Fatal Pursuit

A hunt for a 1936 Bugatti ~ what a genuine romance! There is mild romance between humans, too, but largely, this is a murder mystery with a mix of historical vignettes from pre-war France that bear on a contemporary mystery.
Plotting and characterization is much better in this 9th installment of the Bruno Courrèges series.

One tedious aspect is the newest romance between Bruno and a high-flyer career gal. However, the backstories, the tie-in to terrorist finances, and the even more compelling descriptions of community life in the commune of St. Denis carry the narrative well into lovely prose and a sense of rural survival in a overwhelmingly modern world. Highly recommended even as a standalone.

This series installment finds St. Denis’s chief of police, Bruno Courrèges, once again juggling multiple responsibilities. He is called to the scene of the unattended death of a researcher. The man was a heart attack waiting to happen, and his doctor would have no problem signing a death certificate to that effect. But Bruno has doubts, and since he’s been right and the doctor wrong before, Bruno is given time to follow up on his suspicions. The participants in a local car rally include a couple of men trying to trace a nearly priceless Bugatti that disappeared during the Vichy regime, last seen in the Périgord. Bruno also steps in to help a juvenile delinquent who is being bullied by a classmate. And somehow he finds time to show more start a new romance.

I’m neither a racing fan nor a car enthusiast, so this novel’s setting didn’t have as much appeal for me as most of the other books in the series. Maybe that’s why I had a harder time suspending my disbelief when Bruno solved a decades-old mystery in just a few hours’ time.

Just when I thought we’d seen the last of Isabelle, she’s back heading a Eurojust operation in Bruno’s territory. Of all the women that Bruno has been involved with in the course of the series, I like her the least. With time, distance, and a new relationship, it seems like Bruno is finally seeing the flaws in her character.

Finally, a warning to readers new to the series. These novels usually include spoilers for earlier books in the series, although this one has fewer spoilers than most. show less

Fatal Pursuit - Walker
Audio performance by Robert Ian MacKenzie
4 stars

This was a very busy book. Bruno plots usually are busy. There’s international money laundering, with a side of terrorist financing hiding in the mostly legitimate world of classic car collecting. And, a murder or two. The particularly desirable car of this book ties the plot, once again, to WW2 history. On a local level, Bruno is dealing with a family land feud and juvenile crime. My favorite part of this book was the heroic redemption of the one time juvenile shoplifter along with the come-uppance of the privileged bully. Also, as if life wasn’t complicated enough, Bruno is juggling two former girlfriends and a new one.

I enjoyed this one. It held my show more attention for a long day of airports and cross country travel. My only regret is that Bruno was unavailable to cook me a fantastic meal after a day of airline snacks. show less

Long one of my favorite series, Martin Walker's Bruno, Chief of Police mysteries could be guaranteed to make me speak with a French accent while hungering for the meals so lovingly prepared in the village of St. Denis. Unfortunately some of the sparkle is wearing off this series. Bruno is becoming a bit stale and formulaic. There will be a current crime that ties into a bit of French World War II history. Bruno will go out riding with his basset hound following along. Bruno will long for a committed relationship and often find a pretty woman to turn his head. There will be food. There will be wine.

While interesting, the scenes involving the car rally and the Bugatti really didn't grab my imagination-- and I love old classic cars. It show more really is time for Bruno to settle down because it's come to the point where I have to refrain from rolling my eyes whenever a new woman is introduced. Old flame Isabelle, busy with her high octane career, even has time to pay a visit, and she spends most of it being catty about any woman Bruno happens to look at. (Don't like it, Isabelle? Then you should've stayed.)

I have to admit that the most interesting part of the book for me was Bruno's helping young Felix who's being hounded by Tristan the bully. This subplot ties into the main thing that has made this series so good. Bruno shows over and over again that the best crime prevention involves knowing the people who live in your jurisdiction, being involved in community events like celebrations and sports clubs, and working with government officials to make the village a good place to live. It's a model that works well for Bruno and St. Denis, and it's a model that would work well anywhere.

Fatal Pursuit is a good, solid book. It's just not got the joie de vivre of the earlier ones. I'm hoping that Walker can shake things up a bit next time. show less

Whenever i feel like I need a little pick-me-up in my reading, I pick up a Police Chief Bruno book, and I escape to the beautiful Dordogne region in France, and the good folks of St. Denis. This book is all about classic cars and rally racing and it was a lot of fun It all starts when an elderly research scholar is found dead in his home. He has long-term heart issues and it looks like a natural death, but to Bruno, something is not right. So off he goes and finds a number of mysterious and questionable threads that all seem to lead back to the elderly researcher. And as usual Bruno and his friends continue to eat wonderful food, and drink marvellous wines as they live their idyllic lives. Bruno even may have found a new love interest, show more but he seems to go for the wrong type of woman for settling down. He is drawn to smart, ambitious and driven career women. Women that aren't looking for a long term relationship. This is a remarkable series, and I love it. When I need another escape I will read the next in the series. show less

In this, the ninth Bruno, chief of police novel, Bruno Courrèges finds himself serving as navigator in a rally car race; the accompanying classic car parade has attracted many tourists, including two men searching for a rare Bugatti that vanished near St. Denis during the Second World War. In addition, Bruno finds himself mediating a family feud and overseeing the rehabilitation of a young man, Félix, who was caught shoplifting. But the auto aficionados’ interest in the missing Bugatti, one of only four ever built, takes a dark turn when a local historical researcher is murdered.

This pleasant tale, complete with several twists and turns and challenges for Bruno, is well-written, intriguing, and entertaining. Along with the mystery show more surrounding the murder, there’s plenty of wine, good food, and a lovely lady or two. Well-developed characters, a strong sense of place, and a mystery with links to the past keep the pages turning; a narrative that pulls readers into pleasures of daily life in a rural French village creates a story certain to enchant its readers.

Recommended. show less

FATAL PURSUIT: A BRUNO, CHIEF OF POLICE NOVEL by author Martin Walker.
I love the weaving together of the different threads of regional culture and history, mystery, strong characters, common-sense and diligent policing, good food and drink into a tapestry of excellent, enjoyable reading.
I feel so comfortable with this small town of St. Denis, its inhabitants and customs.
I have read all nine ‘Bruno’ books and each one builds on the last and is stronger and better. Each title imparts interesting cultural and historical facts about the Perigord region of France.
I like the map views of St. Denis.
I like that the rally car racing and the ‘lost’ Bugatti tie-in with the Interior Ministry case, the property dispute, the French Resistance show more activity in the area during WW II, two troublesome teenagers (each case handled expertly by Bruno) and nursing home pensioners.
I can’t wait to read another Bruno book. (I do wish him better luck with women though!) show less