The Patriarch

A beloved village, a complicated family, a suspicious death--it's the latest adventure in the Dordogne for police chief Bruno.

When Bruno is invited to the lavish birthday celebration of World War II flying ace and national icon Marco "The Patriarch" Desaix, it's the fulfillment of a boyhood dream. But when the party ends in the death of Gilbert, a family friend, it's another day on the job for the chef de police. All signs point to a tragic accident, but Bruno isn't so sure. There is more to the Desaix family's lives and loyalties than meets the eye. There is Victor, the Patriarch's son, Gilbert's old comrade-in-arms and sometime rival; his seductive wife, Madeleine, whose roving eye intrigues Bruno even more than her fierce political ambitions; Chantal, the granddaughter who stands to inherit from Gilbert's mysterious trust funds; and the Patriarch himself, whose postwar Soviet ties may have intersected all too closely with Gilbert's career in Cold War intelligence. Meanwhile, a devastating accident caused by wild deer divides Bruno's professional attention. And life in St. Denis goes on--with meals to cook, wine to share, and an ever more complicating romantic situation for Bruno. But as his entanglement with the Desaix family grows and his suspicions heighten, Bruno's inquiries into Gilbert's life become a deadly threat to his own.

From the Hardcover edition.