Another far-fetched intrigue, involving French politics and furniture. It did illuminate one bit of French history of which I was unaware, a huge theft of money during WWII, never truly solved. ( )

crime-thriller, unputdownable, local-gossip, local-law-enforcement, local-politics, audiobook, small-town, rural, France, relationship-issues, secrets, investigations, foodie, procedural, due-diligence, witty, suspense, historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, history-and-culture, WW2, contemporary, greed, train-robbery*****

An old man who was a member of the French Resistance died a natural death clutching a 1,000 franc bank note issued in 1940. It was part of the evidence from a well-known 1944 train robbery. Then comes a string of burglaries, perpetrators unknown, and a particularly brutal murder. Time for Bruno to put up with all sorts of federal law enforcement. Great police work stringing out the clues and suspects. As addictive as the others I am binge-reading in this series!
Voice actor Robert Ian MacKenzie is excellent with interpretation and character definition, and superior in the rolling tones of French pronunciations. ( )

3.5 ( )

This 6th book in the Bruno Courrèges series was not quite as charming as some of the previous books but was still a fun read. Some aspects of the mystery were a bit predictable though I loved the background about the "great train robbery" of the Resistance and the hints that the money stolen was used as a front for U.S./CIA funding of various French election campaigns. And it looks like Walker has finally resolved the triangle between Bruno, Isabelle and Caroline, though the manner of its resolution made me sad for Bruno. ( )

Martin Walker’s series of novels following Benoit “Bruno” Courrèges, the local chief of police in the small town of St Denis in the Dordogne, goes from strength to strength.

This novel starts with Bruno being called to the scene of the death of one of the town’s last surviving members of the Resistance from the Second World War. There is no mystery about the death itself – the man was very old, and his health had been frail. However, at his death he was holding a stranger looking banknote, which turns out to have been part of a huge consignment taken in what was probably the world’s most remunerative train robbery ever, in which billions of francs were stolen from a Nazi train at Neuvic. The money was being sent to fund the refurbishment of part of the German navy’ submarine fleet, and was destined for Bordeaux. As the train passed through Neuvic, it was intercepted by a group of Resistance fighters, aided by Spanish comrades, who stole all the money. The haul was estimated to be worth between 300 and 400 million Euros in modern values. The bulk of the money was never traced.

Meanwhile, there has been a spate of robberies of holiday homes in the area, including that of a retired British Civil Servant, who turns out to be a more important person than anyone in the local area had known. In another incident, a British holidaymaker is attacked and killed.

Walker dextrously weaves these various threads together to produce an engrossing story. Bruno is an immensely likeable, and plausible, character, and one who seems genuinely concerned to make his community a better place. He has a close circle of friends whom the reader has encountered throughout the series, and again, they are all highly believable.

Equally plausible is the manner in which the various mysteries with the story are resolved. The clues are all there, even if I didn’t spot them

Although I have no culinary skills myself, and perhaps the most unsophisticated palate imaginable, I find the description of the meals that Bruno prepares mouth-watering. I wonder whether Martin Walker has ever considered that Bruno’s cookbook might be an admirable companion to the series. ( )