The Body in the Castle Well

By: Martin Walker

Narrated by: Robert Ian Mackenzie

An aging art scholar and a visiting student, haunting echoes of France's colonialist past, and a delicious navarin of lamb - Bruno is back, and his latest case leads him from the Renaissance to the French Resistance and beyond by way of a corpse at the bottom of a well.

When Claudia, a young American, turns up dead in the courtyard of an ancient castle in Bruno's jurisdiction, her death is assumed to be an accident related to opioid use. But her doctor persuades Bruno that things may not be so simple. Thus begins an investigation that leads Bruno to Monsieur de Bourdeille, the scholar with whom the girl had been studying, and then through that man's past. He is a renowned art historian who became extraordinarily wealthy through the sale of paintings that may have been falsely attributed - or so Claudia suggested shortly before her death.

In his younger days, Bourdeille had aided the Resistance and been arrested by a Vichy policeman whose own life story also becomes inexorably entangled with the case. Also in the mix is a young falconer who works at the Chateau des Milandes, the former home of fabled jazz singer Josephine Baker. In the end, of course, Bruno will tie all the loose threads together and see that justice is served - along with a generous helping of his signature Perigordian cuisine.

©2019 Walker and Watson Ltd (P)2019 Recorded Books

We always enjoy Bruno and the leisurely pace of his mysteries leaving plenty of time for enjoying

Always interesting to learn about the old evils and grudges from the political history of another county. We re familiar with ours, not with theirs.
Always enjoyable to see Bruno acting with discretion and honor.

Love the series but....

The story was drawn out I had figured out who was guilty well into the story. I still love this series but like one of the other reviewer said a little food cooking goes a long way. Also if Bruno is as bright as we think he is he needs to figure out which woman he wants to be with him get on with it. love the descriptions of that area of the country love the descriptions of food just the details about how it's fixed is over the top.

Wrong Accent

Again; I soo, wish the narrator had a French accent, the English accent distracts from the story.

Great story, great food, weird accents

This is my first ‘Bruno’ in any form, and I’m hooked. I know that region and love the food in the story. But the narrator, while fine on many of the voices, gets very weird sometimes. The elderly art expert sounds like Winston Churchill, and Pamela sounds like one of Graham Chapman’s old ladies from Monty Python (especially jarring, or hilarious, in the seduction scene). So I’d love more audiobooks n this series, but probably not from this reader.

Better and better!

The Bruno series continues to get better and better!

All of the ingredients we expect, plus an emotional punch.

Another...

...enjoyable read by Walker. Looking forward to his next novel. We need FIFTEEN words and so.we have it

One of My favorite series

Love the series, a bit of great food with mystery. But, really dislike the character of Pamela. Wish the author would
Truly write her off the series.

Another excellent Bruno book!

I highly recommend the book and the series. Reading the books in order is the way to go. I had minor two issues with this book. The Pamela/Isabelle storyline is old. Bruno needs a new woman in his life. Also, Pamela always sounds like an old lady to me, not like a young woman who would be involved with Bruno.

Another winner!

Once again, Mr Walker presents an outstanding Bruno story . We are introduced to some very complex and interesting new characters, and enjoy our old friends as well. The tension of the murder investigation is perfectly balanced with dinners, conversations, and wonderful side bars into the French life we've grown to love in these amazing stories.

Even a lot to learn about falconry!

France, friendship, friends, foodie, historic-buildings, historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, historical-setting, history-and-culture, contemporary, suspense, thriller, falconry, false-conclusions, family, witty, rugby, rural, action, interagency, international-crime-and-mystery, international-crimes, international-espionage, interpersonal-problems, local-gossip, local-law-enforcement, local-politics, unputdownable, investigations, journalist, secrets, audiobook, relationship-issues, relationships, relatives*****

Riveting! Great police work stringing out the clues and suspects. As addictive as the others I am binge-reading in this series! Great learning opportunities as well, like falconry and some special things about WW2 French issues and politics.
Voice actor Robert Ian MacKenzie is excellent with interpretation and character definition, and superior in the rolling tones of French pronunciations.