New York Times Review of Books
Each of Martin Walker’s novels set in the Dordogne highlights some feature peculiar to this beautiful pastoral region of France. Previous plots turned on the annual truffle auction in Ste. Alvère; the prehistoric limestone caves along the Vézère River; and the grape harvest in the fictional village of St. Denis, where the amiable Bruno Courrèges serves as chief of police. In FATAL PURSUIT (Knopf, $25.95), the colorful attraction is the Concours d’Élégance, a vintage car parade and sports car rally to be held in St. Denis. Through a comedy of errors, Bruno is recruited as navigator of a classic Citroën DS3 in the rally, which is both thrilling and truly élégante. The barely noticeable murder of a local historian eventually folds into the more dramatic mystery of “the most expensive car of all time,” a 1936 Type 57C Bugatti — one of only four built, but gone missing somewhere in France during World War II. For the first time, Walker has created an object of desire more delectable than the festive meals Bruno always prepares for his friends.
Each of Martin Walker’s novels set in the Dordogne highlights some feature peculiar to this beautiful pastoral region of France. Previous plots turned on the annual truffle auction in Ste. Alvère; the prehistoric limestone caves along the Vézère River; and the grape harvest in the fictional village of St. Denis, where the amiable Bruno Courrèges serves as chief of police. In FATAL PURSUIT (Knopf, $25.95), the colorful attraction is the Concours d’Élégance, a vintage car parade and sports car rally to be held in St. Denis. Through a comedy of errors, Bruno is recruited as navigator of a classic Citroën DS3 in the rally, which is both thrilling and truly élégante. The barely noticeable murder of a local historian eventually folds into the more dramatic mystery of “the most expensive car of all time,” a 1936 Type 57C Bugatti — one of only four built, but gone missing somewhere in France during World War II. For the first time, Walker has created an object of desire more delectable than the festive meals Bruno always prepares for his friends.
Open Letters Monthly (USA)
Walker’s Fatal Pursuit is a veritable feast of world-class skullduggery. A genuine plus is the passionate descriptions of the cars and the experience of driving them. This souped-up mystery is another winner.
Walker’s Fatal Pursuit is a veritable feast of world-class skullduggery. A genuine plus is the passionate descriptions of the cars and the experience of driving them. This souped-up mystery is another winner.
Booklist, Connie Fletcher
The chief subject of Walker’s mysteries, the glories of the Dordogne region of southwestern France, never varies, and it never grows old, not even over the span of the long-running series. That’s because Walker so vividly describes the variegated pastoral landscape, with its cliffs, woods, ancient villages, twisty roads and prehistoric caves (the most famous being Lascaux). Yes, but Walker saves his poetry for describing food. His hero, Bruno Courreges, chief of police in the town of St Denis, is always scouting out local markets, meeting friends for sumptuously evoked lunches and dinners; of course, he cooks, too, and the preparation of his own locally sourced dinners for friends or lovers is detailed in the lovingly precise manner of Robert B. Parker’s Spenser. Walker mixes in murder and intrigue as well, but crime operates more as a side dish. In this, the ninth Bruno, Chief of Police novel, a vintage-car rally (filled with sensuous details of the cars and the experience of driving them) leads to Bruno learning about how one of the most famous cars of all time, a Bugatti Type 57 Atlantic, went missing during WWII somewhere in France. He also contends with the murder of a local scholar, whose work may offer clues to the vanished Bugatti. The mystery uncovers traces of an international crime ring in St Denis, and offers rich views of the Resistance. A feast, from scenery, to food, to Bugattis.
The chief subject of Walker’s mysteries, the glories of the Dordogne region of southwestern France, never varies, and it never grows old, not even over the span of the long-running series. That’s because Walker so vividly describes the variegated pastoral landscape, with its cliffs, woods, ancient villages, twisty roads and prehistoric caves (the most famous being Lascaux). Yes, but Walker saves his poetry for describing food. His hero, Bruno Courreges, chief of police in the town of St Denis, is always scouting out local markets, meeting friends for sumptuously evoked lunches and dinners; of course, he cooks, too, and the preparation of his own locally sourced dinners for friends or lovers is detailed in the lovingly precise manner of Robert B. Parker’s Spenser. Walker mixes in murder and intrigue as well, but crime operates more as a side dish. In this, the ninth Bruno, Chief of Police novel, a vintage-car rally (filled with sensuous details of the cars and the experience of driving them) leads to Bruno learning about how one of the most famous cars of all time, a Bugatti Type 57 Atlantic, went missing during WWII somewhere in France. He also contends with the murder of a local scholar, whose work may offer clues to the vanished Bugatti. The mystery uncovers traces of an international crime ring in St Denis, and offers rich views of the Resistance. A feast, from scenery, to food, to Bugattis.
BookPage, Bruce Tierney
Popular Culture Association Mystery & Detective Fiction List
