The Templars' Last Secret

The apparently accidental death of a woman spraying graffiti on a cliff below a medieval castle becomes more complicated when the authorities learn that the dead woman was an activist and an archaeologist with a far-fetched theory that suddenly becomes more plausible after her death. Once again, St. Denis municipal policeman and army veteran Bruno is seconded to the Brigadier since the case has international implications. Bruno is also being shadowed by a Haitian lawyer and aspiring politician who is writing a report on municipal policing. Even though she is there only to observe, Amélie’s social media and internet searching skills prove helpful in the investigation. Meanwhile, Bruno is preparing for the wedding of his archaeologist show more friends, Horst and Clothilde.

This series has settled into a predictable but entertaining formula, where criminals and/or terrorists descend on the Dordogne and divert Bruno’s attention from St. Denis’s minor police matters to international affairs. It walks a fine line between thriller and cozy village mystery, with just enough from each genre to tempt readers out of their comfort zones. It’s nice to see familiar faces from earlier books in the series make an appearance in this book. However, readers, should beware that these appearances generally come with spoilery references to their first appearance in the series. show less

An Israeli woman falls to her death, but a few things about the scene don't add up and cause Bruno to expect murder. Readers find themselves in a "cozy thriller" involving the Knights Templar, Israeli-Muslim conflict, and cave paintings. The new woman this time is a Haitian woman from another agency accompanying Bruno on the investigation. Even though it was only a brief mention, another animal died in the story. Could the author please let all the animals live a few times? I love the setting of these and the food descriptions. The stories themselves are beginning to seem somewhat formulaic. There is enough difference to keep one interested in some aspects, but the book's general direction seems somewhat predictable.

This book was as entertaining as all the others in this wonderful series. And, as in other books in this series, there is a lot of history brought to light. In this case the 12 century when the Templars and the King of France were at odds and many found their way to various spots in the Dordogne. When a woman falls to her death from one of the high cliffs, it opens up a whole new can of worms for Bruno and his cohorts. I would have to admit that this book is a little more violent than the others in this series, but the story is a good one, and Walker keeps the tension up throughout. It's springtime in St. Denis, and with the new leaves on the trees and the spring flowers blooming, Bruno is getting ready to tend his garden and exercise show more his horse Hector, and his dog Balzac when a terrorist threat seems imminent in his beloved countryside. I love how laid back Bruno becomes commando Bruno when danger threatens. He will stop at nothing to keep his town and his friends safe. As usual, there's lots of food and wine. These books are an epicure's delight. What's better than good food, good wine, good friends and murder? show less

Another bright attractive woman enters Bruno's life. This time to shadow his activities and learn about his philosophy of policing. A mysterious death at a former Templar's site evolves quickly into another web of international intrigue. This provides an interesting background for Bruno's main activity; planning and participating in the nuptials of two senior and longtime friends.
We learn much about the Templars and more about the history and caves of the Dordogne. All with a soupcon of French regional cooking and recipes with local wines rampant and flowing. Lots of Bruno-flavored detecting and a grand finale with helos, machine guns, grenades, and Islamic terrorists.

This series continues to provide excellent stories with an show more interesting cast and locus. show less

The historical aspects of the story were great ~ the Lascaux cave paintings, the prehistoric evidence of human habitation, and the Venus figurines. The mystery surrounding the wealth of the Knights Templar, a Catholic military order, was fascinating as well. Walker does a good story interwoven with these factual passages, which keeps the series fresh.

The bones of the mystery, however, felt a bit contrived, especially with the incursion of Israeli-Jihadist conflicts. While France has certainly experienced violent racism (and still does), this particular episode in the series felt out of sync with the narrative and swamped the very interesting backstory about the medieval historians' work in the Dordogne.

Otherwise, the book was a fun show more read and carried on with some great cuisine episodes and small holder vegetable gardens. show less

The title grabbed my attention in the first place - love a good Templar mystery. Also love a good "local" police mystery ala "Midsommer Murders" or "Inspector Montalbano" or "Magrait" - even more so when set outside of England which gives me the opportunity to read different styles.

We have a mysterious death, we have an archaeological dig, we have the legend of lost buried Templar treasure. And there we stop. I was not really sure where the story was really headed - the Templar / Crusaders narrative was all over the place- and it became, for me, disengaging. The plot felt cobbled together - too many different themes that didn't tie in too well. At one stage I thought it would be more of an archaeological mystery rather than the focus show more being on terrorism and religious extremism (though I appreciate that this may have been necessary to some extent due to the item being searched for).

In addition, there is lots of mundane narration without actually getting to the mystery at hand (ie: we are told in minute detail how Bruno spends his day, and night, and next day, etc etc - yawn); added to that is the extremely slow moving storyline which really didn't pick up until about 250 pages into it.

On the plus side, not having read the previous nine books, I had no trouble with this book - or with the characters - there was plenty of background detail!

Sorry, just not something I would be keen to pick up again. show less

I just spent a few days with an old friend, Bruno Courreges. He is the chief of police in the small French town of St. Denis in the Dordogne region of France.
I am referring to the main character in Martin Walker’s series of books. This latest title is THE TEMPLARS’ LAST SECRET, A BRUNO, CHIEF OF POLICE NOVEL.
This series usually features a main plot - on the national scale - with many subplots showcasing the local inhabitants and local activities - on a more ‘local’ scale. In this title, we have a pending terrorist attack mixed in with a local case involving tax evasion and a pedophile. This layering appeals to me as there is always something going on and mix in the locals and their shops and meals and wines and love interests show more and one has an interesting story to be engaged in on many levels.
A woman is found dead at the base of a cliff at the Chateau de Commarque and Bruno is trying to identify her and her reason for trying to scale the cliff and paint a mysterious slogan on the cliff face. He is being aided by Amelie, an intern from the Department of Justice, who is studying the ins and outs of local policing. She adds her technology expertise to the investigation which proves essential.
Israeli-Arab politics; local history; prehistoric history; archeological excavations; terrorism; weddings; past love interests; regional food, wine and activities; Crusader & Templar history; very successful policing using the latest technology - all these topics make for a very satisfying read.
I quite like this series and heartily recommend all the titles featuring my friend, Bruno. show less