The Patriarch: A Bruno, Chief of Police Novel - Hardcover

Delicious... Sure to delight readers who relish a skillful blend of complex international political nuance and pastoral intrigue mixed with a soupcon of fine French wine and cuisine. " Publishers Weekly""

"Walker treats readers to lavishly detailed accounts of meals served in farmhouse, restaurant, and at village fetes, giving us cookbook-worthy accounts of ingredients, preparation, and wine pairings... The mystery may seem almost incidental to meals and scenery but is, nonetheless, a corker... The ending is absolutely amazing." " Booklist "(starred review)
Delicious... Sure to delight readers who relish a skillful blend of complex international political nuance and pastoral intrigue mixed with a soupcon of fine French wine and cuisine. " Publishers Weekly
""

Life in the Dordogne region of France looks positively idyllic in Martin Walker s enticing novels... The delights of this pastoral district from the chateaus along the rivers to the prehistoric cave paintings to the food on the tables are very real and essential to the narrative... The story takes many surprisingly sharp turns... Absorbing. The New York Times Book Review
"As pleasant as a nice brunch... Delightful." Washington Independent Review of Books

"Martin Walker has done an enviable task, producing a darn good mystery with an engaging main character while presenting the most marvelous descriptions of French wine and wine-making and gourmet dining... A rare treat." The Lincoln Journal Star
"Martin Walker s latest murder mystery could be read in two different ways. As a pastoral, concerned primarily with the way events and death ripple inward. A satisfying and surprisingly intimate tour through a modern French village, full of character and charm... It is also a sophisticated political drama that works hard to create a genuine sense of international place, where events move away from the center at an exponential rate... The Patriarch in many ways is comparable to vintage wine, a cuvee of disparate tastes, aromas, depths and colors... Sante. Drink up." AZ Central

"Walker treats readers to lavishly detailed accounts of meals served in farmhouse, restaurant, and at village fetes, giving us cookbook-worthy accounts of ingredients, preparation, and wine pairings... The mystery may seem almost incidental to meals and scenery but is, nonetheless, a corker... The ending is absolutely amazing." Booklist (starred review)
The climax is, quite simply, a doozy! Martin Walker s Bruno novels are as delicious as the world class meals his chief of police whips up and as intoxicating as the wines he serves. Open Letters Monthly
Delicious... Sure to delight readers who relish a skillful blend of complex international political nuance and pastoral intrigue mixed with a soupcon of fine French wine and cuisine. Publishers Weekly
"

"Life in the Dordogne region of France looks positively idyllic in Martin Walker's enticing novels... The delights of this pastoral district--from the chateaus along the rivers to the prehistoric cave paintings to the food on the tables--are very real and essential to the narrative... The story takes many surprisingly sharp turns... Absorbing." --The New York Times Book Review

"As pleasant as a nice brunch... Delightful." --Washington Independent Review of Books

"Martin Walker has done an enviable task, producing a darn good mystery with an engaging main character while presenting the most marvelous descriptions of French wine and wine-making and gourmet dining... A rare treat." --The Lincoln Journal Star

"Martin Walker's latest murder mystery could be read in two different ways. As a pastoral, concerned primarily with the way events--and death--ripple inward. A satisfying and surprisingly intimate tour through a modern French village, full of character and charm... It is also a sophisticated political drama that works hard to create a genuine sense of international place, where events move away from the center at an exponential rate... The Patriarch in many ways is comparable to vintage wine, a cuvee of disparate tastes, aromas, depths and colors... Sante. Drink up." --AZ Central

"Walker treats readers to lavishly detailed accounts of meals served in farmhouse, restaurant, and at village fetes, giving us cookbook-worthy accounts of ingredients, preparation, and wine pairings... The mystery may seem almost incidental to meals and scenery but is, nonetheless, a corker... The ending is absolutely amazing." --Booklist (starred review)

"The climax is, quite simply, a doozy! Martin Walker's Bruno novels are as delicious as the world class meals his chief of police whips up and as intoxicating as the wines he serves." --Open Letters Monthly

"Delicious... Sure to delight readers who relish a skillful blend of complex international political nuance and pastoral intrigue mixed with a soupcon of fine French wine and cuisine." --Publishers Weekly

A beloved village, a renowned family, a suspicious death—it’s the latest adventure in the Dordogne for police chief Bruno.

When Bruno is invited to the lavish birthday celebration of World War II flying ace and national icon Marco “the Patriarch” Desaix, it’s the fulfillment of a boyhood dream. But when the party ends in the death of Gilbert, Marco’s longtime friend, it’s another day on the job for the chef de police. All signs point to a tragic accident, but Bruno isn’t so sure. There is more to the Desaix family’s lives and loyalties than meets the eye. There is Victor, the Patriarch’s son, Gilbert’s old comrade-in-arms and sometime rival; Victor’s seductive wife, Madeleine, whose roving eye intrigues Bruno even more than her fierce political ambitions; Yevgeny, another son, an artist whose paintings seem to hold keys to the past; and the Patriarch himself, whose postwar Soviet ties may have intersected all too closely with Gilbert’s career in Cold War intelligence.

Bruno is diverted by a dangerous conflict between a local animal rights activist and outraged hunters—as well as meals to cook, wine to share, and an ever more complicated romantic situation. But as his entanglement with the Desaix family grows and his suspicions heighten, Bruno’s inquiries into Gilbert’s life become a deadly threat to his own.