I
always enjoy finding a new mystery series, and I believe I’ve found a good one
with Chief Inspector Armand Gamache.
Gamache,
with the Surete de Quebec, is the creation of mystery writer Louise Penny; the
first of her series of mysteries is Still
Life, set in the small town of Three Pines in Quebec, not far from the
American border. Gamache is called to investigate the death of an elderly
woman, Jane Neal, shot in the woods apparently by an arrow. Neal was a rather
eccentric artist – loved by her neighbors but one who had never shown her art
nor let anyone in her house beyond the kitchen.
Gamache
and his team discover that what looks to be an accidental death caused by a
hunter is actually murder, murder with a motive buried long in the past.
 |
| Louise Penny |
Penny
is strong on characterization, not only for Gamache and his police team but the
rest of the major and minor characters as well, a collection of both rather normal
and rather eccentric people, most of an artistic temperament. One of them, in
this quaint little village, is a murderer.
It
is Gamache, however, who is the novel’s star. A loving husband with grown
children, he is in his early 50s, enjoys good food, and believes in teamwork
over lone wolf investigations. He has a past, with mostly notable investigatory
successes but some have come at a cost. He listens and observes; he watches and
likes to set potential suspect against potential suspect. He’s not convinced by
an early confession. And he develops strong likes, and strong dislikes, for the
people he meets.
One
of the characters is a poet, and poetry plays a surprisingly significant role
in the story (as does art). A poem by W.H. Auden contains an important clue. And
Penny includes interesting historical facts about the region that had color and
depth to the story.
And
now I have the satisfaction of knowing there are several Chief Inspector
Gamache stories waiting to be read.
Painting: Quebec Village by Arthur
Lismer, oil on canvas (1926); Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queen's University.
I LOVE this series and have read them all. Deep thanks to Christie Purifoy for writing about it over a year ago. Glad you enjoyed #1.
ReplyDeleteI, too, enjoyed this introduction to Gamache. But I was deeply troubled by the idea that the only two people who were not suspects to the crime were the gay couple because they'd been hurt so much they were incapable of hurting others. This is completely illogical where human nature is concerned; I found this political correctness to be off-putting.
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