Bruno, Chief of Police: Summary and book reviews of Bruno, Chief of Police by Martin Walker, plus links to an excerpt from Bruno, Chief of Police and a biography of Martin Walker.
Bruno, Chief of Police
by Martin Walker
Hardcover: Mar 2009,
288 pages.
Paperback: Apr 2010,
288 pages.
The first installment in a wonderful new series that follows the exploits of Benoît Courrèges, a policeman in a small French village where the rituals of the café still rule. Bruno—as he is affectionately nicknamed—may be the town’s only municipal policeman, but in the hearts and minds of its denizens, he is chief of police.
Bruno is a former soldier who has embraced the pleasures and slow rhythms of country life—living in his restored shepherd’s cottage; patronizing the weekly market; sparring with, and basically ignoring, the European Union bureaucrats from Brussels. He has a gun but never wears it; he has the power to arrest but never uses it. But then the murder of an elderly North African who fought in the French army changes everything and galvanizes Bruno’s attention: the man was found with a swastika carved into his chest.
Because of the case’s potential political ramifications, a young policewoman is sent from Paris to aid Bruno with his investigation. The two immediately suspect militants from the anti-immigrant National Front, but when a visiting scholar helps to untangle the dead man’s past, Bruno’s suspicions turn toward a more complex motive. His investigation draws him into one of the darkest chapters of French history—World War II, a time of terror and betrayal that set brother against brother. Bruno soon discovers that even his seemingly perfect corner of la belle France is not exempt from that period’s sinister legacy.
Bruno, Chief of Police is deftly dark, mesmerizing, and totally engaging.
I’m glad to know that Walker promises more Bruno books. As for the flagship novel of the series, it was such a pleasure to read that I can’t help but suspect Walker had equal fun writing it. (Reviewed by Donna Chavez).
Entertainment Weekly - Julia Holmes
Martin Walker's book is a nice literary pairing with the slow-food movement. But lovely as it is to linger at the table, the sleuthing can drag. B+
Kirkus Reviews
Walker sets a charming table . . . the civilized approach to detection will likely appeal to fans of Roderic Jeffries’s Inspector Alvarez.
Publishers Weekly
Without sacrificing a soupçon of the novel's smalltown charm or its characters' endearing quirkiness, Walker deftly drives his plot toward a dark place where old sins breed fresh heartbreak.
Eurocrime.co.uk Bruno, Chief of Police may be a gentle book but it does not pull its punches. It is well-written, introducing a charming, likable main character: a satisfying detective story; and conveying a strong love and understanding of the Dordogne region of France … the author is not afraid to address difficult issues head-on, personal and political … told with authority and style, as one might expect from an author who has written distinguished histories ...
Sunday Telegraph - Susanna Yager
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.
Literary Review - Jessica Mann
But the selling point of this delightful book is its setting in the legendary France profonde, where market stalls offer goat's cheese and foie gras, home-made jam and oils flavoured with walnuts and truffles, where steaks are timed to perfection by singing the Marseillaise, and menus composed as skilfully as Martin Walker's prose. Walker brings to life both a complete community and the chief of police who is its protector, teacher and friend. This book's ingredients are combined as carefully as Bruno’s good meals. Second helpings, please!
The Scotsman - Allan Massie
It is written with a deep love of rural France, for the countryside, the people, the way of life and the cuisine. All this is charming and many pages of the book will have readers purring with delight … so enjoyable … so pervasive and agreeable is the charm of this novel that it might even allow you to pass the time pleasantly as you wait in an airport departure lounge for your long-delayed holiday flight to France.
Recent Reader Reviews
Rated of 5
by Gail I want more What a great read! well plotted and believable characters. I can't say enough good things. I hope there are more in the works. I am going to go back a not some of the recipes for the food he cooked. Maybe without the trufflesl
Rated of 5
by Lupoman Bruno, chief of police This book is a BookBrowse Editor Choice, so I read it hoping it lived up to my expectations; and not only is this a terrific murder mystery, I did not want the story to end. The chief of police, named Bruno, is a wonderful protagonist, and kept me... Read More
The Two Faces of France During WWII
What happens when part of a country's population embraces the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity while the rest abandon those principles in favor of work, family, fatherland, and a heavy dose of anti-Semitism? Moreover, what if that ideological split divides not only the country's people, but its leadership as well? If that country is France during World War II, facing off against a German fighting machine that some perceived as undefeatable, the answer is simple: the country is rent in two.
As soon as Germany stormed into Paris in June 1940 the French people were forced to choose one side or the other. Either agree with Prime Minister Paul Reynaud and General Charles de Gaulle and oppose Hitler, or side with vice-premier Henri-Philippe Petain who favored negotiating an armistice with Germany. Petain carried the day, replacing Reynaud as prime minister and establishing a puppet administration in the city of Vichy. France's dual personalities, collaboration and opposition, would endure through the war and...
In France, you are what you eat. Mort Rosenblum applies his superb nose for news and fine fare to the food-drenched culture of a country that takes its cuisine as seriously as its politics.
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