The Devil's Cave

The Dordogne Mysteries 5

By: Martin Walker

Narrated by: Peter Noble

'WALKER'S FINEST YET ... A FIRST-RATE MYSTERY' - Entertainment Weekly

Bruno, Chief of Police, investigates when a body is found floating in the river showing marks of Satanism. France's favourite cop must track down a murderer while quelling his town's superstitious fears in this page-turning mystery, part of an internationally bestselling series.

It is springtime France's Périgord, a time of beauty and calm. But not for Bruno, chief of police of the small town of St Denis. A woman's body has been found on a boat, bearing signs of a black magic ritual.

Bruno has too much on his plate as it is - mediating a domestic abuse case that needs careful handling and a dodgy local development proposal that seems just too good to be true.

But a murder case must take precedent and the roots of this one lie buried deep in the past - linked to a chateau above a bend in the river, to the reclusive old woman who lives there, and to the secret hidden in the Devil's Cave.
(P)2013 WF Howes Ltd©2012 Martin Walker

Bruno really is the best

I love Bruno, he is a wonderful person who cares about people, animals and food, so what isn’t to like. He is also a fine investigator who doesn’t allow himself to be deterred from hunting for his quarry. The only small issue is his lack of a truly committed woman in his life.
I recommend this series to those who like mysteries of a rural nature, country people, village markets, lovely local or home made food and village sentiments.
I’ve given 5 stars because I really enjoyed the plot of this one and the whole mystery.

good story, pity about the narration

The book is good, I enjoy the series, but was moved to write a review because I found the narration so irritating, that I nearly stopped after an hour and returned the book. I did listen to the end, but had to stop every once in a while, because I could not stand the (really bad) French accent the narrator saw fit to give some of the characters. I listened to the previous three books with three different narrators, or I would not have reached book four.
It is a pity particularly because the narrator is quite good when he speaks normal English -- which is the reason I gave him two stars -- but why on earth does he find it necessary to use an accent that sounds like a really appalling parody? it is silly, it is inappropriate, and it is very very irritating.