The new mystery featuring Bruno Courreges, chief of police in the village of St. Denis, in the Dordogne region of southwestern France.
An interesting juxtaposition of wine, foie gras, animal rights protests, the web of village life, and a corpse discovered in the middle of a potentially significant archeological dig. The corpse creates even more complications tied to old tensions between France and Spain, Basque separatists, grudges dating back to the German occupation during World War II, and modern day terrorist activities.
Meanwhile, Bruno has to deal with an overzealous and inexperienced new magistrate, an old police rival, his current love affair with an expatriate Scotswoman, and the reappearance of his former lover, now making a name for herself in the French intelligence service --- who have just happened to choose St. Denis as the venue for an important ministerial conference between France and Spain.
It takes Walker a little while to establish all these interwoven plot lines. The best part of the book, and what makes the whole series worth the time to read, is the sense of place Walker evokes; the land, the people, the long history and a way of life so different from our own.
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