perfect village touched by death. Three Pines delivers' --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Book Description

The CWA Dagger-winning first novel from worldwide phenomenon and number one New York Times bestseller Louise Penny, introducing Chief Inspector Armand Gamache --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Synopsis

"Still Life" is a work of mystery. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Synopsis

'Three Pines is made up of good people, but one of us is festering.' 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... --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Still Life

By Louise Penny

Blackstone Audiobooks

Copyright © 2006 Louise Penny
All right reserved.
ISBN: 9780786145362

Miss Jane Neal met her maker in the early morning mist of Thanksgiving Sunday. It was pretty much a surprise all round. Miss Neal’s was not a natural death, unless you’re of the belief everything happens as it’s supposed to. If so, for her seventy-six years Jane Neal had been walking toward this final moment when death met her in the brilliant maple woods on the verge of the village of Three Pines. She’d fallen spread-eagled, as though making angels in the bright and brittle leaves.
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec knelt down; his knees cracking like the report of a hunter’s rifle, his large, expressive hands hovered over the tiny circle of blood marring her fluffy cardigan, as though like a magician he could remove the wound and restore the woman. But he could not. That wasn’t his gift. Fortunately for Gamache he had others.

Continues...

Excerpted from Still Lifeby Louise Penny Copyright © 2006 by Louise Penny. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

About the Author

LOUISE PENNY was born in Toronto and worked as a journalist and radio host for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, specializing in hard news and current affairs. Today she lives outside a small village south of Montreal, along with her husband and three golden retrievers. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is called to the scene of a death in a rural village south of Montreal. Jane Neal, a local fixture in the tiny hamlet of Three Pines just north of the U.S. border, has been found dead, the victim of a tragic hunting accident. But Gamache suspects something more sinister. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B004TL27PM
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sphere (7 April 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1736 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 385 pages

Best Sellers Rank: 92,621 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 958 in Hard-Boiled Mysteries
- 1,454 in Hard-Boiled Mystery
- 2,361 in Psychological Thrillers (Kindle Store)

Customer reviews:
11,071 ratings

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Louise Penny

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LOUISE PENNY is the #1 New York Times and Globe and Mail bestselling author of the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novels. She has won numerous awards, including a CWA Dagger and the Agatha Award (five times) and was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Novel. She lives in a small village south of Montréal.

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Customer reviews

5 star		45%
4 star		30%
3 star		17%
2 star		4%
1 star		3%

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Top reviews from United Kingdom

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waycat

Wonderful debut from Louise Penny.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 June 2017

Verified Purchase

This debut novel from Louise Penny is absolutely wonderful. I came across book 9 at my local library, and when I got it home and realised it was part of a series I immediately ordered books 1-11 and started at the beginning. This came about purely from reading just two chapters of book 9 and realising straight away that it was right up my street.

Armand Gamache is such a refreshing change from your usual police inspector, in that he and his wife love each other very much, he has a stable and strong home life, and he doesn't seem to possess any of the inner demons and hauntings that so many others in this genre do. So pleasant to read of someone with what could be termed a "normal" life both at work and at home.

Although Gamache is a somewhat gentle and easy going character, he also shows the stronger, stricter side of him at various points throughout the story, both when disciplining his underlings and also when interrogating suspects and witnesses who he knows are telling bare faced lies. This is a good portrayal, again, of someone who is just like the next person.

The story itself is intricately woven, characters introduced here and there to build a marvellous picture of the inhabitants of the town of Three Pines, and how they interact with one another in every day life. Some characters are fleshed out more, and rightly so since they form an integral part of the main plot. Others are mentioned briefly but this for me is just right in getting the balance between who is essential to the story and who is there just for back ground.

All throughout this book, I was taken to a beautiful place, picturesque, wild, tranquil.... all sorts of adjectives spring to mind, so good was the author's descriptions. I feel now as if I have learnt something about Canada, both in terms of it's political structure and it's breath taking landscape.

So all in all, I would highly recommend this book. Stunning for a debut novel, and I am so looking forward to reading the rest of the series, and getting to know more about Gamache, his team and also the quirky and often hilarious residents of Three Pines.

38 people found this helpful

Helpful

D. Beecher

Canadas Agatha Christie.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 November 2018

Verified Purchase

Do you know when your in the mood for something entertaining and not too heavy, but you still want it to have integrity. That was the mood I was in when I found this book, and it fulfilled that need entirely. It is skillfully written, so skillful in fact that I forgave it for doing a bit of head-hopping (usually a pet peeve). It is character driven with both the police team and the villagers of Three Pines coming to life. It has an interesting setting, especially for someone like me who is entirely ignorant of Quebecois history and culture.

I dislike the term 'Cozy' it has something of the crazy cat woman about it. However for the sake of clarity I will say it towards the cozy end of the crime spectrum. But it is not bland. Penny has a deft touch with facing the realities and consequences of the death at the heart of the book, without dragging down the generally positive tone. There are interesting hints towards some long term series arc's that are intriguing. I can't wait to read more.

A definite recommendation for fans of Martha Grimes, Anne Cleeves and Agatha Christie.

17 people found this helpful

Helpful

A Wonderful Murder Mystery

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 April 2018

Verified Purchase

This is the first book in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, of the Sûreté du Quebec, series. 'Still Life', is a great murder mystery that has a depth of possible suspects, and expands to encapsulate human psychology and community dynamics. The number of characters and the plots and twists was really well balanced so we weren’t overwhelmed with complexity yet extensive enough to keep our imagination guessing who the murderer was and what the motive might be.

The opening lines of the novel states. ”Miss Jane Neal met her maker in the early morning mist of Thanksgiving Sunday. It was pretty much a surprise all round." The surprise is, who could unexpectedly murder a well-loved elderly artist and ex-teacher, and why? Jane was killed with an arrow and we are treated to an informative overview of bows and arrows – which I found very interesting.

Throughout the story, I was drawn towards different suspects for quite legitimate reasons and I would say that if you guess the murderer early on, it will be as much luck as investigative deductions. To give equal credence to several possible murderers is a real craft in writing a whodunit. It’s all about creating motive, opportunity and the capability to carry out the horrific act of murder. In the story, Oscar Wilde is quoted as saying that “Conscience and cowardice are the same thing. What stops us from doing horrible things isn’t our conscience but the fear of getting caught.”

Gamache has an engaging style that is really appealing, he listens, he observes, he has an analytical mind. He helps develop his team and has a fundamental desire to support new recruits and imparts wisdom on assessing a person’s character and principles, such as our ability to make choices.

“I watch. I’m very good at observing. Noticing things. And listening. Actively listening to what people are saying, their choice of words, their tone. What they aren’t saying. … It’s as simple and as complex as that. And as powerful. So when I’m observing, that’s what I’m watching for. The choices people make.”

He is also pragmatic and firm and will make tough choices when necessary. As a consequence, his team are extremely loyal and cohesive. Well, the established team members are!

This book is not a psychological thriller but a book I highly recommend as a murder mystery.

20 people found this helpful

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Still Life (A Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery Book 1) Kindle Edition

Product description

Review

CrimeSquad.com

Toronto Globe & Mail

Book Description

Synopsis

Synopsis

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Still Life

Blackstone Audiobooks

About the Author

From the Back Cover

Product details

About the author

Louise Penny

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Top reviews from United Kingdom

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