A Chateau Under Siege by Martin Walker: An atmospheric and wonderfully complex whodunit - book review -

The considerable sleuthing talents of Lieutenant Bruno Courrèges are tested to the limit again in the sixteenth book of Martin Walker’s enchanting, French-flavoured series which stars an astute, epicurean detective with a taste for food, vin rouge… and crime.

Lovers of clever mysteries, social and political history, stunning scenery, excellent cuisine, and the very best of French wines, have enjoyed sharing the past fifteen years with the smart, likeable Bruno in Walker’s exceptionally entertaining novels.

A prize-winning historian and journalist who spends most of his time in the Périgord region – the lush, gastronomic heartland of France – Walker has mastered the fine art of harnessing intriguing murder mysteries with paeans to his adopted country’s rich history, landscape, food and culture to dish up stories with an addictive brand of Gallic charm.

And at the heart of these witty, wonderful novels is the laidback Bruno, a bon viveur with a brain as discerning as his palate… a man who can crack crime in the fictional settlement of St Denis whilst cracking open a bottle of the best Château Bélingard.

In his new mystery, we meet Bruno at THE event of the Périgord tourist season... a re-enactment of the liberation of the beautiful medieval town of Sarlat from the English in 1370. But it all goes wrong when the man playing the part of the famous French general, Bertrand du Guesclin, receives serious stab wounds in the heat of the action.

The immediate question for Bruno is was this stabbing an accident... or a deliberate act? And the stakes rise when Bruno learns that the victim, Brice Kerquelin, is a computer expert running Frenchelon, the secret French electronic intelligence base nearby, after being recruited from a brilliant career in Silicon Valley.