The Dying Season: The Dordogne Mysteries 8
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By Martin Walker
avg rating
3 reviews
The Dordogne town of St Denis may be picturesque and sleepy, but it has more than its fair share of mysteries, as Bruno, chef de police, knows all too well. But when Bruno is invited to the 90th birthday of a powerful local patriarch – a war hero with high-level political connections in France, Russia and Israel – he encounters a family with more secrets than even he had imagined. When one of the other guests is found dead the next morning and the family try to cover it up, Bruno knows it’s his duty to prevent the victim from becoming just another skeleton in their closet. Even if his digging reveals things Bruno himself would rather keep buried. Meanwhile, very modern battles are being fought in St Denis between hunters defending their traditions and environmentalists protecting local wildlife. Neither side, it seems, is above the use of violent tactics. At the centre of it all, Bruno must use all his cunning and character to protect his community’s future from its present – and its past.
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REVIEW OF ‘THE DYING SEASON’, a Bruno, Chief of Police Novel by Martin Walker.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found that I quickly developed an affinity with the lead character, Bruno and other characters were developed quiet cleverly as the book progressed. It is a bit of a ‘page turner’ and part of what makes it so are the short chapters. There always seem to be time for ‘Just one more chapter’.
The detail in the book is Charming- with the Countryside, village life and Bruno’s own life described in such a way that you could almost be there with him.
I’m sure that I will read more of this series of books.
L T.
Enjoyed this book. Favourite location. Easy reed and a page truner.
EMW.
We both enjoyed The Dying Season by Martin walker and would like to read others.
It was an easy read and very enjoyable. However, he put in too much detail about the bank ground of some characters.
E F & B F.
I found this a Little too light for me, though it would make good holiday reading I suppose. To be honest I can’t imagine that I would bother with any of the other books in the same series. That said looking at it more objectively; I can imagine that the combination of “Midsummer Murders” meet “A Year in Provence” would be popular with a lot of people.
G.
Not as gripping as I’d like – skipped a few chapters to get to the end and don’t think I missed much. Pleasant Read though
Mill Bank Readers Group
If you like murder mysteries and food then you should enjoy this novel. A small French town has many customs and probably just as many secrets, all laced with delicious servings of local wine and food. Local police chief Bruno does not realise he is investigating a murder until it is almost too late to collect evidence. Many twists and turns but all are eventually untangled.
A good old-fashioned murder mystery and a thoroughly enjoyable read. No violence or hard-boiled cynicism, just a gentle stroll through rural wine-growing France with a murder to be solved and a good plot to keep you interested. Bruno is the local gendarme, a very believable and endearing character. As one of his main interests is food there are plenty of gastronomic references as well as colourful depictions of community life in rural France.
Martin Walker appears to be an established author who has written several other “Bruno” books. As this was the first one I had read I have no idea if there is any advantage in reading them sequentially but this book certainly works as a stand-alone novel. I enjoyed it so much that I will be looking out for the others.
