To Kill a Troubadour by Martin Walker

To Kill a Troubadour (The Dordogne Mysteries)

by Martin Walker

Join Bruno, France's favourite country cop, on his latest adventure as he fights to keep St Denis safe. Set in the beautiful Périgord region, The Dordogne Mysteries are the perfect combination of mystery and escapism.

It is summer in St Denis and Bruno is busy organising the annual village concert. He's hired a local Périgord folk group, Les Troubadours, to perform their latest hit 'A Song for Catalonia'. But when the song unexpectedly goes viral, the Spanish government, clamping down on the Catalonian bid for independence, bans Les Troubadours from performing it.

The timing couldn't be worse, and Bruno finds himself under yet more pressure when a specialist sniper's bullet is found in a wrecked car near Bergerac. The car was reportedly stolen on the Spanish frontier and the Spanish government sends warning that a group of nationalist extremists may be planning an assassination in France. Bruno immediately suspects that Les Troubadours and their audience might be in danger.

Bruno must organise security and ensure that his beloved town and its people are safe - the stakes are high for France's favourite policeman.

Reviewed by annieb123 on

5 of 5 stars

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Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

To Kill a Troubadour is the 15th Bruno pastoral mystery by Martin Walker. Released 9th June 2022 by Knopf, it's 320 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately; it makes it so easy to find information with the search function.

These books are such enjoyable reads. They're full of quirky characters who are intelligent and cultured and lots of good food perfectly described. I always learn lots about food and French cuisine and the region when I read one of these books..

This author is on my auto-read list and this particular book was lovely. I love that the book is redolent with Gallic sensibilities regarding work, food, culture, life, and love. There's always a fair bit of background info and I -always- learn something about paleontology, or food, or wine, or (in this case) cultural politics and language.

The denouement and resolution are satisfying and Bruno once again ties up the loose threads (except possibly of his love life), and he and Balzac and Hector can once again concentrate on the important non-violent aspects of life, love, and wine.

This was such a fun read and I loved it to bits. Long live Bruno!

Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

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  • 15 August, 2022: Reviewed