Martin Walker

This installment in the delightful, internationally acclaimed series featuring Chief of Police Bruno will take all of Bruno's resolve and quick thinking to untangle a mystery that will reach its deadly denouement at the ch teau of an aging rock star. But in true Bruno fashion, at least lunchtime is never in danger. It's summer in the Dordogne and the heirs of a modest sheep farmer learn that they have been disinherited. Their father's estate has been sold to an insurance company in return for a policy that will place him in a five-star retirement home for the rest of his life. But the farmer dies before he can move in. Was it a natural death? Or was there foul play? Chief of Police Bruno Courr ges is soon on the case, embarking on an investigation that will lead him to several shadowy insurance companies owned by a Russian oligarch with a Cypriot passport. The arrival of the oligarch's daughter in the P rigord only further complicates one of Bruno's toughest cases yet.

Millions of readers worldwide are talking about the Dordogne Mysteries. Discover why and join them with this gripping new read starring Bruno Chief of Police, France's favourite cop'RICH ON LOCAL COLOUR' THE TIMES'DOLLOPS OF THE GOOD LIFE IN RURAL FRANCE SPICED UP WITH INTERNATIONAL INTRIGUE' IRISH INDEPENDENT'UNRIVALLED AT INTERWEAVING THE PROFESSIONAL AND PRIVATE PURSUITS OF A THOROUGHLY LIKABLE COP' DAILY MAILFollowing the funeral of a local farmer, Bruno gets a phone call from his son. He tells Bruno that before his father's sudden death, he had signed over his property to an insurance company in return for a subscription to a luxury retirement home. Bruno discovers that both the retirement home and the insurance company are scams with links to a Russian oligarch whose dealings are already being tracked by the French police. Meanwhile an aging British rock star is selling his home, Chateau Rock. The star's son returns for the summer with his Russian girlfriend. As Bruno pursues his inquiries into the farmer's death and the stolen inheritance, he learns that the oligarch is none other than the girlfriend's father. Bruno's talents are tested to the limit as he untangles a Gordian Knot of criminality that reaches as far as the Kremlin. But luckily Bruno still has time to cook delicious meals for his friends and enjoy the life of his beloved Dordogne. What's more, love is in the air. His pedigree basset, Balzac, is old enough to breed. Bruno heads for the kennels where a suitable beauty, Diane de Poitiers, is ready and waiting for Balzac's attentions.'GREAT CHARACTERS, AMAZING READ! 5* Reader review'RICH IN PLOT, POLITICS AND RECIPES! 5* Reader review'ALL YOUR FAVOURITE CHARACTERS, BETTER THAN EVER' 5* Reader review'LOVE THIS AUTHOR!' 5* Reader review

This installment in the delightful, internationally acclaimed series featuring Chief of Police Bruno will take all of Bruno's resolve and quick thinking to untangle a mystery that will reach its deadly denouement at the ch teau of an aging rock star. But in true Bruno fashion, at least lunchtime is never in danger. It's summer in the Dordogne and the heirs of a modest sheep farmer learn that they have been disinherited. Their father's estate has been sold to an insurance company in return for a policy that will place him in a five-star retirement home for the rest of his life. But the farmer dies before he can move in. Was it a natural death? Or was there foul play? Chief of Police Bruno Courr ges is soon on the case, embarking on an investigation that will lead him to several shadowy insurance companies owned by a Russian oligarch with a Cypriot passport. The arrival of the oligarch's daughter in the P rigord only further complicates one of Bruno's toughest cases yet.

Another installment in the delightful, internationally acclaimed series featuring Chief of Police Bruno: When a young American woman turns up dead in the courtyard of an ancient castle, Bruno Courr ges initially assumes that she died of an overdose. But her doctor soon persuades him that things may not be so simple, setting Bruno on an investigation that will lead him from the Renaissance to the French Resistance and beyond. Claudia Muller had been studying with Monsieur de Bourdeille, 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 police officer whose own life story also becomes inexorably entangled with the case. Also in the mix is a young falconer who works at the Ch teau des Milandes, the former home of fabled jazz singer Josephine Baker. Once again, it's up to Bruno to make sure that justice is served--along with a generous helping of his signature P rigordian cuisine, of course.

'WILL MAKE READERS LONG FOR LAZY DAYS IN RURAL FRANCE' Irish IndependentA missing art student. An international investigation. A secret that will shatter Bruno's charming village of St Denis. A rich American art student is found dead at the bottom of a well in an ancient hilltop castle. The young woman, Claudia, had been working in the archives of an eminent French art historian, a crippled Resistance war hero, at his art-filled chateau. As Claudia's White House connections get the US Embassy and the FBI involved, Bruno traces the people and events that led to her fatal accident - or was it murder? Bruno learns that Claudia had been trying to buy the chateau and art collection of her tutor, even while her researches led her to suspect that some of his attributions may have been forged. This takes Bruno down a trail that leads him from the ruins of Berlin in 1945, to France's colonial war in Algeria. The long arm of French history has reached out to find a new victim, but can Bruno identify the killer - and prove his case?**************************************What readers are saying about The Body in the Castle Well'I loved the book and strongly recommend it' 5* Reader Review'Interesting plot, satisfying mystery to solve, accompanied by lovely descriptions of the beautiful Périgord region of France' 5* Reader Review'My favourite author' 5* Reader Review'As always, a book about Bruno is a delight' 5* Reader Review'Another gem . . . One of his very best, not just a good and clever story, but particularly rich in French history' 5* Reader Review

Another delightful installment in the internationally acclaimed series featuring Chief of Police Bruno: When a British tourist fails to turn up for a luxurious cooking vacation in the idyllic village in the south of France that Bruno Courr ges 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.

'WITH BRUNO IN CHARGE THERE'S ALWAYS TIME FOR ONE OF THOSE CLASSIC FEASTS THAT MAKE THIS SERIES SUCH A MOUTH-WATERING TREAT' New York Times Book ReviewIn this eleventh addition to a beguiling and bestselling series, Bruno wonders which he's most afraid of - a death squad loose in the woods or teaching a cookery class to the tourists who flock to his beloved DordogneBruno, now Chief of Police for the whole Vézère valley, has an unusual challenge to rise to: teaching at his friend Pamela's new cookery school. It is a daunting prospect - the disappearance of one of the school's pupils almost serves as a welcome distraction. When the woman's body is discovered in one half of a double homicide, the evidence points to something far out of the ordinary. The other murder victim is a man, covered in combat scars and with a false passport. Investigations reveal a list of enemies as long as Bruno's arm. Any one of them would have had good reason to kill him - but which group managed it? And how did they find him? As more of their mystery man's previous life is revealed, Bruno realizes that there may be more intended victims in the vicinity. Now he must conduct the biggest manhunt in St Denis' history to find the killers before they strike again.

Recovered Memory: New York and Paris 1960-1980 is a meditation on time and place: before the internet and 24/7 news; when one could visit the Eiffel Tower without seeing police and automatic weapons, when a ride on the New York subway cost 15 cents, when the smell of fresh-baked baguettes wafted over nearly every Parisian neighborhood, and when the Coney Island parachute ride still thrilled thousands. Van Riper’s striking black and white photographs spanning twenty years, coupled with his eloquent texts, capture the 20th-century romance and grit of New York more than a half century ago, and Paris, some forty years ago. It was a time when the pace of life was slower and somehow less threatening, people talked to each other instead of texting on their iPhones, and you literally had to stop and smell the coffee.

'ENCHANTING COUNTRY MYSTERIES THAT EMBODY THE SUBLIME PHYSICAL BEAUTY OF THE DORDOGNE' New York TimesIn this latest mouthwatering mystery starring French country cop, Bruno, the body of a woman is found outside a cave beneath the ruined Templar chateau of Commarque in the heart of the Dordogne. She died of a broken neck. An accidental fall, or was she pushed? The victim carries no identification and her fingerprints are not known to the French Police or Interpol. The only clue to the woman's identity is that her dentistry looks American, but Bruno's inquiries at local hotels and gites yield no trace of a missing foreign woman. The chateau of Commarque, begun in the 11th century, was founded by a Bishop of Sarlat and entrusted to the Knights Templar. In the rocks beneath it are caves. It is one of the few Templar sites in France that has never been associated with the fabled hidden treasure of the Templars - never until now, when a local journalist publishes a sensational story around the unknown woman's death and a centuries-old mystery looks like it might finally be solved...