Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Still Life by Louise Penny

8 reviews

kajamae's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

At times a bit predictable but overall very enjoyable! Love the Three Pines introduction and getting to learn more about the characters.
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greatexpectations77's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I think I can't give a great review of this book until I read the second one on my own because I simply did not like this narrator at all. And I think I've heard him before, but I have a sneaking suspicion that this book is a lot funnier and more whimsical than I was getting from this narrator. I'm very interested to read the second in this series and see if my experience is very different than with this initial one. Also, I found Agent Nicol to be super annoying.
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silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I finally tried a Louise Penny book!

 I quite liked it in a lot of ways. It had just the tone I want in a mystery--a bit more serious than the cheesy side of cozies, but without being gory and graphic for no reason. I also feel like I understand a lot more about Canadian culture and the tensions therein than I did before. 

 I did guess the murderer, but only slightly ahead of the reveal, so basically just in time to be satisfying to my pride without actually losing much mystery. :-)

 The pagan ritual aspect to the story did make me uncomfortable, so I'll be reading the next book to see if that tones down or not, and may or may not continue the series based on that. 

 There is a homosexual couple in this book, including a minor plot line about how they are unkindly treated. 
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tymtoread's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious relaxing sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I'm not a big mystery reader but I had fun with this one. I read it in audiobook format while I was doing other things a lot - very low commitment for me but I enjoyed that. It was good, and the ending took me by surprise but I suspect people more acquainted with mysteries would've had it wrapped. 

I also loved how casually funny it was. The bear grease thing really had me going for a minute. 

Also, Nicole was the most infuriating side character on the planet. The way Gamache kept trying to check her attitude and she kept thinking she was God's gift to the investigation was sending me over the edge. 
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princess_azula's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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shelfofunread's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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sparklefarm's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

As comfy as a murder mystery can be. Mystery was my favorite genre growing up (thanks, Encyclopedia Brown!) and the pacing, foreshadowing, and revelations of a good mystery are so comfortable to sink into - and Penny does it really well! I'm very glad there are many more books to look forward to in this series. I loved the cast of characters and am excited to meet more of them and get to know them better along the way. Even though many more murders apparently happen in this small town! (Also I had my eye on the murderer in the first few chapters so I feel very vindicated.)
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kimveach's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

4.0

2019:  Found a "new" series for me to read!

2022:  Came back to this again after the reading the first nine in the series.   It's just as good as the first time and so fun to see details I didn't know the first time through. 
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