A young woman loses her library job in England, buys a van or maybe a bus...it wasn't quite clear which, in Scotland, fills it with books and starts her own mobile bookshop. I'm not sure why it's called The Bookshop on the Corner. I thought she might eventually sell the van and settle in a permanent location but that didn't happen. Maybe she parked the bus on a corner and I just missed that detail. Anyway, she rents an apartment from a grouchy farmer she can't stand and then - no surprise - falls in love with him and he with her. This is the third one I've tried from this author and I know they are very popular, but I haven't enjoyed any of them so this will probably be my last one.
The first in the Inspector Gamache series of novels set in the village of Three Pines, Quebec, this mystery is about the murder of a local artist, Jane Neal. Her recently accepted entry in an art show is about to reveal something one desperate person does not want known.
Characters include Clara Morrow, a frazzled but sincere woman who was Jane's good friend, and Peter, her detached husband; Ben Hadley, Peter's best friend since childhood; Ruth Zardo, an abrasive woman who long ago interfered with and changed the course of Jane's life; Olivier and Gabri, the easy-going couple who run the local Bistro; the Croft family, all proficient in the use of bows and arrows, the weapon that killed Jane; Myrna Landers, former psychologist now bookshop owner; Yolande Fontaine, Jane's uptight, pretentious niece; Police Inspector Gamache, wise and experienced; and Agents Beauvoir and Nichol, the latter of whom is new to the job, arrogant, and dis-inclined to follow her superior's orders.
Several of the characters are suspected in turn and with a number of red herrings it doesn't become clear who the murderer is till near the end, though I'm sure some readers will figure it out sooner than I did.
With so many characters, there are a lot of stories to tell and clues appear to be everywhere. I found each page needed my full attention in order not to miss anything. I'm not an avid mystery fan nor a fan of long series, but I like the layered plot and the complicated characters, as well as the easy, intelligent writing style, so I will look forward to seeing where the story goes in book two: A Fatal Grace (also published as Dead Cold).
I read this extended essay again and liked it even better this time around. It was interesting to also be reading at the same time another essay, Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists? by Linda Nochlin. In Woolf's essay she asks us to consider why all the great, celebrated composers and writers of the past were men, when surely there were women born with equal talent. She doesn't accept the ridiculous argument that women simply lacked the intelligence to do anything great, and argues that women have always been more than capable but have never been given the freedom to work. They only need what men have always had - time, space, and money of their own to hone their gifts.