A Murder in Springtime is Martin Walker’s latest police mystery, as always starring Bruno, the police chief of a small town in (idyllic) rural France. With each successive Bruno book, Walker seems to become increasingly interested in the food that’s served at village festivals and that Bruno cooks for himself and his friends (and even for his dog). Walker spends less and less effort on the murder mystery side of the book. In this one, I felt as if solving a crime is less the main point of the book than ever. The real focus is a méchoui — that is, communally roasting a lamb on a spit over an open fire. This ritual is popular with French people who live in the countryside or visit it for a long summer stay, mainly at one’s second home outside of Paris.
In the spirit of the novel, I’ll skip describing the plot and proceed directly to a quote about the méchoui — the all-day cooking task was performed by Bruno (always dedicated to culinary activity) and several of his close friends in the village:
“The morning passed in a blur of activity. Momu taught Fabien how to build the spit for an aboveground méchoui, with Jack Crimson watching, offering unsolicited and inexpert advice. The four men made fast work of carting the lamb down from Pamela’s dining room table in its insulated box, the task made easier when Bruno pointed out they could drain the melted ice onto the lawn and lighten their load. Once the animal had been prepped, speared and hung over the hot embers, Momu asked Pamela for some large mixing bowls. Into them went several liters of cooking oil and his magic box of herbs from his car. He banished the others indoors while he set about preparing his secret baste, keeping a watchful eye on their makeshift furnace.” (p. 194)
In a way, it’s surprising that so little development of the plot can result in such a long book. If you’ve never read this series, I strongly suggest that you start with some of the earlier mysteries about Bruno and the idyllic village.
A Méchoui in 1989
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A photo from our experience with a méchoui in 1989 at a country house in France. The revolutionary hat was part of a celebration of 200 years since the French Revolution. |
Blog post © 2026 mae sander; photo © 1989
10 comments:
1989 - French Revolution and the Fall of the German wall. A time to celebrate!
I haven't read a good mystery is SO long....it's TIME! Love your memories and cute photo too!
Hello Mae,
I have read a few of the Bruno mysteries! Thanks for your book review. I like the photo of 1989 celebration. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a great day and a happy weekend! PS, thank you for leaving me a comment.
I've not read any of the Bruno mysteries.
It's great that you showed a photo of the 'real thing'. We did something similar in Italy with pork. It was quite a fest!
Enjoy your weekend,
Lisca
That's so cool that you got to have such a traditional experience during the 200th anniversary.
Cute photo. I've never heard of mechoui before. Now I have to look it up.
The food descriptions sound irresistible! Your photo was the perfect accompaniment to the review.
I'm not familiar with méchoui. It reminds me of the Texas barbecues my father-in-law used to host on Sundays to encourage his family to gather and do repairs on his property. It's interesting to me that this author seems to focus less and less on plot.
That's a great photo. And that must have been a super time in France.
I do like the food writing but part of the whole idea is the mystery! I'd never heard of the mechoui but I like the idea of a community event like that.
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