Martin Walker's Bruno

So, after reading Black Diamond I checked three more Martin Walker books from our library system in Northern Illinois and read them in chronological order. The first is not about Bruno, but indeed sets the background for much of the back story for this village in the Dordogne Region of Southwest France.

An art-history mystery that spans 17,000 years, THE CAVES OF PÉRIGORD is an ntertaining romp through the part of southern France known for its cave paintings, including the famous Lascaux cave. Written by historian and National Public Radio commentator Martin Walker, the book is divided into segments set in three separate times: the present; 1943-44; and circa 15,000 B.C. Romance, war, and betrayal are intertwined with French politics, ancient religion, murder, family, and feminism. It's a lot to hold together in one book, but although some of the dialogue sounds wooden and the writing isn't always gloriously lyrical, Walker does a good job of maintaining intrigue while avoiding confusion.
The Book Reporter


Then, the Bruno series...

Benoît "Bruno" Courrèges is a master chef and devoted oenophile in the town of St. Denis in the beautiful Dordogne region of France. He also happens to be the town's beloved Chief of Police. In Martin Walker's three books, BRUNO, CHIEF OF POLICE, THE DARK VINEYARD, and, most recently, BLACK DIAMOND, Bruno's had his hands full with murders, suspicious fires, and truffle-smuggling ring. Get to know Bruno with excerpts from all three books!
Alfred A Knopf


And, it looks like Bruno has a new set of mysteries to solve coming this July. I'll look forward to this one, too.

LAND OF THE LIVING

Darkness. Darkness for a long time. Open my eyes and close, open and close. The same. Darkness inside, darkness outside.

I'd been dreaming. Tossed around in a black dark sea. Staked out on a mountain in the night. An animal I couldn't see sniffed and snuffled around me. I felt a wet nose on my skin. When you know you're dreaming you wake up. Sometimes you wake into another dream. But when you wake and noting changes, that must be reality.
Land of the Living
Nicci French

From the website:
Abbie Devereaux wakes in the dark, hooded and bound...


She doesn't know where she is nor who it is feeding her, talking to her - threatening to kill her. Yet Abbie has courage and, above all, hope. She escapes her captor and runs back into the light. But the real world, the safe one, isn't as she remembers it. There are days missing before she disappeared - days when she quit her job and left her boyfriend, did things she can't explain to the police, her friends or even herself. Why won't anyone take her story seriously? Because if Abbie can't convince anybody that it really happened, then maybe he will come for her again. And she will wake in the dark, hooded and bound...

I've read this before. It was published in 2003, so that's when I probably read it. It's a compelling read and I'm enjoying it again. Will follow-up this one with her their newer books. Yep, I just discovered on their website that Nicci French = a married couple: Nicci Gerrard and Sean French. Didn't know that before.