New: another tale of Bruno, Chief of Police

“Because nobody trusts the media these days, Bruno. It’s all fake news. It’s we say this and they say that. That’s their big win. Nobody knows what the truth is anymore. It’s Moscow’s revenge for the Cold War. We were the free world, remember, with the free media. And they were stuck with Pravda. Moscow’s propaganda was so rancid that even the Russians didn’t believe it. And now they’ve turned that upside down so we in the West don’t trust our own media anymore.” 

“Speak for yourself,” he replied. But his heart wasn’t in it. He recognized the dismaying amount of truth in what she was saying. All the torrents of social media were spreading like a virus, wide open to disinformation or to the paranoid fantasies of sad people. (To Kill a Troubadour, p. 269)

To Kill A Troubadour by Martin Walker is this summer's installment of the long and in my opinion wonderful series of books about Bruno, the chief of police in a small town in rural France. I love the way each one uses current international problems to create a new situation for Bruno.

The realities of life in our time, somewhere in the teens of the twenty-first century, weigh  on Bruno’s mind and affect even the idyllic atmosphere of his town. A tennis match, a concert featuring highly political Catalan separatists, a vicious ex-husband demanding parental rights for the children of one of Bruno’s best friends, and as always a bit about Bruno's dog and the horses he rides, as well as an encounter with his lost (but never forgotten) love Isabelle -- all share the action in this really readable installment in the series.

As usual in this series, the effective suspense that builds in this book is only equaled by the remarkable character of the inhabitants of the town, and by the splendid meals that Bruno and his friends prepare even while they are busy protecting the public from terrorists and engaging in dangerous missions to protect their values from attack. Bruno even competes in a tennis match while having conferences with the international police and while also managing to make a special meal for the organizers, to help roast a whole pig and a lamb for a village fête, as well as to treat his guests to his homemade venison pate, a friend's coronation chicken, gazpacho, pasta with tomato sauce, and much more. And drink lots of local wine.

Many of Walker's books feature an interest in some historic era and its implications for the novel. In this book, the composer of a song about Catalan independence features in the local concert and in the political controversy at the heart of the main plot. This character also writes about the influence of the Islamic rulers of Spain before the 15th century, and publishes his work on a series of well-crafted web pages. I really enjoyed reading the bits and pieces of this history as the characters, including Bruno, read and learn. It's an area which I've read quite a bit about but haven't given it much thought recently.

In this new work, Martin Walker continues to portray a lovable policeman, Bruno, who is fun to read about, adored by all the people and dogs in town, and for the reader, believable, at least as long as you are reading and not overthinking. I'm a fan! 

Will we finally get a Bruno Cookbook?

In the afterword, Walker mentions that a version of the Bruno cookbook, which up to now has been published only in German, will soon be published in English -- though I can find very little to convince me that this time, the publisher will really go through with it.

The Bruno books themselves recently include food descriptions that you could use as recipes. Bruno cooks while police procedures continue in the background — though he often answers his phone. Here’s a passage where he cooks with friends, preparing for a communal meal associated with the tennis match that is going on in parallel with the search for dangerous terrorists during much of the novel:

“Sorry, some police business,” Bruno replied, taking the box from her and heading for the club kitchen. He took his own vegetables from the fridge and began to wash and chop everything. Jack came in and unloaded various cheeses from a large bag while Miranda put a dozen pains, the double-sized, fat baguettes, onto the kitchen counter. 

The three of them began preparing bowls of salad while Bruno started to load the food mixer with chopped peppers and cucumbers to make his summer soup. He added a small wineglass of olive oil, another of white wine and some crushed garlic. Pamela began blanching the tomatoes for peeling before adding them to the soup. The mixer could make ten bowls of soup at a time. 

Once each batch was made, Bruno poured it into a jug and put it in the fridge to chill. Bruno had brought six jars of his venison pâté and in the club’s refrigerator were six chickens for roasting. Fauquet had promised six apple pies. Once the salads were done and all the potatoes wrapped in tinfoil, Miranda and her father strolled out to watch the tennis, leaving Bruno and Pamela to prepare the chickens. Bruno stuffed three with a mix of onions, sage and garlic, and Pamela stuffed her three with lemons and sprigs of thyme. They loaded them into giant roasting trays and put them all with the potatoes into the oven.

Bruno helped Pamela to wash up. “That call you said was police business,” she said. “You looked really shaken.” (p. 95)

I've written many posts about previous books in this series. Bruno’s St. Denis is indeed an idyllic town, except for an unusually high rate of criminal inhabitants and visitors, international intrigue, and a need for intervention from higher police departments in Paris and in all of Europe. These professional evildoers are thwarted, year after year, by Bruno. I'm really in awe at how Walker can come up with something new and fascinating over and over again!

The wine Bruno drinks: here’s author Martin Walker at Chateau de Tiregand from Bruno’s blog.

Review © 2022 mae sander.