Black Diamond (Bruno, Chief of Police #3) by Martin Walker.

And onto the third book in this series of mysteries set in the Dordogne region of France. Bruno, the Chief of Police in St. Denis is on the case involving a scam in the supply chain of truffles. 

The atmosphere of this book is exactly the same as the previous two books in this series. A comfortable and easy read with a mix of police and private life. Many of the characters continue from the other books. There are plenty of crimes for Bruno to deal with as he enjoys his life in rural France. We have the scam in the supply chain of truffles, racial hate crimes, a murder, some illegal immigrants and arson plus the discovery of a very disturbing crime at the end of the story. But between all this crime solving, Bruno makes time for a little romance.

I enjoyed reading Black Diamond and consider it to be a GOOD 4 star read. I found Martin to be consistent in his writing and feel his name has become a brand readers can trust.

Black Diamond was written in 2010 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.

Letters from Candy by Gerard Harrison.

 Larissa lives in New York and has a 15 year old daughter called Candy. Larissa tries to cope with the teenage rebellion of Candy but late one night they have a nasty row. Follow Larissa and Candy to discover what happens next.

 

This novella runs to 49 pages but do not let that put you off, this short book is a cracker. Gerard writes his story from both sides starting first with the mother’s. Gerard writes with great skill and a huge vocabulary. This is not a throw-away leisure magazine story but big book quality. Gerard comes out with a lovely line of…

An abject, guttural, mind numbing moan escaped her mouth like a witch in heat.

...I really enjoyed reading Letters from Candy which I found such a buzz. There was tonnes of raw emotion coupled with great sadness. This short novel is very powerful and really packs a punch. Gerard labels his novel as a horror story but don’t let that put you off as there are no ghosts or supernatural nonsense. I found Letters from Candy to be an OUTSTANDING thriller that gets the top score of 5 stars from me. I have no idea how parents of teenage children would feel about this book, maybe they would consider it to be a noteworthy urban legend.

Letters from Candy was written in 2014 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.

The Dark Vineyard (Bruno, Chief of Police #2) by Martin Walker.

A fire has started and Bruno attends the scene. Was it an accident or was it arson? Follow Bruno as he is on the case to solve the mystery of this fire.

Although this is the second book in this series, I feel it could be read as a stand-alone. Having read the first book, this second follows on very well with many of the characters appearing again. I liked how the mood remained the same, with the comfortable, cosy rural life of a countryside policeman. I liked the tourist on holiday feel of this book and how French culture and life was explained. Throughout this novel there was a lot of cheese eaten and umpteen bottles of wine opened. There was so much socialising it was a wonder if Bruno would actually get around to some police work!

I liked how the plot developed and enjoyed the politics involved. Character development was good and there was plenty of drama. Romance raised its head again but nothing too heavy. My overall impression is that this would make a good television series, relaxing to follow with sufficient depth of plot. A constant thought throughout this novel for both Bruno and the reader was “I’m not sure”. These doubts really questioned motive and opportunity.

I liked how Bruno’s dog Gigi was included and not just in name, for example when Martin writes…

Bruno understood his dog well enough to have accepted that a human never walks a basset hound. The dog and the human go for separate strolls, which always coincide at the beginning, sometimes at the end, and rarely in the middle, unless Bruno gave the special hunter’s whistle.

...I also liked the casual observations, for example…

Well groomed and wearing town shoes, they did not look to Bruno like troublemakers.

...Part of this story brought back surprising memories to me, something I had forgotten about, oh how engineering has progressed over the years when Martin writes…

It was a receipt from Lespinasse’s garage for melange, the oil and petrol mix that old bikes required.

...I remember motorbikes with Two Stroke engines, when you had to mix a small amount of Castrol TT two stroke oil with the petrol. It was simple but it worked, not environmentally friendly but the performance was hot!

I enjoyed reading The Dark Vineyard because aside from the basic mystery that Bruno helps to solve, there is tonnes of content to enjoy about the culture and life of St. Denis in rural France. This BIG picture makes for a GOOD 4 star read.

The Dark Vineyard was written in 2009 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook. 

Deviant by Consuela Barnes.

Deviant is an Adult short story of just 16 pages and follows a consensual group indoor sex session.

I liked how this fun read was told in the first person by a young dance teacher. She plays the submissive role and was granted the safe word of “Avocado” - this will forever bring a smile to the reader when they go supermarket shopping. 

I found Deviant to be very easy reading with a good flow and pace. I found it funny the concern about spills on floor tiles and simply blown away by the use of anal beads.

Deviant is a refreshing distraction from my usual reading genre of crime/mystery/thriller and is just long enough to provide a cheap accessible thrill with no boring repetition or padding.

I consider Deviant to be an OKAY 3 star read that will brighten up anyone’s day.

Deviant was written in 2014 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.

 

Death in the Dordogne (Bruno, Chief of Police #1) by Martin Walker.

Encouraged by the Amazon Kindle Daily Deal, I thought I would try a new author in the crime/mystery/thriller genre. Death in the Dordogne was originally titled Bruno, Chief of Police, the first book in the series.

Follow Bruno, a country policeman from the fictional small town of St. Denis in the Dordogne. An elderly Arab is found murdered in his home and Bruno helps solve the mysteries surrounding the death.

I enjoyed reading Death in the Dordogne which has a full story mix. You experience the full life of St. Denis and it is not just a police procedural. The reader is thrown head first into the rural culture of the Dordogne, with its funny little ways of life. There are tonnes of characters with their little quirks to enjoy. I loved the descriptions of everyday life and the little schemes involved, for example…

Everybody knew the old woman was poor as a church mouse since her husband drank the farm away. She bought the cheapest eggs at the local supermarket, scraped off the date stamps, rolled them in straw and chicken-shit and sold them to tourists as farm-laid for a euro a piece.

...There were other incidents including a potato and visiting EU inspectors. I liked how this novel made me feel like a tourist enjoying a holiday. All life in rural France was fully explained with great detail about the food and wine. I loved the atmosphere created within this story. 

Bruno is a very likeable lead character who fully appreciates his job and life in St. Denis. I enjoyed reading about his day job and his very happy private life - he is a very active member of the community outside of work. Bruno has a Basset Hound called Gigi to complete the rural picture but sadly no current partner to share his free time. However, romance does creep slowly into this novel but nothing to offend your grandmother!

I liked the plot and how the mystery was solved with a surprise ending. No spoilers from me but the murder victim had a very unusual and colourful past! I even enjoyed reading about the 20th century history of France, Martin made the military and political struggles so interesting which is very hard for any author to do!

The format of this book made for very comfortable reading, there were no boring bits and it made me feel as though I was on a holiday with new experiences. The writing style is clear and entertaining. The feel of this book is identical to the Kate Shugak mysteries by Dana Stabenow which are set in Alaska.

I think Death in the Dordogne is a GOOD 4 star read and I look forward to reading the next book in this series.

Death in the Dordogne was written in 2008 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.