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Inspector Bruno Courrèges returns for a third investigation in the Dordogne region of France. I've followed the series from the beginning and in this book Martin Walker really seems to have hit his stride. The others were enjoyable, if somewhat lightweight, whereas this book has a darker tone and a more complex plot, with several intricate strands running through it to produce a very satisfying climax. Perigord is home to the world-famous and exquisite black truffle, a rare and highly priced delicacy, which provides income both for the local truffle hunters and also the villages themselves through the truffle markets. Whilst feelings are running high in Bruno's own town of St Denis due to what is seen as the forced closure of the local sawmill by the green lobby, putting local people out of much-need work, Bruno is asked by an old friend to investigate the truffle trade in the nearby village of Ste Alvarè. Complaints have been made that consignments of 'black diamonds' are being adulterated by cheaper, inferior Chinese truffles and when Bruno starts to make enquiries, he soon discovers that very large amounts of money appear to be involved in a complex fraud. At the same time, in St Denis market, a Vietnamese family selling their own local delicacies are attacked and victimized, apparently by Chinese assailants and Bruno is concerned that some sort of Asian gang-warfare might be blowing up on his patch. This is followed by the horrific murder of the friend who had involved Bruno in the truffle investigation, leaving him struggling to make sense of a complex patchwork of violent crime and fraud. Walker paints a delightfully accurate picture of life in one of France's most beautiful and fascinating regions. He knows – and clearly loves – its inhabitants, presenting a vivid picture of life, and police work, in rural France. The story skilfully entwines occasionally horrific, but never gratuitously unpleasant, details of murder with lighter touches such as an entertaining account of a village rugby match that left me feeling like I'd been watching from the touchline. Descriptions of local traditions and gastronomic delights receive the same treatment and both delight and inform without coming across as laboured. I am fortunate enough to spend part of each year amongst the type of people who inhabit Walker's books, and I recognise many of the characters – particularly the hunters – from my own village, not so very far away from the fictional St Denis, who populate his pages. For someone coming new to the series, Walker provides enough by way of introduction and background information on Bruno, his colleagues, his friends and his neighbours to prevent anyone feeling like they've entered a party in full swing without an introduction. He even manages to make the labyrinthine complexity of French local government understandable, which is no mean feat. This is a fascinating look at how political intrigue and organized crime can intrude on even the most unlikely of settings. On the strength of this book, I am very much looking forward to seeing more of Inspector Bruno in the future. § Linda Wilson is a writer, and retired solicitor, with an interest in archaeology and cave art, who now divides her time between England and France.
Reviewed by Linda Wilson, February 2011
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