Louis Penny's debut murder mystery is set in a small village in rural Canada with spotty cell reception, Three Pines. In it's tiny main street a used and new bookstore rubs shoulders with the bistro/antique shop, the old school house and the tiny market. People in this village know their neighbors by name and don't lock their doors at night. But Jane Neal, a retired teacher and painter, is shot in the woods and killed. A hunting accident? Or something more sinister? It's up to Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, of the Sûreté du Québec to find out.