A Chateau Under Siege (A Bruno, Chief of Police Novel) by Martin Walker
One of the main events of the Sarlat tourist season is the re-enactment of the liberation of the town from the English in 1370 and Bruno’s there to see the show with some friends. It’s all been very carefully choreographed but goes badly wrong when, Kerquelin, the man playing one of the main characters is seriously injured when he departs from the script. Luckily, his doctor is there and the man is whisked away in a helicopter. A local doctor (and friend of Bruno) wonders about his chances of survival but - as he’s a senior government employee, the man who runs Frenchelon - the military has stepped in. One daughter lives nearby and another, who lives in California, is flying in with some of her father’s friends for a pre-arranged holiday.
The group is staying at Rouffillac, a nearby chateau. Bruno’s tasked with ensuring their safety but he can’t help but wonder about what’s behind all that’s happening. It isn’t long before he realises that the wound was faked and that Kerquelin is - in reality - a long way away, negotiating a deal to build a semiconductor industry in France.
OK - confession time. I don’t read the Bruno series for details of his latest adventure. I read it to find out what’s happening in his private life. I want to berate Isabelle and demand that she leaves the man alone so that he might actually look ‘’properly’’ at Florence, who ‘’wants’’ to live in St Denis. I rationalise it but telling myself that these people are simply constructed from words which develop in Martin Walker’s mind. They’re not ‘’real’’. Then I remember that Isabelle even lays claim to being part-owner of Bruno’s dog, Balzac and the rant begins again. Is it OK to wish harm to a fictional character? I’ve spent a lot of time mulling this over - which just shows how good the characterisation is.
Of course, it’s not just the characters that keep me reading. I’ve never been to the Perigord but I feel as though I know it well. There wasn’t quite so much food this time, which is probably a good thing as I’ve thought before that I go up by two dress sizes when I read the latest book in the series.
As well as reading the book, I listened to an audio download, narrated by Peter Noble (which I bought myself). It was a real treat and I enjoyed it. I’d like to thank the publishers for letting Bookbag have a review copy.
You could read ‘’A Chateau Under Siege’’ without having read any of the earlier books in the series but you will get more out of it if you know the background to some of the characters. We’ve got a list of the books in chronological order.
