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A review by artmajorese
Still Life by Louise Penny
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A quiet, slow mystery novel set in a quaint Quebecois town littered with artists. There's an extensive cast of locals to keep track of, as well as a handful of police personnel. On the plus side, setting is lovely and inviting. The prose itself was charming.
On the downsides, there are many characters that I would like to kick: Nichol for her patent lack of self-reflection; Gamache for being so lax about suspects being around evidence; teenage boys for being... well, teenage menaces; that niece for being mean to Clara (hopefully the niece is murdered in a future installment). Oh, and I was enraged that they didn't prove that they were trying to solve a murder until nearly 70% of the way through.
Yet I still cheered for Gamache and his team to solve the mystery. And when it came, the solution had a few satisfyingly un-heroic twists. That's probably a controversial opinion. But I enjoyed that Penny undermined the stereotypes of mystery endings.
On the downsides, there are many characters that I would like to kick: Nichol for her patent lack of self-reflection; Gamache for being so lax about suspects being around evidence; teenage boys for being... well, teenage menaces; that niece for being mean to Clara (hopefully the niece is murdered in a future installment). Oh, and I was enraged that they didn't prove that they were trying to solve a murder until nearly 70% of the way through.
Yet I still cheered for Gamache and his team to solve the mystery. And when it came, the solution had a few satisfyingly un-heroic twists. That's probably a controversial opinion. But I enjoyed that Penny undermined the stereotypes of mystery endings.
Content Warnings
Minor: Homophobia and Murder