The Body in the Castle Well
Bruno investigates as France's dark past reaches out to claim a new victim
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4.2 • 40 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
'WILL MAKE READERS LONG FOR LAZY DAYS IN RURAL FRANCE' Irish Independent
A missing art student. An international investigation. A secret that will shatter Bruno's charming village of St Denis.
A rich American art student is found dead at the bottom of a well in an ancient hilltop castle. The young woman, Claudia, had been working in the archives of an eminent French art historian, a crippled Resistance war hero, at his art-filled chateau.
As Claudia's White House connections get the US Embassy and the FBI involved, Bruno traces the people and events that led to her fatal accident - or was it murder?
Bruno learns that Claudia had been trying to buy the chateau and art collection of her tutor, even while her researches led her to suspect that some of his attributions may have been forged. This takes Bruno down a trail that leads him from the ruins of Berlin in 1945, to France's colonial war in Algeria.
The long arm of French history has reached out to find a new victim, but can Bruno identify the killer - and prove his case?
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What readers are saying about The Body in the Castle Well
'I loved the book and strongly recommend it' 5* Reader Review
'Interesting plot, satisfying mystery to solve, accompanied by lovely descriptions of the beautiful Périgord region of France' 5* Reader Review
'My favourite author' 5* Reader Review
'As always, a book about Bruno is a delight' 5* Reader Review
'Another gem . . . One of his very best, not just a good and clever story, but particularly rich in French history' 5* Reader Review
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The disappearance of American Claudia Muller, an art history student, drives Walker's satisfying 14th outing for French chief of police Beno t "Bruno" Courr ges (after 2018's A Taste for Vengeance). When Claudia's body is found in a well in Bruno's small town of St. Denis, the preliminary autopsy leads the authorities to believe her death was an accident. Drugs may have been a contributing factor. Claudia was studying with a noted art scholar who was possibly engaged in shady dealings related to his valuable art collection. She was also seen in the presence of a man recently released from prison. Was her death a simple misfortune or something more sinister? The book's main strength is the intrepid Bruno, a horseback-riding and dog-loving master chef whose calm professional practicality pulls the reader into the well-developed, if familiar, crime story. Whether he's preparing a gourmet dinner, enjoying a glass of wine, or solving a murder, it's a pleasure to be in Bruno's company.
