Still Life cover art

Still Life

Chief Inspector Gamache/Three Pines, Book 1

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Still Life

By: Louise Penny
Narrated by: Adam Sims
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About this listen

 'A cracking storyteller, who can create fascinating characters, a twisty plot and wonderful surprise endings' ANN CLEEVES

There is more to solving a crime than following the clues.
Welcome to Chief Inspector Gamache's world of facts and feelings.

The discovery of a dead body in the woods on Thanksgiving Weekend brings Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his colleagues from the Surete du Quebec to a small village in the Eastern Townships. Gamache cannot understand why anyone would want to deliberately kill well-loved artist Jane Neal, especially any of the residents of Three Pines - a place so free from crime it doesn't even have its own police force.

But Gamache knows that evil is lurking somewhere behind the white picket fences and that, if he watches closely enough, Three Pines will start to give up its dark secrets...

Ten million readers.
Three pines
One inimitable Chief Inspector Gamache

'One of the most interesting detectives in crime fiction' THE TIMES Crime Thrillers Mystery Police Procedural Thriller & Suspense Fiction Village Crime

Critic reviews

Clever, full of twists and turns . . . wonderfully satisfying
Penny's elegant style is deeply satisfying, while Gamache is contemplative even when under pressure, and remains a man you want to spend time
Louise Penny twists and turns the plot expertly tripping the reader up just at the moment you think you might have solved the mystery
Brimming with atmosphere and steeped in soul-searching . . . Penny combines clever plotting with beautifully evocative descriptions and the deep affection for her characters that keeps readers travelling back to Three Pines for more
This is a crime novel that is rich in atmosphere with a fascinating array of characters that enhance a plot of great suspense and ingenuity
Subtle, elegant and beautifully written
All stars
Most relevant
Decent detective story but the narrator spoiled it for me. He made most characters sound bad tempered and switched character’s accent sometimes even mid paragraph. Disappointing

Spoiled by the narrator

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Very slow progression. Didn't capture me at all, but persevered to the end - unimpressed by the ending as well unfortunately. It's a shame because there were some absolutely genius bits of language in it.

not great

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I love Louise Penny's books, and was wary of trying the Audible offering. We all have, in our heads, the voices of the various characters. I read some reviews complaining about the change of accents used for Gamache, but also - hooray - one pointing out that this would, indeed, be how he spoke: Cambridge English with les angles, and French with his compatriots. With this in mind, I set aside potential irritation and gave it a try, and was in the main well pleased; I'm about to download the second book.

Entirely satisfactory

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very evocative and descriptive without being unnecessary wordy. Narration was perfect too, using a different voice for each of the main characters

listened to this because I had really enjoyed Three Pines TV series

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A lot of characters at the beginning, I had to take notes to keep track. The story is is well paced and explores the different characters. The solving of the mystery came a bit out of nowhere but overall it was a good book.

Good crime investigation story

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