Still Life

I can see the appeal: there probably aren't that many gentle murder mysteries. I liked the pacing, thoughtfulness, and compassion. I liked the depictions of scenery and culture. The characters themselves were onedimensional, but that's ok for a first work. And the plot contortions, ditto. Penny shows promise and I will probably read more of her work.

Honestly I'd rate this book higher if it weren't for the weird side plot with the junior detective. She seems to be on the spectrum, but she's played as this weird, angry “kids these days only care about themselves” character that seems to have no purpose and amounts to nothing other than weird, hateful scorn. I'm probably missing some subtext but it felt very out of place.

This was a delightful read! Unlike most murder mysteries that I usually read this was pretty non-violent and non-sexually motivated but that is not to say that its light-hearted and watered down as it has themes exhibiting of the of the worst traits of humanity but not brutal and in your face like other novels. Character driven with a strong ,likable yet somewhat mysterious lead and great supporting cast (although I do feel as the the story line with agent Nichol was underdeveloped and somewhat unfinished) the coziness of this little town was almost tangible. I very much enjoyed this first in the series and look forward to the next.

I am so diggin books by Canadian author's lately, especially if they take place in Canada also. This book hooked me from page one, loved the characters, loved the setting (I want to pack my bags and move to Three Pines right now!! lol) and loved all the little Canadian references. I am actually pretty good at figuring out “who done it's” but this one had be stumped until the very end! My only small complaint was the Yvette Nichol character, this character seemed really under developed and really didn't add anything to the story, in fact if she had been erased from the narrative all together I don't think it would have any affected the storyline whatsoever. Since this is book one of a series, perhaps the author has other plans for the character in later books? If you love a good mystery this gets a big thumbs up from me!