Neighborliness

Louise Penny’s Inspector Armand Gamache is the star of Still Life. Intelligent without bragging, kind without gushing, ethical without moralism, he possesses a liveliness born of knowing the intricacies of crimes and criminals. He recites poetry, offers remembered words to younger detectives, gives second and third chances, and depends on his (largely absent) wonderful wife for daily sanity checks. We absorb balance and goodness and look for his look-alike in our neighborhood.