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Black Diamond
by Martin Walker
by Martin Walker
LJ's review
bookshelves: contemporary_post_1945, france, male_author, mystery, police_procedural, meals_in_mysteries
Oct 21, 10
bookshelves: contemporary_post_1945, france, male_author, mystery, police_procedural, meals_in_mysteries
Read in September, 2010
First Sentence: There weren’t many times that Bruno Courréges disliked his job, but today was one of them.
Truffles are big business in France. When it is suspected that someone is replacing high-quality truffles with cheaper Chinese truffles, Bruno is asked to do an informal investigation. With a heinous murder and attacks on Vietnamese merchants, things become serious, and dangerous, very quickly.
Any impression of this being light, cozy series is completely dispelled by this book. It is, in fact, a strong, complex, compelling police procedural with a protagonist who has become one of my favorites.
Although Bruno is the focal character, it is his relationships with friends and associates that add layers and texture. Bruno is his town’s only policeman. This makes him an integral part of the community while helping maintain its structure. He is intelligent, analytical and a by-the book policeman without being rigid. He has a history, doesn’t shy from violence, dresses as Pare Noel and teaches rugby and tennis to the kids. In other words, he is well rounded, interesting and realistic.
Walker, with a deft hand, starts with bucolic descriptions which set the scene and provide sense of place. Throughout there are mouth-watering descriptions of food and its part in a tradition which touches the heart. The use of French expressions lends veracity while their translation prevents readers from feeling excluded.
The plot builds and weaves in a way that kept me going. It started off seemingly simple, yet escalated quickly as does the motive behind the crimes. Again, anything but a cozy; yet an interesting look into the politics and issues of France; one of the reasons I am attracted to books set outside the US.
As always, I recommend starting the series at the beginning and not being put off by either the title or cover of the first book, “Bruno, Chief of Police.” Walker is a very good writer; Bruno a very good policeman in a series that improves with each entry.
BLACK DIAMOND (Pol Proc-Bruno Courréges-France-Cont) – VG
Walker, Martin – 3rd in series
Quercus, ©2010, UK Hardcover – ISBN: 9780857380494
Truffles are big business in France. When it is suspected that someone is replacing high-quality truffles with cheaper Chinese truffles, Bruno is asked to do an informal investigation. With a heinous murder and attacks on Vietnamese merchants, things become serious, and dangerous, very quickly.
Any impression of this being light, cozy series is completely dispelled by this book. It is, in fact, a strong, complex, compelling police procedural with a protagonist who has become one of my favorites.
Although Bruno is the focal character, it is his relationships with friends and associates that add layers and texture. Bruno is his town’s only policeman. This makes him an integral part of the community while helping maintain its structure. He is intelligent, analytical and a by-the book policeman without being rigid. He has a history, doesn’t shy from violence, dresses as Pare Noel and teaches rugby and tennis to the kids. In other words, he is well rounded, interesting and realistic.
Walker, with a deft hand, starts with bucolic descriptions which set the scene and provide sense of place. Throughout there are mouth-watering descriptions of food and its part in a tradition which touches the heart. The use of French expressions lends veracity while their translation prevents readers from feeling excluded.
The plot builds and weaves in a way that kept me going. It started off seemingly simple, yet escalated quickly as does the motive behind the crimes. Again, anything but a cozy; yet an interesting look into the politics and issues of France; one of the reasons I am attracted to books set outside the US.
As always, I recommend starting the series at the beginning and not being put off by either the title or cover of the first book, “Bruno, Chief of Police.” Walker is a very good writer; Bruno a very good policeman in a series that improves with each entry.
BLACK DIAMOND (Pol Proc-Bruno Courréges-France-Cont) – VG
Walker, Martin – 3rd in series
Quercus, ©2010, UK Hardcover – ISBN: 9780857380494
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