Description: "In 2005, with Still Life, bestselling author Louise Penny introduced her iconic mystery series starring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surãetâe du Quâebec and his team of investigators as they are called into the scene of a suspicious death in a picturesque rural village somewhere south of Montreal, a village not found on any map, a village with three majestic pine trees presiding over the village green, a sign to weary travelers that they had reached a place of safety."--
Brief description: Louise Penny is the multi-award winning author of the Chief Inspector Gamache novels, set in her home province of Québec, Canada. Her books, including State of Terror written with Hillary Rodham Clinton, have sold more than 18 million copies worldwide, topped international bestseller lists, including the New York Times, and been translated into 32 languages. The recipient of both the Order of Canada and l'Ordre national du Québec, her country's highest civilian honours, her Three Pines Foundation reaches out to those in crisis and offers financial and emotional support, with a special focus on literacy as well as dementia care. Her husband, Michael, died of dementia in 2016. She lives with her Golden Retrievers Muggins and Charlie in a village south of Montréal.
Review Quotes:
"[An] auspicious debut... [Penny's] deceptively simple style masks the complex patterns of a well devised plot." --Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review
"It's hard to decide what provides the most pleasure in this enjoyable book: Gamache, a shrewd and kindly man constantly surprised by homicide; the village, which sounds at first like an ideal place to escape from civilization; or the clever and carefully constructed plot." --Chicago Tribune "Cerebral, wise and compassionate, Gamache is destined for stardom. Don't miss this stellar debut." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Terrific. Like a virtuoso, Penny plays a complex variation on the theme of the clue hidden in plain sight." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) "A gem of a book." --Booklist (starred review) "A rare treat." --People