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    The Dark Vineyard
    The Dark Vineyard
    The Dark Vineyard
    Audiobook10 hours

    The Dark Vineyard

    Written by Martin Walker

    Narrated by Robert Ian McKenzie

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    A prolific journalist, Martin Walker has crafted a mystery series that deftly blends the stylings of Peter Mayle and Alexander McCall Smith. Chief Bruno Courreges loves life in his small French village. One day his idyll is disturbed when a local research station for genetically modified crops is burned down. An enclave of environmentalists seems to be the most likely culprit, but soon Bruno uncovers evidence that makes the case infinitely more complicated.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateApr 22, 2011
    ISBN9781449867102
    The Dark Vineyard
    Author

    Martin Walker

    MARTIN WALKER is the author of 20 books of fiction and non-fiction, including seven novels featuring police chief Captain Bruno Courreges. He lives with his family in the southwest of France and Washington, DC. He is also senior director of the Global Business Policy Council as well as editor emeritus and international affairs columnist of United Press International, the global news agency. Visit Bruno online at www.brunochiefofpolice.com.

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    Reviews for The Dark Vineyard

    4.5/5

    32 ratings9 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Mysterious deaths & wonderful characters & locale make this a must read!
    • 4/5
      ← A KILLING RESURRECTED – Frank SmithAUTHORS READ BUT NOT REVIEWED IN 2010: Part I →THE DARK VINEYARD – Martin WalkerPosted on December 28, 2010 by BethI rarely read books in a series, one right after the other. But I was curious about THE DARK VINEYARD by Martin Walker because he devoted so many pages in BRUNO, CHIEF OF POLICE to the introduction of the characters who inhabit the village of St. Denis that I was curious as how they would fit into the second book.Walker clearly intends to keep the people of the village of St. Denis alive for many books to come. Bruno, the chief of police, a title bestowed by the people on the only representative of the enforcement branch of the law in the area, is still the hub around which the story spins. Bruno is the reason the dynamics of the village ring true; disparate characters fit because Bruno’s interaction with them makes them real whether they have a walk-0n role or have a major role to play in the story arc.THE DARK VINEYARD begins shortly after the end of the first book. The story begins with a fire at a shed deep in the woods. It is used by the Agricultural Research Center to house the equipment necessary for recording the growth of crops in a field, the cultivation of which was unknown to anyone, including the mayor and the tax collector. The crop under cultivation is classified as GMO – genetically modified organisms. The fire is clearly the work of eco-terrorists.To complicate Bruno’s life, it is the time when the grapes must be picked for the wine-making that is so important to the financial health of the area. Even Bruno has a small vineyard; he is working on perfecting his own wine. The need to pick at a precise moment in the development of the grape means that there are transient workers in the St. Denis area. Bruno would like to believe that the fire was started by someone other than one of the residents of the town, all of whom he counts as friends.Into this mix steps Fernando Bondino, an American wine expert. He is interested in buying the local wineries to add to his family’s very large vineyard and distribution company. Some of the growers don’t want their grapes mixed with those of other vineyards while others, aware of the precarious circumstances that can make a particular year’s grapes worthless, are eager to sign a contract that would keep them from ruin.Jacqueline Duplessis, a Canadian, comes from a family who have a small vineyard that produces a dessert wine that has been successful. Jacqueline has been educated in California, working in the vineyards there, learning about and developing contacts with the families whose names are synonymous with wines known throughout the world. Her summer in St. Denis is part of her carefully structured personal curriculum. Max, a local boy and another aspiring vintner, and Jacqueline have spent most of the summer together. Bruno is happy for the young couple until he sees Jacqueline meeting Bondino late in the evening, when Max thinks she has gone home.Bruno believes firmly that the information the village police officer acquires as he lives with the people whose interests he has sworn to protect should be more important in resolving problems than the arcane plans of the police in Paris. But when wine, eco-terrorism, murder, family feuds, and greed combine, Paris takes notice and descends on St. Denis. It is left to Bruno to point the experts from Paris in the right direction before they do irreparable damage to the village and destroy any chance of solving the crimes.In BRUNO, CHIEF OF POLICE, Walker addressed, in a minor way, the problems that linger from the time of the occupation of France by the Nazis nearly seventy years ago. THE DARK VINEYARD and eco-terrorism is decidedly a twenty-first century story. There is a lot of money to be made in the vineyards of France and there are problems inherent in experimenting with food that can survive natural disaster. Both contemporary issues are part of the very good story that Walker offers in this second book in the series.I look forward to the third book in the series.
    • 4/5
      I discovered Martin Walker's charming Bruno Courrèges series only this summer. "The Dark Vineyard" is the 2nd book of the series and follows the first, called "Bruno, Chief of Police". The title of 'Chief of Police' is a bit of a misnomer as Bruno is actually the only policeman in the fictitious village of Saint-Denis which is situated where the Vézère River flows into the Dordogne River (approximately where, in real life, the village of Limeuil is located) in the heart of the Périgord region of Southwestern France. This latest case starts with the arson of a mysterious crop at an experimental farm situated near to the Saint-Denis community. This leads to conflicts with the scion of an American winery corporation who is seeking to buy up land in the region for future vineyards and mass wine production. Various characters in St. Denis have opposing views on the wisdom of allowing strangers to move in like this. While the arson investigation proceeds a few mysterious deaths occur to add further complications. Bruno is at the heart of tying in all the separate mysteries while his friend Jean-Jacques Jalipeau (called J-J) and his team from the National Police in Perigueux help out on the forensics and the local gendarmes are there for the strong-arm work. Meanwhile, Bruno's amour from the 1st book makes a return but there may not be much future in that relationship and Bruno already has his eye set elsewhere. All of this plays out with various trivia details about wine vintages, food preparation and food enjoyment scattered throughout the book which add the atmosphere of a completely real living community to the crime mystery plot.The crime solving aspects are not the real draw to the Bruno series. The draw is the charming character of Bruno himself, the life around his farm-like home with his trusty basset hound Gigi, and Bruno's all-encompassing efforts to do the best for his community, regardless of what the official laws may state. This is another winner from Martin Walker and was even more enjoyable than the first book.
    • 4/5
      If you like murder mysteries—good, well constructed, somewhat complicated mysteries—a step ahead of Agatha Christie, you will love this book.  If you speak French or have lived there, you will love this book.  If you want to know more about wine, or think you're a connoisseur, you'll love this book.  I loved it for other reasons.  It is well-written, quickly envelopes you in the quiet country town of St. Denis in rural France, makes you want to visit there tomorrow, even if it is a fictional town—or is it?  Fun, sweet, and no four-letter words, it kept me turning the pages.  I plan to read Martin Walker’s next Bruno Courriges’ tale by the way (even though I rarely read mystery novels) because Bruno, St. Denis’s only police officer, is not only smart and knows everybody in town, but he keeps running into  women who seem delighted to occasionally offer him the opportunity to “spend his nights” with them.  Well, there were only two of them.  I enjoyed this book.    
    • 4/5
      First Line: The distant howl of the siren atop the mairie broke the stillness of the French summer night.The fire could have been a disaster for everyone in the area, but fortunately the fire crew performed their jobs quickly and well. With the ruins still smoking, Bruno-- the Chief of Police of the small village of St. Denis in southern France-- is left with a mystery. You see... officially the building that burned down does not exist. When Bruno begins investigating, he learns that it is an agricultural station that is working on genetically modified crops.When Bruno starts checking into local environmentalists who might've set the fire, he learns that he has another potential problem on his hands. Max, a young local environmentalist who wants to make organic wine and Fernando, the heir to an American wine fortune are rivals for the same woman-- a young flirtatious Canadian student. But this affaire de coeur is soon overshadowed by two suspicious deaths. Bruno definitely has his hands full.This charming series is one in which the mystery often takes a backseat to the characters and the setting. The mystery is interesting, not because the reader needs to put a lot of effort into identifying the person responsible, but because the motivations are what must be uncovered. But while the motivations are being deduced, there is so much of Bruno and the village life of St. Denis to be savored!Bruno is an excellent policeman because he is involved completely in the life of St. Denis. The mayor keeps him informed and a part of the business of trying to keep a small village alive and vibrant so the inhabitants won't be forced to move away to find jobs. Bruno is a part of the many traditions of St. Denis. He also coaches tennis and rugby teams. Bruno is most definitely not an absentee caretaker, and his local knowledge is invaluable when solving any type of case.And as for those many traditions-- as Walker describes each one I feel as though I am becoming a part of the world he has created. This series was my "find" of 2011. It is a delight to visit with Bruno and the people of St. Denis and be transported into their world.
    • 4/5
      Bruno and his love for the Perigord region of France are what make this book appealing. Walker gives us a glimpse into the agricultural life in the region, particularly, the production of wine. I liked Alphonse and his commune in the hills dating from 1968. Many parts of the mystery were predictable but it was an enjoyable and diverting read which transports the reader to Perigord, not a bad way to spend an afternoon or two.
    • 4/5
      Bruno, the chief of police returns in this mystery to solve the case of a murder that seems destined to upset the Mayor's plans for improving the economic situation of the lovely small town in the Perigord region of France. The story begins innocently enough with a deliberately set, very destructive fire at a local experimental agricultural station that had been operating quietly under the radar for some time. A potential scandal and the suggestion of a terroristic attack by green activists vie for the attention of the press. This is overshadowed by the death of two well- liked citizens of the town.

      Bruno must figure out whether the deaths are accidental or deliberate before the wrong people get charged with the crime. The daily life of the main protagonists is a picture the reader can easily vicariously appreciate although this is not an area where anyone can survive without speaking the language of wine. Here it is the life's blood of of the citizens. Alcoholics better move somewhere else to live.
    • 5/5
      I very much regret that I haven't read the first in this series, BRUNO CHIEF OF POLICE. I'm going to remedy that as quickly as possible. Fortunately my library has a copy.Just recently we've spent hours each night watching television coverage of the Tour de France and consequently my reading of THE DARK VINEYARD has gone rather slowly. But I don't think that has been a bad thing as it really is a book to savour. It goes much deeper than crime fiction. In fact at times crime takes a back seat as Bruno does all the other things that it seems the lone policeman in a small French town must take care of - attending to the Mayor's wishes, being a fire fighter, a rugby coach, arranging funerals, and keeping the peace in general.When the deaths come, about half way through the book, it is a bit of a shock, and I was beginning to wonder whether anything was going to happen, more than the arson attack on the research station which occurs right at the beginning.The setting is rich with characters and local customs and struck me as having considerable similarity to Louise Penny's village of Three Pines, except that Bruno is an insider and has a lot more local knowledge and acceptance than Penny's Inspector Gamache has. The canvas of Bruno's town of St. Denis seems heavily populated with vibrant and cosmopolitan characters. Bruno himself is happy living there, in a house he has built, although his recent friend Isabelle has moved to Paris and is trying to tempt Bruno into moving too.The book deals thoughtfully with other issues too - genetically modified crops, multinational companies seeking to expand at the expense of local industries, the role of local governments in providing for their residents, the importance of keeping traditions alive.
    • 3/5
      It made me wish I cared more about wine.