Book Reviews,  FICTION,  Humor,  Mystery

Still Life by Louise Penny *** (of 4)

An aging, blue-haired, naif artist with a secret is killed by an arrow in a small, eccentric village outside Montreal.  An elegant Francophone detective interviews towns people who include among their numbers a flamboyant gay couple running a bistro, a black female psychologist prone to the preparation of flower arrangements with kielbasas at their centers, a belligerent but lovable biddy, and quirky artists.  Together they form a believable community of outsiders entrapped in a much better than average mystery.