‘A Chateau Under Siege’ by Martin Walker

Published by Quercus,
8 June 2023.
ISBN: 978-1-52941-368-7 (HB)

Alas, the beautiful Perigord, jewel of southern France and gourmet’s paradise, is set fair to join a long list of places it’s too dangerous to visit. Fortunately, in the capable hands of Bruno Courrèges, chief of police of a large chunk of this shangri-la, the bad guys are usually kept in check and tranquillity is swiftly restored.

But this time Bruno starts to wonder if he has bitten off more than he can chew. After a senior figure at the nearby French equivalent of GCHQ is attacked during a theatrical historical reconstruction and whisked away to a secret location for treatment, the wounded man’s family and friends take up residence in a beautifully restored chateau, and Bruno is charged with overseeing arrangements for their safety. His orders come from high-ups in security in Paris; the visitors clearly have friends in very high places.

It all grows very complicated indeed, with international involvement on all sides, and special forces troops helicoptered in to track down foreign intruders. And as if that wasn’t enough to occupy the time of a mere village policeman, Bruno’s own friends are taking far too close an interest in his love life. And in the midst of all that responsibility, he still needs to find time to produce gourmet food for guests and tend his flourishing garden.

Bruno, of course, is no ordinary village policeman, but a war veteran and holder of the Croix de Guerre, with friends in high places of his own. But assignations with potential spies and online meetings with electronic intelligence experts are not among his favourite occupations. He is far more comfortable patrolling the market and steering young tearaways away from mischief and towards the rugby club – especially when he is obliged to keep secrets from the people he values most. The Mayor, Jack Crimson the former MI5 chief, Fabiola the local doctor, Scottish Pamela his former lover, Florence the science teacher and all the usual crew are much in evidence. So are the chateau owners, wealthy visitors, security experts, even a jobbing actor, who are involved in the case: all portrayed as sharply as the regulars.

This is the sixteenth case for this engaging hero, and the stakes seem to get higher for Bruno each time – possibly a result of his creator’s background in political journalism. Martin Walker clearly still has fingers in some pretty complex pies and uses his knowledge to good effect. He inhabits Bruno’s rural environment with huge affection: the village where everyone knows each other, the market burgeoning with local produce including the best wines in France, the cafe and restaurant where the owner is also the chef. It all comes to vivid and glorious life as a background for more  cloak-and-dagger goings-on.

Maybe I’ll give the Perigord a miss for my next holiday, in case things get out of hand even for Bruno. But I’ll be first in line for the next adventure in this absorbing series.
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Reviewer: Lynne Patrick

Martin Walker  was educated at Balliol College, Oxford and Harvard. In twenty-five years with the Guardian, he served as Bureau Chief in Moscow and, in the US, as European Editor. In addition to his prize-winning journalism, he wrote and presented the BBC series Martin Walker’s Russia and Clintonomics.  Martin has written several acclaimed works of non-fiction, including The Cold War: A History. He lives in Washington and spends his summers in his house in the Dordogne. Many of his novels feature the old-school chief of police, Captain Bruno. The most recent being To Kill a Troubadour.You can visit Bruno’s website at brunochiefofpolice.com

Lynne Patrick has been a writer ever since she could pick up a pen, and has enjoyed success with short stories, reviews and feature journalism, but never, alas, with a novel. She crossed to the dark side to become a publisher for a few years and is proud to have launched several careers which are now burgeoning. She lives in Oxfordshire in a house groaning with books, about half of them crime fiction.