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Bruno, Chief of Police: A Novel of the French Countryside [1] (Bruno Chief Of Police) by [Walker, Martin]
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Bruno, Chief of Police: A Novel of the French Countryside [1] (Bruno Chief Of Police) Kindle Edition

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Martin Walker (Author)
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Martin Walker (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars 454 customer reviews
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Length: 290 pages Word Wise: Enabled Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
Page Flip: Enabled
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Product Details

  • File Size: 5540 KB
  • Print Length: 290 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage; 1 edition (March 24, 2009)
  • Publication Date: March 24, 2009
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B002361NGY
  • Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
  • X-Ray:
  • Word Wise: Enabled
  • Lending: Not Enabled
  • Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,081 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsDelightful Dordogne Debut
By A. Ross HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE VOICE on July 31, 2009
Format: Hardcover
The only reason I picked this book off the shelf in the library is because I was wondering if it was the same Martin Walker I'd been listening to for years as a commentator on my local NPR station. When I saw that it was, I took a closer look and, being a fan of crime fiction, thought I'd give it a go. Little did I suspect that I'd be so thoroughly engrossed by the routine of a small-town French policeman that I'd set aside all other reading for three days to tear through it.

The book is set in a quintessentially quaint and charming small town (pop. 2,900) in the super-picturesque Dordogneregion. The opening chapters are all about establishing the sights, smells, and rhythms of the town and the titular character's role within it as a kind of avuncular, sensible enforcer of the law. Well, not quite all laws (especially not the strict food processing laws of the EU), but the more important ones (unless you think drunk driving is important). However, soon enough, the quiet little town is devastated by the murder of a quiet old Algerian -- the father of the town's math teacher, and the grandfather of the town's rugby star.

This stirs up all kinds of tension, and as the National Front, provincial detectives, and prosecutors and politicians from Paris all flood in to get involved, Bruno has to do his best to protect the people of his idyllic town from all these outsiders.Read more ›
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3.0 out of 5 starsMild mystery but mostly a love song to the Perigord
By A. Anderson on December 10, 2010
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
In the village of St. Denis, life is very good. And the man with the best of lives is Brunoit (known as Bruno), the young and attractive Chief of Police, who leads the citizens of his village with empathy and sensitivity and is generally beloved. And that, largely, is what the book is about. There is no grit in this mystery and very little mystery: there are no bad guys but only the eddies that arise from the past. Even the death of a nearly invisible member of the community has only momentary impact with a barely jarring note. This is a love song to the small town life of rural France, where friends and neighbors are kind and helpful and generous, where the routine of daily life is soothing and reassuring and where, if you are an expatriate American (as the writer seems to be), everything is good in retreating from the bustle and where the demands of the modern world are muted. It is lovingly written, and while attractive, has little beyond the appeal of an airbrushed postcard. Readers of the Donna Leon series set n Venice with the more believable police chief, Brunetti, may like Bruno and the travel to this lovely village. Those who want a tangible mystery or a bit of depth in characters will feel as though they ate a profiterole...tasty but unmemorable.
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5.0 out of 5 starsA debut to savor
By Lynn Harnett on May 29, 2009
Format: Hardcover
A paean to the Dordogne, an exploration of fractious French history, and the debut of the most self-possessed, accomplished, even-tempered, life-savoring Holmesian character ever, Walker's first Bruno novel proves once and for all that heavyweight journalists can write mystery novels.

Former Russia and U.S. bureau chief for The Guardian, current Editor Emeritus of UPI, author of such books as "The Cold War," and "The President They Deserve," this British journalist, historian, scholar, and global policy advisor has created a hero dedicated to the quiet, regular, sensual life of rural France.

Bruno, an orphan abandoned by his mother, joined the military at an early age and spent 12 years with the Combat Engineers, which seems roughly equivalent to Special Forces. Receiving a Croix de Guerre for his service in the Balkans, Bruno retired to St. Denis and became the town's police chief and only policeman.

Although new to the town, he has become part of its fabric, savoring the rhythm of life - his own and that of the townspeople, from the two old WWII partisans that don't speak, and the town's token communist, to its bakers and cheese makers and vintners, its quarrels, rivalries and long-simmering feuds, even its newcomers - the English tourists who have lately been pushing up the housing prices.

He plays tennis with the Baron (atheist and retired industrialist), coaches kids at rugby, hunts birds, cooks, works on his house, organizes parades, safeguards the local market from the health inspectors of the European Union, and with the help of his friend the politically well-connected mayor, generally keeps the peace.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsA Summer Vacation
By W. Benson on July 7, 2009
Format: Hardcover
If you can't afford that vacation in the south of France this year, Bruno may be the next best thing. Walker does a wonderful job of evoking life in a small town in the Dordogne--its cuisine and odd characters, its humdrum rhythms--through the life of its shrewd, affable chief of police, the distinctively French rural bon vivant, Bruno. For good measure, Walker throws in interesting angles on everything from French bureaucracy to tensions between Muslim immigrants and the native population. A bit slow to start because of the luxuriant scene setting, the book quickly picks up and the pages fly by.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsAn interesting read

A very interesting series of books. Well worth reading.

Published 5 days ago by Robert
4.0 out of 5 starsBruno: Chief of Police

I enjoyed the sense of rural French life and a glimpse of wartime politics. But all the talk about food made me hungry.

Published 23 days ago by Debra D
4.0 out of 5 starsBruno is a great character

I liked it, I thought Bruno was an interesting and exciting character

Published 28 days ago by Amazon Customer
1.0 out of 5 starsgood read

very enjoyable i also learned some french history

Published 29 days ago by lois k. nash
4.0 out of 5 starsGood French food

First book by this author read and found it an easy read with a real French countryside flavor.

Published 1 month ago by JFS
5.0 out of 5 starsA true gem

A friend recommended this book to me. I had no idea I would fall in love with Bruno and St. Denis. I have been to this corner of France and identified with the markets, delicious... Read more

Published 1 month ago by The Sabbatical Chef
5.0 out of 5 starsLa France Profound shines

Oh, do I love this book. I've been to many of the places he describes, looked at the architecture, ate the food, driven the back roads so it was particularly meaningful. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Mary Warner
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Great series. Check it out!

Published 1 month ago by S. Madewell
2.0 out of 5 starsThe tie to French History during WWII

The book's characters were well developed which made it easy to relate to them. The author kept me guessing about the identity of the old man's killer. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Cathy diamond
5.0 out of 5 starsA Return to Civility

Bruno, Chief of Police begins a series of mysteries set in St. Denis, France, on the banks of the Vezere in the middle of La France Profunde, or Deep France. Read more

Published 1 month ago by P. McGraw

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