French Crime Fiction

Mathilde has always been a headstrong woman. A member of the French resistance when she was just eighteen years old, she both impressed and horrified everyone with her cool capacity for violence. Now it is 1985 and Mathilde is in her sixties.

She is not as glamorous as she once was, but she continues to take great pride in all that she does. Recently, however, the sixty-three-year-old has been affected by loss of memory and erratic changes in mood that even her exasperated dog Ludo has noticed. This is a potentially dangerous situation, since Mathilde now makes her living as a contract killer...

Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg is not like other policemen. His methods appear unorthodox in the extreme: he doesn't search for clues; he ignores obvious suspects and arrests people with cast-iron alibis; he appears permanently distracted. In spite of all this his colleagues are forced to admit that he is a born cop.

When strange blue chalk circles start appearing overnight on the pavements of Paris, only Adamsberg takes them - and the increasingly bizarre objects found within them - seriously. And when the body of a woman with her throat savagely cut is found in one, only Adamsberg realises that other murders will soon follow…

Manfred Baumann is a loner. Socially awkward and ill at ease, he spends his evenings surreptitiously observing Adèle Bedeau, the sullen but alluring waitress at his local bistro. But one day, she vanishes into thin air.

When Detective Georges Gorski begins investigating her disappearance, Manfred’s repressed world is shaken to its core and he is forced to confront the dark secrets of his past. The Disappearance of Adèle Bedeau effortlessly conjures up an otherworldly atmosphere that simultaneously intrigues and unsettles.

Saint-Sauver, home to Richard Ainsworth and Valérie d’Orçay’s detective agency, is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its town twinning with Anglethorp Spa in Lincolnshire. Events are planned, a huge brocante, street parties and the centrepiece, an exhibition boules tournament between the two towns and a team of international boules all-stars. Everything is going well, the sun shines, the wine flows and the entente is very cordiale.

Until the mayor turns up dead in an antique dresser having apparently been killed twice. Inevitably Richard and Valérie have very different views on the subject and engage in their own battle, who will solve the crime first?

Bruno Courreges is chief of police of the lovely Dordogne town of St Denis with a remit that covers the beautiful valley of the river Vézere. One autumn morning he comes across an abandoned car parked near a local beauty spot.

Inside is a dead woman, Monique, an apparent suicide resulting from depression. But there are circumstances surrounding the death that raise Bruno's suspicions, particularly when disputes arise surrounding her Will. At the same time, Bruno makes the mistake of interfering in a local marital dispute.

Deputy mayor Xavier has been playing away and finds himself evicted from the family home. Old controversies about deer culls take on new life and then a second campaign begins, stating that Bruno is less of a village copper and more of a secret policeman, whose main job is working for French intelligence. Some of the ammunition for this attack, Bruno learns, comes from Xavier, who sees this as a way to topple Bruno and the mayor and succeed to the mayor's job himself.

Suddenly Bruno's shiny reputation is looking a little tarnished as he battles to save his name and answer the questions surrounding Monique's suicide.

Bruno Courreges, the protagonist of Martin Walker's internationally acclaimed mystery series, is not only the local police chief of the idyllic village of St Denis. Bruno also happens to be an impressive amateur chef, and in this delightful new cookbook, the culinary and cultural inspiration behind Bruno's fiction world comes to life. Featuring local recipes, charming anecdotes, and a history of its French setting, Bruno's Cookbook invites readers into the bucolic life of Walker and his wife, Julia, and showcases their passion for the region's rich cuisine. Brimming with truffles, pate, top quality fruit and vegetables, famed regional cheeses and wines, the Perigord is a gourmet's paradise. Bruno's Cookbook includes over 90 recipes, steeped in local flavours and prepared in Walker's large country kitchen, from Duck Breast Fillets with Honey and Mustard, Red Onion Tarte Tatin, and a classic Beef Pot Roast, to Chard Gratin (Bruno's comfort meal), Hazelnut Meringue Cake, and Homemade Blackcurrant Liqueur.

Centred on the splendid institution of the village market, the recipes are organised around the people who provide the food: the fisherman, the hunter, the cheesemaker, the forager, the baker, and the winemaker. A feast for the senses, Bruno's Cookbook transports readers to France's gastronomic heartland.