Bruno, Chief of Police

Bruno, Chief of Police is the first installment of a series starring BenoIt "Bruno" Courreges, the only cop stationed in a rural French village where tradition remains strong.

A prolific journalist, Martin Walker has crafted a mystery series that deftly blends the stylings of Peter Mayle and Alexander McCall Smith. Chief Bruno Courreges loves life in his small French village. One day his idyll is disturbed when a local research station for genetically modified crops is burned down. An enclave of environmentalists seems to be the most likely culprit, but soon Bruno uncovers evidence that makes the case infinitely more complicated.

Best-selling author Martin Walker's previous two novels starring Chief of Police Bruno CourrEges became hits with fans and critics around the globe. In this thrilling third mystery, Bruno has his hands full with trouble in the truffle trade in St. Denis' marketplace. And when a friend is murdered, things really start heating up.

Another delectable serving of mystery and the pleasures of the Dordogne from the newest master of suspense, Martin Walker. It' s spring in the idyllic village of St. Denis, and for Chief of Police Bruno Courreges 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.

Bestselling author Martin Walker pens stories filled with small-town ambience and charming characters. In The Devil's Cave, police chief Bruno Courreges is investigating a murder as the tiny French village of St. Denis prepares for Easter. An unknown woman--dead, naked, and bearing the marks of a black magic ritual--is found in a boat floating down the River Vezere. With the townsfolk terrified, clues quickly lead Bruno to the Gouffre de Colombac--the Devil's Cave.

Internationally best-selling author Martin Walker delights audiences with his holiday-themed mystery, "Bruno and the Carol Singers." It's Christmastime in the tiny French village of St. Denis and police chief Bruno CourrEges is busy playing PEre Noel for the children. But when money raised for charity goes missing, Bruno trades in his bag of toys for his badge and sets out to find the thief.

Bruno CourrEges--provincial French police chief extraordinaire--is back in another delectable tale of mystery and suspense that unfolds in the gastronomically ravishing Dordogne.

The seventh novel in Martin Walker's irresistible mystery series set in the South of France and starring Bruno, Chief of Police Bruno, chief of police in the French town of St. Denis, is already busy with a case when the body of an undercover French Muslim cop is found in the woods, a man who called Bruno for help only hours earlier. But Bruno's sometime boss and rival, the Brigadier, doesn't see this investigation as a priority-there are bigger issues at stake. Bruno has other ideas. Meanwhile, a Muslim youth named Sami turns up at a French army base in Afghanistan hoping to get home to St. Denis. One of Bruno's old army comrades helps to smuggle Sami back to France, but the FBI aren't far behind. Then an American woman appears in St. Denis with a warrant for Sami's extradition. Bruno must unravel these multiple mysteries, amidst pressure from his bosses, and find his own way to protect his town and its people.

A beloved village, a complicated family, a suspicious death-it's the latest adventure in the Dordogne for police chief Bruno. Martin Walker is a senior fellow of the Global Business Policy Council, a private think tank for CEOs of major corporations, based in Washington, D.C. He is also editor-in-chief emeritus and international affairs columnist at United Press International. His previous novels in the Bruno series are Bruno, Chief of Police; The Dark Vineyard; Black Diamond; The Crowded Grave; The Devil's Cave; The Resistance Man, and The Children Return, all international best sellers. He lives in Washington, D.C., and the Dordogne.

A pair of murders, a little romance, and rivals in pursuit of a long-lost vintage car of unfathomable value--Bruno, chief of police, is busy in another mystery set in the beautiful Dordogne. At an annual fete in St. Denis, Bruno's biggest worry is surviving in the rally race. The rally and a classic car parade are new to the festivities and draw a spate of outsiders with deep pockets, big-city egos, and, in the case of a young Englishman, an intriguing story. It's the tale of a Bugatti Type 57 Atlantic, lost somewhere in southern France during World War II. Among the most beautiful cars ever made, one of only four of its kind, it is worth untold millions and drives its pursuers mad with greed. As the parade begins, a local scholar turns up dead--and Bruno suspects unnatural causes. To complicate matters, a family squabble over land brings to St. Denis a comely Parisienne who turns Bruno's head. And: there's mounting evidence that the events in St. Denis are linked to international crime. As usual, Bruno's village life offers its challenges--but there is always time for a good bottle and a home-cooked meal.

Bruno, the beloved chief of police in the idyllic French town of St. Denis, is back! This time a mysterious death brings ancient secrets to light, and it's up to our hero-and favorite gourmand-to connect the tangled threads of past and present When a woman's body is found at the foot of a cliff near St. Denis, Bruno suspects a connection to the great ruin that stands on the cliff above: the Chateau de Commarque, a long-ago Knights Templar stronghold which, along with the labyrinth of prehistoric caves beneath it, continues to draw the interest of scholars. With the help of Amelie, a young newcomer to the Dordogne, Bruno learns that the dead woman was an archaeologist searching for a religious artifact of incredible importance, the discovery of which could have dramatic repercussions throughout the Middle East-not to mention in St. Denis. And the woman's ties to Islamic terrorists can only heighten the pressure on Bruno to unravel the centuries-old mystery. Meanwhile, an old flame of Bruno's is assigned to work with him on the case, and the two find time, naturellement, to enjoy the supreme pleasures of the wine, food, and beauty of the Dordogne.

A missing woman, a shocking pregnancy, a dash of international intrigue, and a bottle or two of good Bergerac: it's another case for Bruno, Chief of Police. When a British tourist fails to turn up for a luxurious cooking vacation in Bruno's usually idyllic Dordogne village of St. Denis, the worried hostess is quick to call on Bruno for help. Monica Felder is nowhere to be found, and her husband, a retired British major, is unreachable. And not long after Bruno discovers that Monica was traveling with a mysterious Irishman (her lover?), the two turn up dead. The Irishman's background in intelligence and his connection to Monica's husband only raise more questions for Bruno. Was she running away? How much does her husband really know? What's the real story behind a scandal buried in the threesome's military past? Meanwhile, the star of the girls' rugby team, a favorite of Bruno's, is pregnant, putting at risk her chances of being named to the French national squad. Bruno's search for the truth in both cases leads him to places he hadn't intended to go-but, as ever, he and his friends take time to savor the natural delights of the Dordogne. Sante!

An aging art scholar and a visiting student, haunting echoes of France's colonialist past, and a delicious navarin of lamb--Bruno is back, and his latest case leads him from the Renaissance to the French Resistance and beyond by way of a corpse at the bottom of a well. When Claudia, a young American, turns up dead in the courtyard of an ancient castle in Bruno's jurisdiction, her death is assumed to be an accident related to opioid use. But her doctor persuades Bruno that things may not be so simple. Thus begins an investigation that leads Bruno to Monsieur de Bourdeille, the scholar with whom the girl had been studying, and then through that man's past. He is a renowned art historian who became extraordinarily wealthy through the sale of paintings that may have been falsely attributed--or so Claudia suggested shortly before her death. In his younger days, Bourdeille had aided the Resistance and been arrested by a Vichy policeman whose own life story also becomes inexorably entangled with the case. Also in the mix is a young falconer who works at the Chateau des Milandes, the former home of fabled jazz singer Josephine Baker. In the end, of course, Bruno will tie all the loose threads together and see that justice is served--along with a generous helping of his signature Perigordian cuisine.

When a locals death is linked to a Russian oligarch and his multinational conglomerate, Bruno faces one of his toughest cases yet, one that brings together a conniving French businessman and a rock star - and, of course, Bergerac red and white. Its summer in the Dordogne. The heirs of a modest Périgordian sheep farmer learn upon his death that they have been disinherited, and their fathers estate sold to an insurance company in return for a policy that would have placed him in a five-star retirement home for the rest of his life. His children are immediately suspicious of the uncharacteristically lavish arrangement. Their inquest raises other unsavory questions about his passing: Was it a natural death? Was there foul play? Bruno begins an investigation that leads him to several shadowy companies owned by a Russian billionaire. The companies are based in Cyprus, Malta, and Luxembourg, but Bruno finds a way into the organization in France: a recently relocated notaire and an insurance agent. As Bruno pursues this ominious lead, the Russians daughter turns up in the Périgord, further complicating the case. All leads to a deadly denouement at the château of the rock star. It takes all of Bruno’s resolve and quick thinking to untangle the truth. But, as ever - Bruno makes time for lunch.

After attending an exhibit on the facial reconstruction of ancient skulls, Bruno wonders if this technology might provide an invaluable clue to a thirty-year-old cold case. But learning the identity of the murder victim is only the beginning. The investigation quickly turns thorny and leads Bruno to a reclusive vintner, Henri Bazaine, whose education at a vocational school in a formerly Communist region has raised some eyebrows. An inquiry into the defunct school turns up shadowy reports of possible connections and funding from the Stasi, the repressive police agency of the former East Germany. The scrutiny on Henri intensifies once Bruno discovers that he was declared dead thirty years ago and has been living under an assumed name ever since. The strange case is further complicated as Parisian bureaucrats get involved, hinting that essential diplomatic relations might be at stake. And to make matters even worse, the Dordogne is suffering from an intense summer drought that is sparking fires across the region. But as always, Bruno will keep a cool head through it all—and, bien sûr, takes time to enjoy a sumptuous Périgordian meal!

When a musician's new song hits a political nerve, he finds himself in the crosshairs of Spanish nationalists' ire, and it's up to Bruno to track down an extremist who seems ready to take deadly measures. Les Troubadours, a folk music group that Bruno has long supported, go viral with their new number, "Song for Catalonia," when the Spanish government suddenly bans it. The songwriter, Joel Martin, is a local enthusiast for the old Occitan language of Périgord and the medieval troubadours, and he sympathizes with the Catalan bid for independence. The success of his song provokes outrage among extreme Spanish nationalists. Then a stolen car on a Périgord back road collides with a deer. The driver and passengers disappear but leave behind a distinctive bullet for a state-of-the art sniper's rifle that can kill at two kilometers. And police fear that Joel might be the intended target. The French and Spanish governments agree to mount a joint operation to stop assailants, and Bruno is the local man on the spot who mobilizes his hunting club friends to track them down. While Bruno tries to keep the peace, his friend Florence reaches out for help. Her abusive ex-husband is about to be paroled from jail and she fears he will return to reclaim their children. Will they be able to thwart this unwanted visit? Despite the pressures, there is always time for Bruno to savor les plaisirs of the Dordogne around the table with friends.

When an actor in a local play is attacked during a performance, Bruno must learn whether it was an accident, a crime of passion-or an assassination attempt with implications far beyond the small French village. The town of Sarlat is staging a reenactment of its liberation from the British in the Hundred Years' War when the play's French hero, Brice Kerquelin, is stabbed and feared fatally wounded. Is it an unfortunate prop malfunction-or something more sinister? The stricken man happens to be number two in the French intelligence service, in line for the top job. Bruno is tasked with the safety of the victim's daughter Claire, as well as her father's old Silicon Valley buddies, ostensibly in town for a reunion. One friend from Taiwan, a tycoon in chip fabrication, soon goes missing, and Bruno suspects there may be a link to the French government's efforts to build a chip industry in Europe-something powerful forces in Russia and China are determined to scuttle. Wading through a tangle of rivalries and secrets, Bruno begins to parse fact from fiction-while also becoming embroiled in some romantic complications, and, of course, finding time to put together some splendid meals.

Another entertaining and enlightening entry in the “Bruno, Chief of Police” series, featuring archeological and World War II subthemes and more culinary magic. When Abby, an American archeologist, arrives in St. Denis on the heels of her divorce, she hopes to make a new life for herself as a specialist guide for visiting tourists. So, when a local British couple discover a World War II-era grave on their property, Abby is able to put her training to good use. As it turns out, in the grave are the remains of two German women and an Italian submarine officer who had a big secret to hide. The women are suspected of having had links to the German garrison in Bordeaux during the war. It's up to Bruno, just recovered from a gunshot wound earlier in the year, to unravel the mystery, and its contemporary relevance. His task is made more difficult by the horrible heat-dome summer, which is raising the temperatures for miles around, as unprecedented amounts of water vapor encumber the air, drenching the Massif Central and threatening increasingly dramatic floods. As Bruno drills to the heart of the case, matters get even more complicated when both Abby's financially distressed ex-husband and a mysterious dashing Italian naval officer arrive, with very different ideas in mind. Once again, Bruno is left to serve the guilty their just rewards, and his friends, some sumptuous Perigordian cuisine.

A real estate agent's death sends shockwaves through the idyllic town of St. Denis, leading Bruno, Chief of Police, to suspect that there's more to this tragedy than meets the eye. When Bruno stumbles upon a motionless figure in a car parked at a scenic overpass on the ridge of the Vézère valley, he's ready to investigate. Inside, he finds a suicide note and the dead body of Monique, a successful businesswoman who rented châteaus to wealthy expats. It seems like an open-and-shut case. But Bruno can't shake the feeling that something sinister lurks underneath this tidy narrative. After he delivers Monique's final messages to those most important to her, malicious gossip about Bruno begins to spread through the village. One thing leads to another, and soon Bruno faces pressure to resign from the job. Despite this disturbing turn of events, Bruno remains Bruno, never one to turn down a fine meal with good company in the French countryside. In the course of inquiry, he meets Laura-and her dog, which happens to be the same breed as his beloved basset hound. As sparks fly and Bruno realizes just how much he has at stake, he races to find out what really happened to Monique, before he loses his badge, his new love-or something even worse.

Martin Walker presents his first collection of Bruno stories featuring all the familiar characters from the novels, the glories of the Périgord, and ample helpings of food and wine. After a prisoner breaks parole to see his son on Christmas, Bruno must track him down before he throws away his chance at eventual freedom. When a Senegalese man's coffee sells superbly at the market, some café owners become incensed by the new competition and take matters into their own hands. As a Swiss tourist and a St. Denis native falls in love over the fruit-and-veggie stall, one of their family members takes drastic steps to break them up. A thriving tour bus business is sabotaged, leading Bruno to take a closer look at a town love triangle. Called in to investigate a case of stolen oysters, our beloved policeman reunites with an old flame to catch the shellfish thieves. In story after story, Bruno settles town disputes, mediates family quarrels, and tracks down lawbreakers in his adored village of St. Denis and its environs. Featured meals in the collection include a fatty Christmas goose, a savory nettle soup with crème fraîche, and a fluffy quiche lorraine.