To Kill a Troubadour by Martin Walker

TO KILL A TROUBADOUR by Martin Walker is the latest in the series involving Bruno Courrèges, Chief of Police in the French Périgord (or Dordogne) region. These mysteries involve police investigations combined with local lore and cuisine. In addition to being a wily detective, Bruno is quite the chef and Walker portrays his knowledge of cooking and wines throughout the story. In this selection he also provides important historical information about Occitan, the original local language, and about Eleanor of Aquitaine’s role in spreading Islamic scholarship and music. Readers learn much of this from the character Joel Martin; he is a scholar and songwriter whose life is threatened because he has authored a song supporting Catalan independence from Spain. Bruno and his local and national colleagues suspect a sniper threat that evolves into an international plot with possible Russian backing. It’s complicated and necessitates quite a bit of background information which slows the pace. Still, TO KILL A TROUBADOUR is suspenseful and a welcome summer escape to the South of France.