text: Though I usually go in for tough police thrillers, I sometimes mix things up by reading a light, funny mystery or- like this book- a quiet, thoughtful mystery set in a small town (a "cozy", I believe this type of mystery novel is called).  "Still Life" nicely combines the easygoing attributes of a "cozy" mystery- quirky, eccentric characters, a small-town setting, pretty much no violence- with a little modernity, in the form of occasional well-placed profanity (though not much) and modern demographics (a gay couple is included among the main characters).
  
  The main detective character, intelligent and interesting, owes a little to Christie's Hercule Poirot, but not everything.  The mystery itself is pretty interesting, too, though some aspects of its solution are a little broad and clunky, as are some of the explanations of why ultimately cleared characters were acting suspicious for a time.  Any shortcomings are quibbles, however, and shouldn't deter one from trying out this nicely done mystery story set in a quiet little corner of Quebec
  