although it's set out in rather prosaic fashion , this is a very entertaining if rather prolix mystery - long set up about whether Catalan unhappiness with Spain is dangerous - and whether Spain can dictate what french can hear - etc - i am not convinced wholly by the detective's private life - but there are all the right tropes that make this an engaging story - flavour of the place is more or less left to the imagination - not truly, really on the page.

I enjoyed Martin Walkers latest novel in the series. Again, it reminded me of Donna Leon’s Brunetti series. This was an exciting story and the supporting characters were brought to life. I would recommend this book, and others in the series.

Martin Walker has done it again! Another Brilliant Bruno book.
Every year reading the new Bruno book is always a literary highlight, and this one is no different.

My only request is to include the recipes at the back of the book. However, I will just need to wait for the cookbook to be released.

You know what you’re getting with Martin Walker’s Bruno, Chief of Police, series … Gorgeous French scenery. Check. Food porn recipes (even if you’re vegetarian). Check. An upright and moral hero. Check. Cute dogs. Check. A sprinkling of politics. Check.

In the absence of a holiday in France this year (and the previous two, come to that), I’m perfectly content to settle down with a glass of passion fruit syrup and wallow happily in the scenery and atmosphere of south west France. If I were any good at making crepes, I’d devour one of those as well.

Walker’s series is deceptive. On the surface it appears to be a village bobby dealing effortlessly with crime on his patch and then being home in time for an equally effortless tea, conjured up from his vegetable patch. Dig deeper, though (into the book, not the vegetable patch) and France’s turbulent history is guaranteed to return to haunt the 21st century country. And rural France isn’t immune from international politics either. References to Bruno’s upbringing and army experiences hint at angst there as well.

This time it’s the turn of near-neighbours Spain to be troublesome. Public-spirited Bruno, the backbone of St Denis’ rugby and tennis clubs, is organising a music concert and has booked a local folk group to play. Les Troubadours are known for A Song for Catalonia, which goes down like a lead balloon with the Spanish government who are keen to stamp out Catalonia’s bid for independence. And when a sniper’s bullet is found in wrecked car that had been stolen from the Spanish border, intelligence from both sides suggests that nationalist extremists may be planning an assassination in France.

Bruno also has to deal with a disturbing case where the former husband of popular science teacher Florence is released from prison and is determined to muscle his way back into her life. This sub-plot feels more disturbing and closer to the bone than the main storyline, which meanders along amidst a tennis tournament and the usual food porn before one of Walker’s trademark grandstand finishes.

To Kill a Troubadour is a pleasant summer treat even if it’s not one of the more memorable books in Walker’s generally consistent stable. For a start, it’s heavy on information dumps, and there’s the usual yawn-inducing saga of Bruno’s unresolved love life with the tiresome Pamela blowing hot and cold and the fiercely ambitious but out of reach in Paris Isabelle. I have taken to bawling ‘never mind Pamela or Isabelle, Florence is perfect for you!’ from the cheap seats. And I felt uncomfortable at a rather odd section where Bruno, an empathetic and non-macho lead, comes across as over-sympathetic to the abusive and alcoholic ex-husband. I was also longing for a cast list as the spooks from both sides of the border seemed to be multiplying!

Former Guardian journalist Walker rarely disappoints with this thoughtful series and in To Kill a Troubadour he melds together the bucolic and the political with an enviably steady hand.

I love this series! This is another page-turner with the likeable Chief of Police, Bruno, involved in various dramas, including a terrorist plot and a violent ex-husband. He deals with everything successfully, thanks to a large network of friends and contacts, and still manages to cook great meals, play tennis, ride a horse etc. Keep these books coming, please!

Another great story! I have most of the Bruno books but I haven't read them all yet. Looking forward to filling in the gaps as I joined this series rather late. A very modern plot involving the politics as well as a lot of cooking. Thanks to Netgalley.

Another good book in a fun, easy to read series. The author has really built out the character of Bruno and each book expands your knowledge of each person you encounter. Its a good read that will leave you wanting more

This book lives up to the usual standard of other Bruno tales. The descriptions always invoke the countryside and the culture so that the reader can imagine the scene vividly. If you are a regular reader of Martin Walker you will enjoy catching up on all the characters, even though you might not have read every episode of the French saga. New readers will find the castlist of this written soap opera engaging. As well as all the cultural nuances, there is always a stand alone contemporary contemporary plot that is well researched. This time it is Catalan history. Fascinating.

Another great story of Bruno, Chief of Police of Saint Denis. Perigord, France. These stories are delightful and tell a lot about the pace of life and also give some good recipes that I definitely want to make! This tale explains the history of Catalonia and its cry for independence. A song for Catalonia is banned in Spain which leads to a chain of events involving France as its singers are due to preform there shortly. Bruno as always is at the forefront of activity in this delightful tale..

I'm getting rather fond of these books. They aren't "gritty" but are all the better for it. The atmosphere, the setting and the characters all make for a very enjoyable read.
There is always depth to the stories, they are far from shallow.
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to be introduced to these books

Another excellent tale of the good folk of Saint Denis in the rural Perigord region of France. Chief of Police Bruno is the trusted link between the mayor and other respected officials. Much loved by many friends and neighbours he will go above and beyond to keep them from harm. An interesting mix of cultural history and current social problems results in death threats against a man who promotes Catalonian causes by way of websites, poems and song. When ‘A song for Catalonia’ is banned by authorities in Spain it sets off a chain of events that elevates its popularity via social media to an untold level. Bruno is at the centre of discovering if the threats are real and as the story unfolds and escalates lives are in danger as a race against time begins. Interspersed with Bruno’s personal life of cooking, playing tennis, riding, dogs and his wonderful friendships it makes for another warm-hearted but also frightening story set in this beautiful region of France.

Another thoroughly absorbing story 0f Bruno and St Denis. A very tense one this time with a great cast of characters who are beginning to feel like friends. A fast paced story with a dramatic conclusion. these stories are also vey informative so a great read and an increase in knowledge. Win Win!

Wowsers... book 15 and just as fresh as the start of the series! Usual series rules apply, especially as there are quite a few characters that make up the wonderful place of St Denis and the surrounding area, and it would be helpful to know their backstories. And, if nothing else, it's a cracker of a series so... why not!? Also, make sure you've eaten before starting as, as usual, there are quite a few "foodie" moments which will make your gastric juices flow...!
So... it's coming up to the annual village concert and Bruno is busy organising, as usual. Problem is, the main act he has booked, the one which usually plays, is currently caught up in a bit of controversy. Their latest hit, A Song For Catalonia, has ruffled a few feathers within the Spanish Government (understatement) and earned them a ban in that country. Not one to be phased by this, Bruno refuses to change his lineup. Even when a sniper bullet is found in a wrecked car nearby. Are the two connected, Are Les Troubadours on someone's hit list, or is there another target...?
I love this series. It's always nice, as a reader, to reconnect with well loved characters. Old friends if you like. That's the main reason that series books are so popular. You really get to know the characters and the place in which they live. And the characters and the Perigord are wonderful. Step into their world once again and share their lives. Add into the mix a very well plotted and executed crime to be solved and you have the perfect storm... And Bruno himself, well, he's just as popular with me as he is with his friends. His adopted family. And he loves his job, it's a vocation. And his food too! Lots of yummy descriptions as always. And, if that wasn't enough, there's always some history of the region to be found. Always interesting and always well researched.
In fact, the only bad thing is, once again having to say goodbye to these people at the end of the book. Something I hate approaching as I read towards the end of the book. I want to see how it ends but I hate leaving the people and St Denis. Hopefully we'll meet again same time next year...
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

It is summer in St Denis and Bruno is busy organising the annual village concert. He's hired a local Périgord folk group, Les Troubadours, to perform their latest hit 'A Song for Catalonia'. But when the song unexpectedly goes viral, the Spanish government, clamping down on the Catalonian bid for independence, bans Les Troubadours from performing it. The timing couldn't be worse, and Bruno finds himself under yet more pressure when a specialist sniper's bullet is found in a wrecked car near Bergerac. The car was reportedly stolen on the Spanish frontier and the Spanish government sends warning that a group of nationalist extremists may be planning an assassination in France. Bruno immediately suspects that Les Troubadours and their audience might be in danger. Plus Florence’s ex husband has been released from prison.
This is the fifteenth book in this wonderful series, whilst the book could easily be read on its own I love how the characters have developed & old friends pop up. Once again Bruno works hard not only to protect Florence & to protect Les Troubadours. The descriptions of the countryside made me feel that I was there & the food & drink!! Another absolutely riveting read & I hope Bruno has many more cases to solve.
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

Martin Walker "To Kill a Troubadour" 325lk Quercus 2022

To be upfront - I got the book free (as a pdf) from the publisher to give it an honest review.

I do really like Chief Bruno books and have read all of them, with reviews to my book group. The great news is that finally the Bruno cookbook is going to be published in English. Way to my heart is through my stomach and so I've followed Bruno's cooking and tried some of it myself. Whipped egg whites in a dessert are everyday thing for me but I've never thought, before Bruno did it, that you could use them in a savory mousse. (I don't mind raw eggs.)

Although Martin Walker's books have a loads in common with cozy mysteries I don't think that they fall into that category. Sometimes rather grizzly, although not overtly explicitly described murders, international terrorist etc. make it a bit too hard core. But for a really hard-boiled detective Bruno is a bit too happy with his life (relationship problems excluded) and drinks only with good food that he quite often cooks himself. For me his skill for enjoying life is one of the best parts of the books. It's a skill I do try to emulate. (In reality I should follow his example in long runs every morning but that hasn't happened yet.)

This book has extra dose of history - in addition to French history there's lot about Catalan history as well. Maybe not for everybody but I found it very interesting and plan to read more about it. An entertaining book that has a mild educating effect is something I really appreciate.

"Would it be possible to obtain quickly some items of clothing from the homes in Spain of these suspects?" is a sentence I'm not very happy with. For Bruno speaking in his native language it's somehow unyielding. Should it show that he's nervous speaking with foreign higher-ups? Doesn't seem natural.

"It was customary for the winners to pay for the drinks, despite Horst's kind offer." I think there's a bit left out with the editing as I re-read back twice and Horst don't make any offers, kind or otherwise. Doesn't change anything but threw me a bit as I was afraid that I'd missed a bit of text.

For a book that was finished last year very topical as Russian invasion to Crimea is a small part of the plot. There's also a song banned by Spain, international spies and snipers and an ending that reminded me a Bond adventure. Poor Bruno is so busy that he has to step away from a tennis tournament.

A really enjoyable read, perfect for a nice summer afternoon. Better to have snacks at hand as food descriptions really are Mr Walker's strong point.

In Estonian:
Et kõik aus oleks - sain raamatu pdf kujul kirjastuselt, et läbi lugeda ja ausalt arvustada. Trükis ilmub alles järgmisel nädalal. Sellest ka mitmekeelne arvustus.

Olles inglise keeles kõik Bruno seiklused ära lugenud, ja ilusasti ka grupis arvustanud, ning seni ainult saksa keeles ilmunud Bruno kokaraamatule hammast ihunud, võin julgelt väita, et olen selle õige sihtgrupp. Vaatasin järgi, eesti keeles ilmub peagi sarja neljas raamat. (To Kill a Troubadour on 15nes.)

Muhekrimi jaoks liiga julmad mõrvad ja põnevikule omased tulevahetused ning karmi põneviku jaoks liiga palju söögitegemist moodustavad kokku sellise žanritevahelise loo, mis mulle hästi istub. Kumbki pool eraldi jääks vist natuke liiga nõrgaks.

Bruno rahulikus maakohas saavad taas kokku rahvusvahelised intriigid - kataloonia iseseisvuspüüe, vene häkkerid ja hispaania snaiprid, kuigi alguses arvab Bruno, et Hispaania poolt ühe laulu keelustamine temasse küll ei puutu. Lisaks käib veel tenniseturniir, kuid Bruno leiab ikka aega ka süüa valmistada. Eriti huvitav tundus kombinatsioon kurnatud kreeka jogurtist hakitud maitserohelisega, millele lisati vahustatud munavalget, et saaks peene mousse'i. Tuleb igatahes ära proovida.

Toimetamisel on üks kohake kannatada saanud. Mainitakse Horst'i lahket pakkumist aga ta ei pakkunud mitte midagi. Tegelikult see midagi ei mõjuta aga ma ehmatasin, kas raamatu neelamiskiirus on nii suureks kasvanud, et midagi jäi tähelepanuta.

Ka on Bruno suhu pandud üks pikk ja väga kohmakas lause, mis ei tundu loomulikuna.

Sisu poolest on möödunud aastal lõpetatud raamat päevakohane, muu hulgas on juttu ka Venemaa poolt Krimmi vallutamisest. Kataloonia, Hispaania ja Prantsuse ajaloost saab selles raamatus ka rohkem teada, nii mõngi mainitud teema pani tahtma sellest veel pikemat lugeda.

He tranquillity of St Denis is shattered when a local pop group leaps to international fame when they composed a song to Catalonia extolling its culture and people. This is exploited by those demanding independence from Spain and those opposed to it, together with others plotting disunification of the EU by causing a rift between Spain and France. When threats of a terrorist incident and a possible assassination of members of the pop group who are due to give a town concert, comes to the attention of national security, this results in an influx of National resources to counter the treats. How the chief of police manages the situation while at the same time tries to help a damsel in distress due the machinations of the legal system makes a rollercoaster of a story..

I have loved this series since I first found it a few years ago. To Kill a Troubador by Martin Walker is the latest adventure with Bruno Courreges, chief of police in St. Denis and the surrounding area in Perigord France. This book revolves around some trouble between Spain and France regarding the region of Catalonia and food. But is it that simple? Is some other country behind the troubles? Well buy the book and read, enjoy and find out. Although I am a little picky when it comes to food i always gets hungry when i read these books. I also love the fact that the stories always is filled with historical facts about the region, which I hope someday to visit. I can strongly recommend that you try this series and enjoy the masterful writings of Walker. I must thank Quercus and Netgalley for supplying me with this advance copy.

Summer could be enjoyable and light hearted but then, the cosy Périgord region is caught in Spain’s trouble with Catalonia’s independence movement. “Les Troubadours”, a local folk group, have published a song supporting autonomy for the region that shares their cultural heritage. The song goes viral and soon not only the Spanish government but also shady groups become aware of the poet and the band. When the police find a sniper’s bullet and a stolen car in the woods, the know that the situation is much more serious than they thought and that people are in real danger as the Troubadours are about to perform a large concert.

Martin Walker continues his series around the French countryside chief of police Bruno Courrèges. Even though also the 15th Dordogne mystery offers a lot to recognise from the former novels, “To Kill a Troubadour” is much more political and takes up a current real life topic. Apart from this, you’ll get exactly what you’d expect from the series: a lot of food to indulge in, history of the region and the French countryside where everybody seems to be friends with everybody.

One would expect the life of a countryside policeman to be rather unspectacular and slow, however, this could not be farer away from Bruno’s reality. Not only do big conflicts come to his cosy province, but also a case of domestic violence demands his full attention.

What I appreciated most, like in other instalments of the series before, was how the cultural heritage was integrated into the plot and teaches about the history you along the way in a perfectly dosed manner.

Full of suspense while offering the well-known French countryside charm, a wonderful read to look forward to summer holidays in France.

Nobody knows what the truth is any more.

Bruno Courrèges is the police chief for St Denis and much of the Vézère valley and works closely with Commissaire Jean-Jaques Jalipeau (known as 'JJ'), the head of detectives for the départment of the Dordogne. They're not just policemen - they're both deeply committed to the well-being and prosperity of this most beautiful part of France. The discovery of an old, stolen Peugeot, crashed and abandoned in a ditch wouldn't normally have worried them so much had it not been for the strange bullet, with Russian letters stamped on the base, which they found in the car. Oh, and there was a golf ball too, which didn't belong to the owner of the car. A golf bag would be a good place to hide a sniper's weapon. Was there going to be an attempt to kill someone, or were the detectives being pushed in a certain direction?

This wasn't the main item on the news, though. A song by a local group, Les Troubadours, had been banned by the Spanish authorities. That might be difficult to enforce in Spain, but there was nothing to stop Song for Catalonia from being broadcast in France. In fact, Les Troubadours were going to appear at the next open-air concert in St Denis. Because of all the publicity, crowds of people are expected to attend, and security will be a nightmare - for Bruno.

One of Bruno's friends (she might even be something more but Bruno isn't sure about the wisdom of starting a relationship with a woman in St Denis) is having family problems. Florence Pantowsky has been contacted by her ex-husband, who is about to be released from prison. He wants to make amends for how he treated her and develop a relationship with their children, twins Daniel and Dora. Florence wants none of it: Casimir was violent towards her and she's frightened for her own safety and the twins' lives. Casimir would seem to have a right to see his children, so how can Bruno persuade Florence to stay in St Denis when what she really feels like doing is heading for Canada?

If you're looking for a good story with a healthy dose of escapism then you need to look no further. Many of the characters will be familiar to regular readers of the series - I regularly think about them between books and wonder how they're getting on. I also wonder how they can eat the gorgeous food and drink the beautiful wines - and not end up the size of a house. I feel two dress sizes larger just from reading the books! It is a good story though - bang up to date with world events and delivering a sense that you're party to a few things which others might not know about. As always, it's a cracker of a story and I read it far too quickly.

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

To Kill a Troubadour would read perfectly well as a stand-alone but if you want all the background on what's been happening in St Denis, you could read the books in chronological order.

Martin Walker’s books are always a sumptuous mix of “A Year In Provence” and “Midsomer Murders”, and “To Kill A Troubadour”, the 15th novel in his Dordogne series featuring the indomitable Detective Bruno Courrèges, is no exception. Although this time around, the stakes are much higher than normal, the lush Dordogne landscape and gastronomic adventures are just as important as solving crimes.
If you come to the Dordogne stories expecting hard-hitting crime then you’ll be disappointed, even though this novel is much more politically charged and topical than usual. If you like cosy crime and long descriptions of French food and locales and are a fan of the lovable Bruno, then this book will be a real treat.