Martin Walker
Bruno, Chief of Police
Hardcover
(Thorndike Pr July 1, 2009)
, Large Print edition
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. Brunoâas he is affectionately nicknamedâmay be the townâs 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 lifeâliving in his restored shepherdâs 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 Brunoâs attention: the man was found with a swastika carved into his chest.Because of the caseâs 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 manâs past, Brunoâs suspicions turn toward a more complex motive. His investigation draws him into one of the darkest chapters of French historyâWorld 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 periodâs sinister legacy.Bruno, Chief of Police is deftly dark, mesmerizing, and totally engaging.
- Series
- Thorndike Press Large Print Mystery Series
- ISBN
- 1410416682 / 9781410416681
- Pages
- 369
- Weight
- 19.2 oz.
- Dimensions
- 5.8 x 1.2
in.