Still Lives by Maria Hummel is a slow burning tale about a woman who, even though she is haunted by her history as a reporter’s assistant, just can’t help but snoop around and put herself at risk in order to try to solve a murder case.

When this won the vote for my book club pick for February, I couldn’t wait to snag a copy from my local library!

While the very beginning started strong, unfortunately this one was a miss for me…

When this book begins, we meet a woman that is just itching to leave the place where she works in order to beat rush hour and avoid the big party. I was immediately drawn to this character, as I, too, leave work at a time to miss rush hour. And I totally understand being a bit tired of people and just wanting to go home.

As the story continues, I was so intrigued to learn more about her place of work and a few of her other coworkers, who were all getting ready for the big party in their own ways.

Once the party rolled around, I just loved the excitement and nervousness of the event. Up until this point, the anticipation that was built up before finally seeing the paintings was quite intense!

Unfortunately, the story went downhill from there for me.

Immediately after the big gallery reveal, I started to lose interest. There were bits and pieces of the case that were introduced that I was interested in. I thought for sure that the story was going to go in one very interesting direction that would be filled with puzzles and dropped hints, but nothing ever came of those elements. Instead, we just see the main character have an emotional break and then snoop around rather obviously to try to figure out who the murderer was.

When I was nearing the end, I told my husband that I thought the book may be gearing up for some fast paced action and craziness right before the big reveal. But that never happened. When I got to what I would say was the climax of the story, I was (and I hate to say it) bored.

When I closed the book, I was a bit bummed. The synopsis sounded so interesting but this one just fell totally flat for me.

My Favorite Passages:
In the dozen steps it takes me to round the maroon wall of cubes to Juanita’s, my heart starts beating so fast it feels like a flash mob is assembling in my chest.

If she had a sense of humor, it must be buried somewhere deeper than the tar pits on La Brea.


My Final Thoughts:
This book started out pretty strong for me, but it soon grew a bit tiresome, and then took an odd turn that still has me scratching my head…

I would say that I enjoyed reading this one, but it was just an okay ready for me. When it comes down to voting thumbs up or thumbs down for my book club, I’d have to go with a thumbs down. Part of me enjoyed the overall plot and many of the characters, but the slow pace of the story line and the execution of the plot and the conclusion just didn’t work for me.

While I wouldn’t read it again, I would definitely recommend it to readers that enjoy slow moving mysteries with an art focus, and that don’t mind a rather lackluster ending.