The Patriarch (Bruno, Chief of Police Series #8)

by Martin Walker

Overview

Another delightful installment in the delightful, internationally acclaimed series featuring Chief of Police Bruno: Bruno Courrèges is thrilled when he receives an invitation to the lavish birthday celebration of his childhood hero, World War II flying ace Marco “the Patriarch” Desaix. But when the party ends in the death of one of Marco’s longtime friends, Gilbert, it turns into another day on the job for St. Denis's chief of police. 

All signs point to a tragic accident, but Bruno isn’t so sure, for there is more to the Desaix family's lives and loyalties than meets the eye. There’s Victor, the Patriarch’s son and Gilbert's sometimes rival, and Victor’s seductive wife, Madeleine, whose roving eye intrigues Bruno even more than her fierce political ambitions. Not to mention the Patriarch himself—did his postwar Soviet ties intersect too closely with Gilbert’s career in Cold War intelligence?

As Bruno’s entanglement with the Desaix family becomes more complicated, his inquiries into Gilbert’s life will become a deadly threat to his own.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780804173513
Publisher:	Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/06/2016
Series:	Bruno, Chief of Police Series , #8
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	58,089
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.67(d)

About the Author

MARTIN WALKER, after a long career of working in international journalism and for think tanks, now gardens, cooks, explores vineyards, writes and travels. His series of novels featuring Bruno, Chief of Police, are bestsellers in Europe and have been translated into more than fifteen languages. He divides his time between Washington, D.C., and the Dordogne.

Read an Excerpt

Walker / THE PATRIARCH
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "The Patriarch"
by .
Copyright © 2016 Martin Walker.
Excerpted by permission of Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Editorial Reviews

A darn good mystery with an engaging main character. . . . A rare treat.” —The Lincoln Journal Star
 
“Life in the Dordogne region of France looks positively idyllic in Martin Walker’s enticing novels... The delights of this pastoral district—from the chateaus along the rivers to the prehistoric cave paintings to the food on the tables—are very real and essential to the narrative... The story takes many surprisingly sharp turns... Absorbing.” —The New York Times Book Review

“A satisfying and surprisingly intimate tour through a modern French village, full of character and charm. . . . The Patriarch in many ways is comparable to vintage wine, a cuvee of disparate tastes, aromas, depths and colors . . . Santé. Drink up." —The Arizona Republic 

Praise for Martin Walker's Bruno, Chief of Police series

“Sure to appeal to readers with a palate for mysteries with social nuance and understated charm.” —The Wall Street Journal

“Tailor-made for fans of Peter Mayle, Colin Cotterill and Alexander McCall Smith.” —BookPage

“In Martin Walker’s delightful series . . . the charm of rural France is regularly disrupted—but not too much.” —The Seattle Times

“Walker treats readers to lavishly detailed accounts of meals served in farmhouse, restaurant, and at village fêtes, giving us cookbook-worthy accounts of ingredients, preparation, and wine pairings.” —Booklist (starred review)
 
“Martin Walker’s Bruno novels are as delicious as the world class meals his chief of police whips up and as intoxicating as the wines he serves.” —Open Letters Monthly

“[Will] delight readers who relish a skillful blend of complex international political nuance and pastoral intrigue mixed with a soupçon of fine French wine and cuisine.” —Publishers Weekly

“As pleasant as a nice brunch.” —The Washington Independent Review of Books

From the Publisher

06/08/2015
In Walker’s delicious eighth mystery featuring Benoît “Bruno” Courrèges (after The Children Return), the police chief of St. Denis, a tiny commune in the south of France, has cause to doubt his lifelong worship of Col. Jean-Marc Desaix (aka the Patriarch), who was decorated by both de Gaulle and Stalin for his services as a fighter pilot on the Russian front during WWII. When Gilbert Clamartin, a former air attaché to Moscow, dies under suspicious circumstances on the estate of Clamartin’s revered friend, the Patriarch, it is kept very hush-hush. “Accidental death” is the official line, but Bruno isn’t so sure. When little things don’t add up, he begins an informal investigation. Before long, decades of Franco-Russian politics raise the stakes, and authorities from Paris get involved. This entry is sure to delight readers who relish a skillful blend of complex international political nuance and pastoral intrigue mixed with a soupçon of fine French wine and cuisine. Agent: Stephanie Cabot, Felicity Bryan Associates. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

★ 08/01/2015
Benoît Courrège, known as Bruno, heads the police force in St. Denis, in France's Dordogne region. In his eighth adventure (after The Children Return), Bruno is invited to a spectacular birthday party for his hero, Marco "The Patriarch" Desaix. In Bruno's mind, the 90-year-old Desaix represents the heroes of World War II—those who left Vichy France to fight against the Nazis. When a friend dies unexpectedly after the celebration, Bruno is not on board with the medical examiner's quick diagnosis of aspiration and even less amenable to the immediate cremation. As he investigates, Bruno discovers the victim was probably not drunk at the party and had many secrets. So who stands to benefit from his death? The Patriarch's family oversees a vineyard and is attempting to create a new type of wine. Rivalries and jealousies abound. Bruno also has to deal with a Green Party activist who protects the deer on her property against the hunters in the area. Plus his personal life isn't going well. VERDICT With meals to prepare and wines to sample, life in the Dordogne is delightful—until the next murder. This enjoyable Gallic series will appeal to fans of Peter Mayle's Provencal-flavored "Caper" books (The Marseille Caper; The Vintage Caper). Read-alike authors also include Fred Vargas and Julia Spencer-Fleming. [See Prepub Alert, 2/23/15.]

Library Journal

2015-05-17
An apparently natural death at a distinguished World War II veteran's 90th birthday celebration turns out to have roots as deep and distant as the war itself. Benoît "Bruno" Courrèges, chief guardian of the law in the sleepy but homicide-prone town of St. Denis, leaves the festivities honoring Col. Jean-Marc Desaix early. After all, he's been invited mainly to push the wheelchair for the Red Countess, a far more distinguished guest whose life Bruno saved. So it's not until the mayor telephones the next morning that Bruno learns the affair was spoiled by sudden death. Col. Gilbert Clamartin, who'd been a cadet long ago with Victor, the patriarch's son and heir, had long been a hopeless alcoholic, and the kerfuffle when he laid his arm on Chantal, Victor's daughter, makes everyone indecently eager to put his death down to overindulgence. Even after Gilbert's been cremated, however, Bruno wonders how he could have gotten so very drunk so very quickly and vows to find out—that is, if he can tear himself away from the far more pressing question of how to mediate the growing strife between local hunters and anti-hunting activist Imogène Ducaillou, one of whose deer has collided fatally with a car driven by Monique Peyrefitte, the wife of a conservative candidate for the national assembly. And all this detective work, including some serious research into the source of Gilbert's suspiciously large annuity, will have to take its place behind Bruno's trademark eating, drinking, and womanizing, this time with Madeleine Desaix, Victor's beautiful, politically ambitious wife. The mystery, though eminently predictable, is as conscientious as ever. As usual (The Children Return, 2015, etc.), however, it's the details of the good life in the Dordogne that linger longest in the memory.

Kirkus Reviews