Police Chief, Bruno Courrèges, is startled to find a pentagram drawn on the woman’s torso, a charred bottom to the punt from a fire and two black candles. Can there be black magic or Satanism involved?
The mayor, Gérard Mangin, futilely hopes the death will get little attention.
Bruno, using his deep knowledge of the community, informally deals with a spousal assault. Resenting Bruno’s questions, the husband, Louis Junot, attacks Bruno who deftly evades and delivers a pair of punishing blows. Then, after carefully listening to husband and wife, he does not arrest the husband. His predecessor, Joe, was also noted for informal justice. In such a situation Joe and a couple of rugby “chums” might have taken the offending husband behind “the barn and treat him with some of his own medicine”.
The investigation takes Bruno out on the river in a canoe to search for the location from which the punt was launched. The search provided a vivid view of the beauty of the Périgord region from a perspective not provided in the earlier books.
The leisurely ride down the river takes them past a chateau. The complexities of French life and history are reflected in the owner of the chateau - the Red Countess, a WW II hero of the Resistance and a committed communist.
The area’s greatest attractions are the caves with amazing prehistoric depictions of animals.
The Devil’s Cave is actually a commercial cave drawing thousands of tourists annually.
As always, there is a major contemporary issue. Mayor Mangin wants to proceed with a large land development. Bruno conducts his customary low key but effective investigation and has reservations. The Mayor listens.
Bruno’s love life remains complicated with the dynamic police officer Isabelle, still working in Paris, and the lovely Pamela, in Scotland because of her ailing mother. A visit from Isabelle stirs up his conflicted heart. I think there are a couple of women in St. Denis awaiting an opportunity for a relationship with Bruno.
One of the reasons I love the series involves Walker’s skilful touch with regard to Bruno’s personal life. Bruno’s devoted dog, Gigi, was killed in the previous book defending Bruno. He is moved to learn Gigi has been honoured by the Ministry as a canine hero.
Isabelle and her superiors in the Ministry of the Interior obtain a puppy bassett hound, Balzac, for Bruno. He tries not to love the puppy so that he can choose a new dog on his own, but his defences are instantly overcome when he picks up the affectionate puppy with his long long ears.
While the Mayor remains uncomfortable, it turns out Satan is good for business.
Identification of the floating woman proves unexpectedly difficult considering the notoriety surrounding her discovery.
As the investigation probes relationships that would prefer privacy Bruno and those with him eat very well. Every Bruno story has one or more amazing food experiences. In The Devil’s Cave Bruno picks the flower buds of dandelions and uses them to flavour an omelet.
Bruno and the Mayor tread very carefully in their study of the backers of the proposed development.
The Church does not ignore evidence of Black Masses being conducted in the Devil’s Cave. The response demonstrates the Church’s powerful and majestic rituals.
I was swept up into the story eagerly reading page after page. Walker manages to credibly involve the elites of France with the locals of St. Denis in story after story. The Devil’s Cave is another complex satisfying mystery. I would like to visit the Périgord.
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I'd like to visit that part of France, too, Bill. And I feel that even more so when I read one of Martin Walker's Bruno mysteries. I like very much the way he explores the history and culture of the area. In my opinion, he also gets a solid balance between exploring Bruno's personal life and focusing on the case at hand. Plus there's the food. You're reminding me of just how good this series is, and I appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteMargot: Thanks for the comment. I agree that Walker brings together so many elements in the series. His characters also feel like real people.
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