But Gamache’s second-in-command, Beauvoir, and, it seems, Gamache himself quickly write her off as totally incompetent. When we first meet her, she’s eager, perhaps a little over-eager, in fact, and obviously still learning how to work on a team. The main issue I had with this book-and it niggled at me like a bit of popcorn husk in the back of the throat-was the treatment the new trainee detective, Yvette Nichol. The wrap-up, where the community deals with the after-effects was handled especially well, taking seriously the problem of not just losing a fried but also discovering a killer in your midst.Īll of that leaves us with a well-constructed example of a type of mystery that I don’t necessarily love but can enjoy from time to time. That might make this book a minor disappointment, but it’s nothing to be annoyed about. (Not so different from books, I guess.) There are red herrings and misdirections, of course, and the ending is surprising but doesn’t appear to come out of nowhere. And the work itself is mysterious-no one can agree on whether it’s good or terrible.

Jane has painted her whole life, but she never let anyone see her work, so this is a big deal.

The crime is the death of Jane Neal, found dead, shot through with an arrow, just days after she’s had a painting accepted in the local art competition. He is perhaps a bit of a snob, but not so much of a snob that he can’t appreciate the jolt of familiarity from cheap coffee when he’s going out on the job.Īs for the mystery itself, it was fine, and the resolution was quite good. He’s a happily married man who enjoys good food. He’s not a boozy middle-aged man with woman problems. Second, I liked the idea of Chief Inspector Gamache. It’s just that the two most interesting characters in the town are dead. But the characters of Three Pines, where the mystery takes place, are given some layers and allowed to be complex. And of course there’s an old lady who likes to swing her cane around. I mean, of course, the gay couple runs the boutique and coffee shop. But as small-town cozy-type mysteries go, this one isn’t bad.

I often find the portrayal of small-town life to be overly cloying and sentimental, the people a little too quirky to believe. It kind of got on my nerves.įirst, let me say that cozy mysteries are not my favorite. But, oh dear, I hate to say it, but I was not fond of it at all. Jenny even put this first book from the series on my list of books to read this year. So many people I know are fond of Louise Penny’s Chief Inspector Gamache series. This is going to be a difficult review to write.

Still life gamache