Books in Bruno, Chief of Police Series series

When a British tourist fails to turn up for a luxurious cooking vacation in the idyllic village in the south of France that Bruno Courrèges calls home, the chief of police is quickly on the case. Monika Felder is nowhere to be found, and her husband, a retired British general, is unreachable. Not long after Bruno discovers that Monika was traveling with a mysterious Irishman with a background in intelligence, the two turn up dead. Was she running away? How much does her husband really know? Meanwhile, the star of the girls’ rugby team is pregnant, jeopardizing her chances of being named to the French national squad. Bruno’s search for the truth in both cases leads him in some unexpected directions—but as ever, he and his friends find time along the way to savor the culinary delights of the region.

The ninth installment in the delightful, internationally acclaimed series featuring Chief of Police Bruno.Bruno’s village of St. Denis has been called many things, but a hotbed of international intrigue has never been one of them . . . until now. When an undercover agent is found murdered just as a prodigal son is set to retun from a grim tour in the Middle East, the small town suddenly finds itself host to a determined global tribunal, threatening the usual cheer brought by St. Denis’s annual wine festival. With clever twists and action aplenty, The Children Return is a journey to St. Denis that readers won’t soon forget.

The Dordogne’s favorite chief of police is back in a case full of twists and turns that finds his small town shockingly targeted by a terrorist network.When an undercover agent tracking domestic jihadists is found murdered, it’s troubling enough for Bruno’s beloved village. But when this is followed by the return of Sami, a local autistic youth thought lost to Islamic extremism, provincial St. Denis suddenly becomes a front line in the global war on terror. Abducted and exploited for his technological genius in Afghanistan, Sami has used his talents to gather invaluable stores of al-Qaeda intel—but as an international tribunal descends to begin an exhaustive debrief, it becomes clear Sami’s former handlers are far from ready to relinquish him. Now the same jihadists who killed the agent aim to silence Sami, and as the eyes of the intelligence world turn toward his case, Bruno must scramble to track down the terrorists before they exact their own justice. As if things aren’t complicated enough, Bruno finds himself contending with the mixed, alluring signals of one of the high-ranking U.S. intelligence officers on Sami’s case, even while juggling the affections of his neighbor and sometime lover. Add to that a member of the tribunal with dangerous skeletons in his closet, the mysterious history of two Jewish siblings who claim to have been sheltered locally from the Nazis during World War II, and a high-profile philanthropist whose presence in St. Denis seems to be attracting attention from the jihadists, and it’s all almost enough to absent Bruno from the village’s wine festival. With international intrigue and action aplenty, The Children Return is a journey to St. Denis that readers won’t soon forget.Published in Great Britain under the title Children of War.

When a British tourist fails to turn up for a luxurious cooking vacation in the idyllic village in the south of France that Bruno Courrèges calls home, the chief of police is quickly on the case. Monika Felder is nowhere to be found, and her husband, a retired British general, is unreachable. Not long after Bruno discovers that Monika was traveling with a mysterious Irishman with a background in intelligence, the two turn up dead. Was she running away? How much does her husband really know? Meanwhile, the star of the girls’ rugby team is pregnant, jeopardizing her chances of being named to the French national squad. Bruno’s search for the truth in both cases leads him in some unexpected directions—but as ever, he and his friends find time along the way to savor the culinary delights of the region.

The seventh novel in Martin Walker’s irresistible mystery series set in the South of France and starring Bruno, Chief of PoliceBruno, 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.PRAISE FOR MARTIN WALKER AND THE BRUNO, CHIEF OF POLICE, SERIES:“Martin Walker’s bucolic mysteries offer a gentle reminder to slow down and smell the grapes.” —THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW“Walker is brilliant at capturing the murderous charms of rural France.” —DAILY MIRROR“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

A Recipe for Success• Take a rural commune in the heart of the Dordogne and a one-man police department by the name of Bruno.• Add a brutal murder with the hallmarks of a racial crime against immigrant workers from North Africa.• Season with clues that point to unsettled feuds from the Nazi legacy of World War II.• Serve with Gallic charm in all good bookshops as the first book in a brilliant crime fiction series.Set in the street markets, cobbled squares, vineyards and farmland of the Dordogne area of France, Bruno, Chief of Police features Captain Bruno Courrèges, a man as charming and eccentric as he is wise. A formidable investigator, Bruno must rise to the challenge when the head of an Algerian family is murdered and the peace of Bruno's beloved village of St. Denis is shattered. Racism is the obvious conclusion, and the son of a local doctor who is caught playing sex games surrounded by Nazi paraphernalia is the immediate suspect. But Bruno knows his people well and sees a more complex explanation lurking in the memories and unsettled feuds of the German occupation.This addictively readable novel, filled with the sights and sounds -- and politics -- of the French countryside, launches a stunning new crime fiction series.

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. Santé!

The seventh novel in Martin Walker’s irresistible mystery series set in the South of France and starring Bruno, Chief of Police―the Dordogne’s favourite chief of police is back in a case full of twists and turns that finds his small town shockingly targeted by a terrorist networkWhen an undercover agent tracking domestic jihadists is found murdered, it’s troubling enough for Bruno’s beloved village. But when this is followed by the return of Sami, a local autistic youth thought lost to Islamic extremism, provincial St. Denis suddenly becomes a front line in the global war on terror. Abducted and exploited for his technological genius in Afghanistan, Sami has used his talents to gather invaluable stores of al-Qaeda intel―but as an international tribunal descends to begin an exhaustive debrief, it becomes clear Sami’s former handlers are far from ready to relinquish him. Now the same jihadists who killed the agent aim to silence Sami, and as the eyes of the intelligence world turn toward his case, Bruno must scramble to track down the terrorists before they exact their own justice.As if things aren’t complicated enough, Bruno finds himself contending with the mixed, alluring signals of one of the high-ranking U.S. intelligence officers on Sami’s case, even while juggling the affections of his neighbour and sometime lover. Add to that a member of the tribunal with dangerous skeletons in his closet, the mysterious history of two Jewish siblings who claim to have been sheltered locally from the Nazis during World War II, and a high-profile philanthropist whose presence in St. Denis seems to be attracting attention from the jihadists, and it’s all almost enough to absent Bruno from the village’s wine festival.With international intrigue and action aplenty, The Children Return is a journey to St. Denis that readers won’t soon forget.PRAISE FOR MARTIN WALKER AND THE BRUNO, CHIEF OF POLICE SERIES“Martin Walker’s bucolic mysteries offer a gentle reminder to slow down and smell the grapes.” ―THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW“Walker is brilliant at capturing the murderous charms of rural France.” ―DAILY MIRROR“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