Still Life (2005) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Summary edit see section history

Characters edit see section history

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• Armand Gamache: Chief Inspector of the Surete du Quebec--respected and mocked simultaneously, with an impressive track record for solving homicides. He is an intent listener and his team loves him dearly. In turn, he falls in love with the community of Three Pines and returns again and again to solve crimes there.
• Jean Guy Beauvoir: Gamache's second in command; extremely loyal to Gamache, a bit impatient but quite good at his work
• Yvette Nichol: Bumbling trainee detective sent to study under Armande Gamache. She is bitter, jealous, never knows when to shut up, defies Gamache repeatedly, and annoys everyone
• Jane Neal: retired teacher; well loved in town; never let anyone see her art
• Clara Morrow: Peter's wife, unsuccessful artist. friend and neighbor of the now deceased Jane Neal, insecure about her art but wants recognition for it, sees things others don't see
• Benjamin Hadley: Timmer's son, best friend of Peter Morrow. A bit of a bumbler. Has no real occupation but has money. He lacks direction.
• Peter Morrow: artist, husband of Clara morrow, the dear friend of Jane Neal, insecure, jealous
• Myrna Landers: psychologist in Montreal before moving to Three Pines to sell books, very large and very contented to give up her whiny and unmotivated patients to live in Three Pines. Very good friend to Clara
• Ruth Zardo: Resident poet in the town of Three Pines. AKA Ruth Kemp. Writes compelling poetry but offends everyone. Heads the volunteer fire department. Can dish out some pretty insulting and snarky remarks but loves it when she gets it back.
• Philippe Croft: 14 year old surly boy, although once loving
• Yolande Marie Fontaine: Andre Malenfant's wife and Jane's niece, she is a real estate agent. Self centered
• Gabriel Dubeau (aka Gabri): Olivier's partner; together, they own the coffee shop/antique store. He is large and witty.
• Timmer Hadley: Ben's mother and Jane's friend whom Ben derides; died of cancer prior to the story's opening
• Matthew Croft: Hard working father of Phillippe
• Isabelle Lacoste: Agent in CI Gamache's team. Well dressed, poised, confident, successful
• Olivier Brule: Gabri's partner, owner of the bistro and B blond and good looking, a bit petty
• Bernard Malenfant: 14 year old son of Yolande and Andre. a bully
• Suzanne Croft: Phillippe's mother, hard working, loving
• Andre Malenfant: Yolande's husband and as despicable as any character
• Michel Brebeuf: Superintendent; Gamache's boss and best friend.
• Reine-Marie Gamache: Armand's wife who helps with his Boxing Day investigations. Calm, stable, librarian
• Elise Jacob: chairperson for the gallery of Arts Williamsburg and thinks accepting Jane's work is a mistake and will harm their reputation
• Solange Frenette: Add a description of this character.
• Maître Cohen
• Gus Hennessey
• Kaye Thompson: One of the three older ladies which Clara paints as the Three Graces.
• André Malenfant: Good for nothing husband to Yvonne with a record of petty crimes
• Saul Petrov: Photographer doing work for CC, the murder victim. Is also having an affair with her, although he has come to despise her.
• Henri Lariviere: Dog
• Robert Lemieux: Policeman on the scene of the murder when Gamache's team arrives.
• Hanna Parra
• Wayne Robertson
• Claude Guimette
• Claude LaPierre
• Nellie
• Andreas Selinsky: Jane's one-time fiancee; was a lumberjack
• Inspector Comeau
• Irenée Calfat
• Maître Norman Stickley
• Dr Sharon Harris: Coroner
• Lucy: Jane's dog. Smelly and old
• Sarah Turner

Quotes edit see section history

• “Clara had decided that she should go with the worst-case scenario, but then couldn't decide which one was the worst. A bear, a hunter or a ghost? Thoughts of a bear reminded her of Winnie the Pooh and the Heffalump. She started to hum. A tune Jane always hummed. 'What to do with a drunken sailor?' Gamache called from above. Below, Clara froze. Was that God? But surely God would know exactly what to do with a drunken sailor? Besides, Clara couldn't believe God's first words to her would be any question other than, 'What on earth were you thinking?'”

  Clara Morrow & Armand Gamache

• “But her wall of words hid from her a growing quietude. She failed to notice his silence, his distance, until it was too late and he'd retreated all the way to his icy island. She hated that place. From it he stood and stared, judged and lobbed shards of sarcasm. 'You and you're hero solve Jane's death?' 'I thought you'd be pleased,' she half lied. She actually hadn't thought at all, and if she had, she probably could have predicted his reaction. But since he was comfortable on his Inuk island, she'd retreat to hers, equipped with righteous indignation and moral certitude. She threw great logs of 'I'm right, you're an unfeeling bastard' on to the fire and felt secure and comforted.”

• “Clare followed, grateful to be away from Peter's eloquent back.”

• “Matthew leaned closer to his plate and fine tuned the ravioli road. Each tiny ridge on the outside of the squares needed to fit into the opposing indentations. Or else? Or else the universe would explode in fire and their flesh would bubble and sear off, and he would see his whole family die in front of him, milliseconds before his own horrible death. There was a lot riding on Chef Boyardee.”

  Matthew Croft

• “'Bonjour, M. l'Inspecteur,' said Gabri coming out in a deep purple bathrobe and fluffy slippers, holding a thermos. 'I thought you might like a cafe au lait, to go.' Gamache could have kissed him. 'And,' Gabri whipped a small paper gab out from behind his back, 'a couple of croissants.' Gamache could have married him. 'Merci, infiniment, patron.'”

  Armand Gamache

• “Clara had slept fitfully the night before, waking up every few hours with that sinking feeling that was becoming a companion. Loss. It wasn't the shriek it had been, more a moan in her marrow.”

  Clara Morrow

• “All Quiet on the Western front,' thought Gamache, listening to this gentle life. His magical thinking allowed him to be surprised that when such a good soul dies it isn't remarked. The bells of the church didn't set themselves off. The mice and deer didn't cry out. The earth didn't shudder. It should have. If he were God, it would have. Instead, the line in the official report would read, 'Her neighbors noticed nothing.'”

  Armand Gamache

• “It always struck Gamache as paradoxical that churches were gloomy. Coming in from the sunshine it took a minute or so to adjust. And even then, to Gamache, it never came close to feeling like home. Churches were either great cavernous tributes not so much to God as the wealth and privilege of community, or they were austere, cold tributes to the ecstasy of refusal.”

  Armand Gamache

• “Beauvoir had just bout a lava lamp, but didn't think he'd tell the chief about that now. Gamache brought his hands up and rubbed his face. Lowering them he still saw the acid-trip room. Shit, indeed. ...both men looked around again. The room had beautiful proportions, Beauvoir had to admit. But that was kind of like saying a blind date had a good personality. You still didn't want to introduce her to your friends.”

  Beauvoir

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• ‘We choose our thoughts. We choose our perceptions. We choose our attitudes. We may not think so. We may not believe it, but we do. I absolutely know we do. I’ve seen enough evidence, time after time, tragedy after tragedy. Triumph after triumph. It’s about choice.’

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• Living our lives was like living in a long house. We entered as babies at one end, and we exited when our time came. And in between we moved through this one, great, long room. Everyone we ever met, and every thought and action lived in that room with us. Until we made peace with the less agreeable parts of our past they’d continue to heckle us from way down the long house. And sometimes the really loud, obnoxious ones told us what to do, directing our actions even years later.

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• ‘They are four sentences we learn to say, and mean.’ Gamache held up his hand as a fist and raised a finger with each point. ‘I don’t know. I need help. I’m sorry. And one other.’

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• ‘You need to learn that you have choices. There are four things that lead to wisdom.

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• ‘Oscar Wilde said that conscience and cowardice are the same thing. What stops us from doing horrible things isn’t our conscience but the fear of getting caught.’

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• ‘Evil is unspectacular and always human, and shares our bed and eats at our own table,’ Jane said almost under her breath. ‘Auden,’

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Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Montreal
• St. Rémy
• Quebec: French-speaking province of Canada. Although the novels in this series are written in English, the characters will, at times, speak a few words of French.
• Three Pines: A fictitious village in the Eastern Townships region of Quebec, Canada.
• Farben
• Essen
• Bergen
• Panik
• Sind
• Mordfall
• Williamsburg
• Bonjour

Organizations edit see section history

• Surete du Quebec: Quebec Provincial Police

First Sentence edit see section history

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by The Hangman, and followed by A Fatal Grace.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Louise Penny (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• Arthur Ellis Award (2006: Best First Novel)
• Anthony Award (October 2007: Best First Novel)
• Barry Award (2007: Best First Novel)
• Barry Award (Finalist, 2010: Mystery/Crime Novel of the Decade)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PR9199.4 P464S78 2006
• Dewey: 813

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Mystery & Thrillers › Mystery › Canadian Detectives
• Books › Mystery & Thrillers › Police Procedurals