The Crowded Grave: Book summary and reviews of The Crowded Grave by Martin Walker

The Crowded Grave Summary

It's spring in the idyllic village of St. Denis, and for Chief of Police Bruno Courrèges that means lamb stews, bottles of his beloved Pomerol, morning walks with his hound, Gigi - and a new string of regional crimes and international capers. When a local archaeological team looking for Cro-Magnon and Neanderthal remains turns up a corpse with a watch on its wrist and a bullet in its head, it's up to Bruno to solve the case. But the task will not be easy, not with a meddlesome new magistrate eager to make a strong impression, an ongoing series of attacks by animal rights activists on local foie gras producers, and a nearby summit between France and Spain approaching - not to mention two beautiful, brilliant women vying for Bruno's affections.

Complicating events even further, the professor in charge of the dig is soon reported missing, leading Bruno to suspect that the past and the present are bound up in dangerous ways. As summer approaches, the wine growing cooler and the fruit sweeter, Bruno's investigations take him indelibly deeper into contemporary Europe's dark history of terrorist and counterterrorist tactics - and toward a dramatic finale.

As savory as foie gras, as piquant as vin de noix, and as richly complex as the region's truffles, The Crowded Grave is a feast for mystery lovers and Francophiles alike.

The Crowded Grave Reviews

"Walker hits the sweet spot of balancing humor and drama, and his food descriptions will leave readers fantasizing about dining in the Perigord." - Publishers Weekly

"One of the charms of the series is the detailed procession of French country cuisine that no investigation is ever allowed to impede; another is the character of Bruno himself – humane, sensible, honest and a very good cook." - The Guardian (UK)

"Walker writes smoothly and with well constructed plots and characters." - Euro Crime (UK)

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Martin Walker Author Biography

Martin Walker is senior director of the Global Business Policy Council, a private think-tank based in Washington, DC. He is also editor emeritus of United Press International and was a journalist with The Guardian for 25 years, serving as bureau chief in Moscow and the United States. He has written for such publications as The New York Times, The New Yorker and The Times Literary Supplement. He appears regularly on the BBC and CNN. He is the author of three works of non-fiction, including The Cold War: A History, named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and a historical novel, The Caves of Périgord. He lives with his wife in Washington, DC, and in the Dordogne region of France.

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