Death in the Dordogne by Martin Walker
Captain Bruno Courreges goes by the grand title of Chief of Police, though in truth he's the only municipal policeman on staff in the small town of St Denis in the beautiful Perigord region of south west France. He has a gun but never wears it; he has the power to arrest but never uses it. The law in St Denis and the farms and hamlets of its sprawling commune is not necessarily applied as Paris would like it. Bruno sees his job as protecting St Denis from its enemies, and these include the capital's bureaucrats and their EU counterparts in Brussels. Today is market day in the ancient town. Inspectors from Brussels have been swooping on France's markets, attempting to enforce EU hygiene rules. The locals call the Brussels' bureaucrats 'Gestapo' and Bruno supports their resistance. What's more, here in what was Vichy France, words like 'Gestapo' and 'resistance' still carry a profound resonance. When an old man, head of an immigrant North African family, is found viciously murdered - a swastika carved in his chest - the obvious conclusion is that this ritualistic killing must be racist, and that Le Front National is alive and well in the Dordogne. Suspicion falls on the son of the local doctor, found in flagrante playing sex games surrounded by Nazi paraphernalia. But Bruno isn't convinced, and suspects this unusual crime may have its roots in that most tortured period of recent French history - the Second World War. A time of terror and betrayal that set brother against brother, it casts a very long shadow.
'Hugely enjoyable and absolutely gripping.. the Maigret of the Dordogne' Antony Beevor. * Antony Beevor *
'The Alexander McCall Smith of La France Profonde. No one should be allowed to go on holiday to France this summer without a copy' Francis Wheen. * Francis Wheen *
'The pleasures of life in the Dordogne, some distinctive well-rounded characters and an intriguing mystery are a winning combination in Martin Walker's Bruno, Chief of Police ... Walker's relaxed style and good humour help to bring to life his engaging hero and his delightful home and make one of the most enjoyable books I've read in a long time' Susanna Yager, Sunday Telegraph. * Sunday Telegraph *
'The Alexander McCall Smith of La France Profonde. No one should be allowed to go on holiday to France this summer without a copy' Francis Wheen. * Francis Wheen *
'The pleasures of life in the Dordogne, some distinctive well-rounded characters and an intriguing mystery are a winning combination in Martin Walker's Bruno, Chief of Police ... Walker's relaxed style and good humour help to bring to life his engaging hero and his delightful home and make one of the most enjoyable books I've read in a long time' Susanna Yager, Sunday Telegraph. * Sunday Telegraph *
Martin Walker is a prize-winning journalist and the author of several acclaimed works of non-fiction, including The Cold War: A History. He lives in the Dordogne and Washington, DC.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781847245076 |
| ISBN 10 | 1847245072 |
| Title | Death in the Dordogne |
| Author | Martin Walker |
| Series | Bruno Chief Of Police |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Quercus Publishing |
| Year published | 2008-04-03 |
| Number of pages | 288 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |