Bruno 02 - The Dark Vineyard

SUMMARY: In this riveting sequel to Martin Walker's internationally acclaimed novel "Bruno, Chief of Police, " some of France's great pleasures--wine, passion and intrigue--converge in a dark chain of events that threaten the peaceful village of Saint-Denis. Benoit (Bruno) Courreges--devoted friend, "cuisinier extraordinaire" and the town's "only" municipal policeman--rushes to the scene when a research station for genetically modified crops is burned down outside Saint-Denis. Bruno immediately suspects a group of fervent environmentalists who live nearby, but the fire is only the first in a string of mysteries centering on the region's fertile soil. Then a bevy of winemakers descends on Saint-Denis, competing for its land and spurring resentment among the villagers. Romances blossom. Hearts are broken. Some of the sensual pleasures of the town--a dinner of a truffle omelette and grilled "becasses, " a community grape-crushing--provide an opportunity for both warm friendship and bitter hostilities to form. The town's rivals--Max, an environmentalist who hopes to make organic wine; Jacqueline, a flirtatious, newly arrived" "Quebecoise; and Fernando, the heir to an American wine fortune--act increasingly erratically. Events grow ever darker, culminating in two suspicious deaths, and Bruno finds that the problems of the present are never far from those of the past. A splendid mystery--and a delectable serving of the pleasures of France. "From the Hardcover edition." SUMMARY: Just before dawn one late-summer morning, Bruno is pulled from sleep by the wail of the town siren atop the Mairie, summoning the volunteer firemen of St Denis. A large barn and the fields surrounding it are ablaze. When Bruno arrives at the scene, the smell of petrol leaves no doubt - it was arson. Soon after, a wine mogul from California visits the town with plans to buy up half the valley to create an industrial-scale wine-producing operation. Such a business would bring a healthy injection of dollars to St Denis, plus the creation of at least fifty jobs. It appears that someone is determined to stop the scheme and is prepared to go to any lengths - including murder - to do so. Bruno must use all his skills, tact and local knowledge to negotiate a minefield in order to reach the truth.