"Still Life," the first novel by Canadian author Louise Penny, inaugurated her still continuing mystery series starring Inspector, now Chief Inspector, Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec. Since the stories all take place in the fictional village of Three Pines in Quebec, they are referred to as the "Three Pines Mysteries." This novel went on to become a best seller and it won the New Blood Dagger Award, the Arthur Ellis Award, and later in 2007 the Barry Award and the Anthony Award for the best first novel. High praises indeed, many of which came from her fellow writers. Penny's later novels have also captured numerous literary awards. It seems that everyone is a fan of Inspector Gamache and the quaint little village of Three Pines.

I recently read "The Brutal Telling," the fifth novel in Penny's Inspector Gamache series. After I had finished reading that 2009 novel I followed my usual instinct, which is to go back to the first book in the series (this one), and then proceed chronologically from there so that I can find out for myself how everything started. As a reader, I find great pleasure in experiencing the growth and the development of the characters in their proper sequence. Initially they will invariably be less well formulated, less sure of their footing. After all, the author is still finding her own footing in this new world of her creation.  

Discovering an exciting new literary series is always a pleasure, and the promise of more to come only adds to this pleasure. Books are like companions; they keep us company and fill our minds with an imaginary world of the author's creation. Give me quirky and well drawn characters, and the chances are great that I will end up being a loyal reader. Suffice it to say that the "Three Pines Mysteries" fit the bill admirably even though I regularly experience some difficulty with the French idioms and place names.

Three Pines is an isolated and picturesque village in Quebec a few miles north of the Vermont border, and it seems to be a magnet for quirky characters due to its origins as a refuge for English loyalists during our Revolutionary War. It has remained an off the wall haven ever since even though it is now only an hour or so from Montreal. You would think that it would be a quiet town where everyone knows the business of everyone else, but, like Jane Marple's St. Mary Mead, skullduggery, usually murder, is always afoot and the locals are invariably shocked and clueless.

In "Still Life," Inspector Gamache visits Three Pines for the first time when a beloved local figure is found lying dead on the forest floor, killed by an arrow which passed right through her, but is now missing. It would appear to be an accident since it is the height of hunting season, but then, where is that arrow? 

Miss Jane Neal was a life long resident of Three Pines, and a friend of many in the thriving local arts community. Something of an aspiring artist herself, she was known to have worked on painting for many years before finally submitting one to the committee which then selected it for exhibition at their fall art fair. Her even submitting it for consideration was something of a surprise since Jane was highly secretive about her art work. Even her closest friends were only allowed entrance to the kitchen of her house, but never any further, for the living room where she worked had always remained off limits. 

Once her painting was unveiled to the selection committee, even Clara, her closest friend and a fellow artist, was shocked by its raw power. It was a portrayal of the residents of Three Pines at the local county fair, but there was something vaguely disturbing and unsettling about the faces mounted on primitive stick figures. Everyone looked for their portrait, but no one could quite put a handle on what it was about this piece which was so controversial. It obviously held a truth which Clara and the others were unable to define at the moment. Now she is dead and they might never learn the truth of it at all. 

When Gamache learns that Jane Neal died only two days after it was unveiled, he immediately suspects that the painting holds clues to her death. However, ascertaining its meaning will prove to be a difficult chore because Jane's estranged daughter inherited the house and she refuses admittance to the police without a search warrant. This will be difficult to establish since it is not clear that her death wasn't an accident, and finding a motive in this close knit community will not be easy. Meanwhile, Gamache finds himself falling in love with this quaint little village and its quirky residents. He is not yet the legend that he will become in future years, for his career is stalled and he has to deal with departmental politics back in Montreal.

Louise Penny was an award-winning journalist who worked for many years for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. She now lives in a small village south of Montreal where she writes, skis, and volunteers, so she lives not far from the fictional village of her creation. 2005, St. Martin-Minotaur Books, 336 pages.