I’ve been working my way through this series for that last year or so, and I’ve yet to be disappointed by one of these books. There were several reasons that drew me to the first book; I was deep into a crime/mystery reading phase, but was feeling burnt out on over-the-top violence and gore. I wanted something still in that genre that wouldn’t keep me up at night, and I found it in Louise Penny’s cozy mysteries. Set in Canada, the series follows aging Chief Inspector Armand Gamache
of the Sûreté du Québec as he thoughtfully solves murders for their famed homicide division.
Still Life (2005), the first in a what is now a series of 14 (I’m only up to #9 myself) introduces you to a collection of characters that continue to evolve throughout the series. I especially appreciate the main character, Armand Gamache. he’s not your standard police detective, he’s not the bitter and cynical trope that we see so often in this genre. I’ve also discovered that the audio versions are delightful. The narrator, Ralph Cosham, is exactly what I imagined Armand’s voice to sound like, and the smattering of French through out the books is done equally as well.
These books are the perfect winter read. They’re the kind of books I want to hole up with, wrapped in my favorite cozy blanket and a mug of hot cocoa.
Still Life by Louise Penny (Blackstone Audio, Inc., 2006)
#fridayreads
