Death Undercover AKA The Children Return

Bruno at his Best - 5 Stars

At the time of writing this review, Children of War is the most recent book in the series. If you note the short time between my review of this book and the first in the series, it will reveal that this has become on of my favorite crime series. Martin Walker has the ability to write characters that are multi-dimensional, likeable, charming and realistic. His most recent installment also proves to be one of his best and shows continued growth in the series.

Plot Summary

This time around Bruno is drawn into a web of intrigue that covers Islamic Terrorism, the French treatment of the Jews during the Holocaust, the limits of criminal responsibility and the effects of war and conflict on the young. Early in the show more book, Bruno is contacted by a former colleague and is advised that a young man has been found in Afghanistan claiming that he is originally from St. Denis, the hometown of Bruno. It is revealed he is the adopted son of a local Muslim family. The young man is autistic and was supposed to be in a specialized school run out of one of the biggest Mosques in France. At his return, many claims are made about this young man that do not fit the character that the town has come to know. His return results in danger to many individuals in St. Denis as it appears that some Islamic Extremists are hunting the young man. The relatively simple matters turns into a matter of national importance as Bruno once again finds himself seconded into the service of the Brigadier.

Lots to Love

The plots in each of the books in this series are complex. They cover multiple storylines and varying topics. In my opinion, this book contains the best and most complex plot yet. It wonderfully explores the damage war inflicts on those who live through it. All of the novels have explored, in part, how war effected the main character Bruno. Much of his life has been filtered through his experience. Beyond this we see how the young man, Sami, is changed by jihadism and Islamic terrorism, a modern war. This is contrasted nicely with a parallel storyline that reveals the details of two Jewish children who were hidden and protected during the Holocaust.

If you are reading this review and you haven't yet started this series, I strongly recommend you grab the first one and get reading. For every dark element in the book, Martin Walker provides a corresponding elements of light. This results in a serious storyline and serious crime but it is seen through the eyes of characters that have not let this darkness overshadow their lives. The characters are fleshed out and interesting. While there are a few reoccurring elements (the appearance of the Brigadier) most of the growth of characters are relationship rise and fall in an organic manner. The characters seem real and their situations plausible.

This will, without a doubt, be one of, if not the best, series that I discovered in 2015. If you want crime and mystery but don't want to hand in your soul to get it, I suggest you visit Bruno, Chief of Police. show less

One of the most charming things about the Bruno Chief of Police series has been that the small village of St. Denis seems lost in some sort of time warp, with more ties to the past than the present. In the tightly plotted seventh book in the series, the past and present collide to put a wary face on the future.

Published in the UK as The Children of War, this book is all about the effects of war upon our most vulnerable. Walker once again highlights southwestern France's part in World War II by weaving in a storyline about two Jewish children who were hidden away outside St. Denis during the Second World War. The surviving sibling wants to reward the villagers for their kindness and bravery, but first she must see what they would do show more with their "inheritance." As Bruno gets his group of planners together, it's a wonderful way to show how the past can have a beneficial effect upon the future.

We need that happier remembrance because Sami represents the horrors of the war with Algeria-- how that war still affects France, and the fate of so many Muslim immigrants that have flooded into the country. Walker shows us the differences between how France and the U.S. fight the war on terror by bringing in Nancy Sutton, an American intelligence officer. Of course where Bruno is concerned, Nancy won't be able to remain solely as an example of truth, justice, and the American Way. Will Nancy be the right woman for Bruno at this stage in his life? It's something that we're just going to have to watch play out.

And while we're keeping an eye on Bruno and Nancy and wondering if everyone is going to be able to keep Sami (the gold mine of al-Qaeda intel) safe, we still have time to sample life in St. Denis. This time it's the vendage-- the grape harvest-- with its special celebratory food and wine. By continuing to show us various aspects of the culture and cuisine of St. Denis, the author reminds us why places like this need to survive-- and why it takes people like Bruno to keep them safe. In talking about murder and mayhem, Martin Walker has created one of the best crime fiction series going-- one that reminds us of kindness, decency, and rich full lives. show less

St. Denis’s town policeman, Bruno Courrèges, gets a tip from an old army friend that a young Muslim from St. Denis has been found in Afghanistan and he wants to come home. Sami is autistic and had been raised by his aunt and uncle after the death of his parents in Algeria. But Sami was supposed to be at a special school in a Toulouse mosque. How did he get from there to Afghanistan? Has he become a jihadist? In a secondary plot line, the family of two Jewish children who were sheltered in St. Denis during World War II want to revisit the local sites where the children stayed. None of the local residents have any memory of this, so Bruno helps with the research to identify the family who provided them with shelter.

I was more show more interested in the World War II story than the terrorism plot, and I wish there had been more of it. The author wrote himself into a corner with the story of the autistic boy, and there was really only one way to resolve it. I wish it had been less predictable. I’m also getting annoyed with Bruno’s love life. He says he wants children, but he keeps getting involved with women who have no intention of settling down and starting a family. He’s finally moved on from Isabelle. He’s still seeing Pamela, but things have been a little strained between them. Now he meets Nancy, an American friend of Isabelle’s who’s heard a lot about him from Isabelle, and he flirts with her in Pamela’s presence. Readers expect better of Bruno. He should have the decency to end one relationship before starting another. show less

Bruno has a lot on his plate professionally speaking. He must find out about some mysterious potential donors to St. Denis, investigate a brutal murder and protect an autistic young man (possibly from his own government). Personally, he is still unsure of his forever-mate, but in the meantime, doesn't mind playing with women who aren't interested in settling down with him. Also, one of his friends is having relationship troubles and Bruno gets pulled into that against his better judgment.

There, enough going on for you? This novel also explores some of the extremely sensitive issues about assimilating Muslims into a traditionally non-Muslim nation. As always, Bruno manages with style and dinners which would make Brillat-Savarin proud.

I'm impressed how Walker can pack different religions, wars, their victims, and current religious wars into a book so that it is coherent and a whole emerges.
The whole thing begins with a dead investigator infiltrated into a mosque to reveal how young men are sent to jihad. At the same time, a lost young man comes back from Afghanistan. Bruno has his hands full. But that's not all, a Jewish old lady is looking for the place where she was hidden as a child in WWII.
Of course, Bruno's love life is thoroughly shaken and his friend Fabiola also fights old demons.

This 7th book in the series is more of a thriller than a mystery. Walker does a good job of showing the complexities involved in dealing with the Muslim citizens of France while investigating a possible Taliban terrorist. Sami, an autistic young man with a flair for electronics and a tragic background, returns emaciated, scarred and ill to St. Denis from Afganistan with Bruno's help. Was he a willing recruit or was he coerced? How did he come to be in Afganistan when he was supposed to be in a special mosque school in France? I didn't care for the way Walker resolved this plot, partly because I was sad at Sami's death but mostly because it felt like a "cheat". The problem of what would become of Sami & his family was a difficult one and show more by killing off Sami, Walker sidestepped that complexity with a simple, though tragic, solution.

While the above story was the main plot, the book also had an interesting subplot (which I actually liked better) about 2 Jewish children who had been hidden in St. Denis during WW2 by a Protestant couple. The husband was a WW1 veteran who was gueule cassée ('broken face', one of the wounded who had severe facial injuries). show less

The Children Return -Walker
Audio performance by Robert I.Mackenzie
4 stars

Lost and endangered children are the focus of two story lines, contemporary and historical. The intertwined plots combine the murder of a French Muslim agent, the mysterious return of an autistic Muslim boy, and the introduction of an aging benefactor of a WW2 resistance effort to shelter Jewish children. Bruno is in the thick of things, chasing terrorists, risking his life while saving the life of his (probable) next love interest.

I thought the ending of this book was too neatly tragic, providing the only solution to an intractable situation. It’s a small complaint. Walker does a good job of demonstrating all of the political and international complexities show more underlying the crimes in his books. But, it’s fiction, after all. A super hero protagonist, (who is also a great cook) and a neat ending is what will certainly draw me into reading the next book. show less