Bruno, one of my favorite characters has returned in The Resistance Man by Martin Walker. All the familiar characters and animals and byways are thrust forward into my face as pages turn. The new young basset, Balzac, to replace his last; a horse, Hector; and his women, Isabelle and Pamela are just some of the blasts from the past. And he has one of the best websitesout there. It gets complicated quickly, as we start with the natural death of a Resistance man, holding a bank note from that time and a famous bank robbery, the robbery of fine furniture and antiques of a house owned by a former M from Britain, and the brutal murder of an English antique dealer. All in one day that has Pamela return from Scotland, for good, and the return of Isabelle to over see the robbery and the securing of the Brits house.
The fun really starts when Bruno and his guests eat. Bruno is an exceptional cook. Walker does his best work in the kitchen and the garden. The history is excellent, the plot development is excellent, the dialogue is excellent, but the cooking is most excellent. The funeral, the burglary, the murder are all providing escapes from the dangerous waters in which the two women are swimming. Not to mention the homophobia that is rearing its ugly head.
Once again, Bruno is dragged back to evens of WWII that eventually have resurfaced today to create havoc and murder. History is revisited, unearthed, and shared over good meals and in good company, many who have a memory of those days and a stake in the outcomes of investigations. It is amazing how yesterday continues to influence tomorrow.
Deaths and accidents are suffocating Bruno as he tries to unravel the mysteries from his work. He’s betwixt a rock and the hard place. He of course saves the day, cause he “has the balls to do something.”
Resistance Man is a Bingo.
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