Why a Booktrail?
2025: Bruno Coureges is chief of police finds a dead woman in a carpark
An Enemy in the Village
What you need to know before your trail
Bruno Courges is chief of police of the lovely Dordogne town of St Denis with a remit that covers the beautiful valley of the river Vézѐre. 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.
Travel Guide
Dordogne and St Denis
1) Le Bugue is a small town of 2,600 inhabitants, in whose outskirts we have owned a house for almost 30 years, and which is the model for Bruno’s fictional home of St Denis. It dates back at least to the 9th century and it was granted a royal warrant to hold a weekly market in 1319, and has done so every Tuesday since.
2) Sarlat, the market town, with an Abbey that goes back to the 8th century, has one of the best-preserved and most charming medieval centres in France.
3) Tremolat is the home to the fabled hotel and Michelin-starred restaurant of Le Vieux Logis, Bruno’s favorite place to dine.
4) Perigueux is the capital of the Dordogne, and dates back before Julius Caesar’s conquest of Gaul in 58 BC. It houses the Commissariat (Police HQ), the base for Bruno’s friend, J-J, chief detective, and the Prefect, representative of the French state.
5) Castel-Merle, near Sergeac, in the Vezere Valley, a series of rock shelters that constitute one of Europe’s oldest dwelling places,, with Neanderthals living there nearly 200,000 years ago, and then inhabited by our Cro-Magnon ancestors, who painted and engraved the walls. Possible fire pits suggest they may even have invented cooking.
BookTrail Boarding Pass: An Enemy in the Village
Destination/location: St Denis, Dordogne Author/guide: Martin Walker Departure Time: 2025
Back to ResultsWhere Next?
