Springtime in St Denis. It's two weeks before Easter, and Satanism has reared its ugly head. A female body has been found on a boat, bearing the ghastly signs of a black magic ritual. The victim is unknown and nobody is coming forward. This is the last thing Bruno needs. The Chief of Police-come-culinary connoisseur has too much on his plate as it is, mediating both a domestic abuse case and a local development proposal that seems just too good to be true. Moreover, he has no one to share these stresses with. His dog, Gigi, is gone, as are his usual roster of ladies. He's never felt so alone. But Bruno soon finds himself back at his best; which is just as well if he's to solve the mystery that's threatening to scar his town's reputation.… (more)
(summary from another edition)
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This is the 5th of the Bruno series of books and was just released in the UK as of early August 2012. I've become such a Bruno fan in the space of the past 2 months that I ordered this one online since it will likely be a year before the North American edition is released.
The main plot involves the finding of a dead body found floating down the river in a punt showing indications of the aftermath of a satanic ritual. Meanwhile Bruno is anonymously alerted to a case of domestic abuse and his patron, the Mayor of St. Denis, is involved with a development scheme to build a high-end holiday village in the outskirts of the community. Many others of the St. Denis and Perigord cast are back including a new romantic temptation for Bruno and even a possible love interest for the Baron.
I enjoyed this one quite as much as the others although the ending was quite shocking and distressing in some ways (no, not as distressing as the end to No. 4, if you know what I mean). (