Book Log 2019 #18: Bruno, Chief of Police by Martin Walker

Benoit Courreges, known to all as Bruno, is a former solider who has returned to the Perigord, an area of southwest France, to be the police chief in a small town. He enjoys coaching rugby, having great meals with his friends in town, and hanging out with his dog. He doesn't wear his gun, and will take the extra time to work out disagreements rather than arrest someone.

But when an elderly immigrant from North Africa is murdered, Bruno has to team up with an ambitious (and attractive) officer from Paris to investigate if the killing may be terror-related. 

While this does suggest the trope of small town cops who don't actually enforce the law, the book takes a more nuanced approach. Bruno has no problem with his job, but he sees greater value in maintaining harmony among the townsfolk and preserving the area's way of life when he can. The story is entertaining, with good characters who fit the setting. It also made me think for a hard second about moving to the Perigord. A strong start for what will hopefully be a fun series.

 Book Log 2019 #17: The Cloister by James Carroll

A young priest caught out in the rain takes shelter in The Cloisters, a New York art museum that specializes in medieval art and is designed to look like, well, a cloister. While there he meets a young French woman who works at the museum, and they strike up a friendship over time. The woman's father was a scholar in France who was trying to prove that medieval scholar Peter Abelard was the author of some anonymous works sympathetic to Judaism, which put him at odds with the Nazis after they invaded France.

The book uses three timelines to examine religion, politics, and the limits they can place on intellectual pursuit. There's also a fair amount of introspection by the priest, who is trying to figure out if the religious life is for him. 

Carroll is a former Catholic priest who has written extensively on the relationship between Christianity and Judaism, and is successful at weaving that knowledge into a fictional setting. It's very much worth a read if you're into this sort of thing.

 Book Log 2019 #16: The Bishop's Pawn by Steve Berry

This is last of the Cotton Malone novels to take place in the US (for now, at least), and that's probably for the best. A prequel, we get a lot of backstory about Malone's personal and professional life, notably how he winds up working for Stephanie Nelle and the Justice Department. The actual case (his first for Nelle) involves the Martin Luther King, Jr. assassination, and you'll be surprised to learn that what the public thinks happened is not what actually went down.

I liked that the book spent time filling in the past, but the actual historical conspiracy fell flat. Maybe there just needs to be more World Heritage Sites in the US for Malone to shoot up. 

 Book Log 2019 #15: Even Dogs in the Wild by Ian Rankin

John Rebus is once again brought out of retirement to help with a case, this time the killing of senior prosecutor that appears to be connected to a shooting at the house of crime boss "Big Ger" Cafferty. The shootings may also be related by the arrival of a father and son team of gangsters from Glasgow, who may be looking to break into Edinburgh.

All of the usual trappings of a Rebus novel are present, and his continued friction with pretty much everyone - but most notably Cafferty and internal affairs officer Malcolm Fox - is a continued source of entertainment. It's always great to see Rebus at work, and given his advancing age I fear that we may not have too many of these stories left.

 Book Log 2019 #14: An Excellent Mystery by Ellis Peters

The eleventh book in the Brother Cadfael series sees a pair of monks arrive at the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul with bad news - the civil war has heated up again, with the fighting destroying much of Winchester, including their priory. The pair - one old and frail, the other young and mute - are given refuge. 

But as the pair settle in, it's clear that there's more to this pair than meets the eye, which piques Cadfael's interest. He then discovers who the older brother actually is, and things go on from there (while I won't go into detail, the story involves a canceled betrothal and the suspected murder of the potential bride).

It's another solid outing in the series, and different enough from the typical outing to keep things fresh.