Martin Walker Books In Order
Book links take you to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn money from qualifying purchases.Publication Order of Bruno, Chief Of Police Books
| Bruno, Chief of Police / Death in the Dordogne | (2008) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| The Dark Vineyard | (2009) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Black Diamond | (2010) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| The Crowded Grave | (2011) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| The Devil's Cave | (2012) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Bruno and the Carol Singers / Bruno and le Pere Noel | (2012) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| The Resistance Man | (2013) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| The Children Return / Children of War / Death Undercover | (2014) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| A Market Tale | (2014) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| The Dying Season / The Patriarch | (2015) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Fatal Pursuit | (2016) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| The Templars' Last Secret | (2017) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| A Taste for Vengeance | (2018) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| The Chocolate War | (2018) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| The Body in the Castle Well | (2019) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| A Birthday Lunch | (2019) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Oystercatcher | (2020) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| The Shooting at Chateau Rock | (2020) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| The Coldest Case | (2021) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Bruno's Challenge and Other Stories of the French Countryside | (2022) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| To Kill a Troubadour | (2022) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| A Chateau Under Siege | (2023) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Publication Order of Standalone Novels
| The Infiltrator | (1978) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| The Money Soldiers | (1980) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| A Mercenary Calling | (1980) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| The Caves of Perigord | (2002) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books
| The National Front | (1977) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Daily Sketches | (1978) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Powers of the Press | (1983) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| The Waking Giant: Soviet Union Under Gorbachev | (1986) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Martin Walker's Russia | (1989) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| The Harper Independent Traveller | (1990) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| The Cold War and the Making of the Modern World | (1993) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Clinton: The President They Deserve | (1996) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| America Reborn: A Twentieth-Century Narrative in Twenty-Six Lives | (2000) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| Makers of the American Century | (2001) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
| The Iraq War | (2003) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Having been educated in Ballion College in Oxford, Walker went on to become an Editor in Chief Emeritus at UPI (United Press International) and an international correspondent. He also worked in for The Guardian and various other editing positions. He is a renowned writer and has received a couple of recognitions for his contributions towards detective-type writing and books on historically-related events.
Books and series
Martin Walker has authored and published various single story books as well as series. Some of his popular works include Walking Giant, The Cold War, Clinton and America Reborn. While all these books have performed remarkably well in the market, his most recognized novel is a detective book series known as Bruno. Walker’s books are based in different regions of the world and the settings can be compared with actual locations.
The Bruno detective series for example is set in Perigord France and Walker also owns a holiday home in the city. He exhibits language proficiency in all his works and uses a couple of writing skills to induce suspense and intriguing questions on the reader’s mind. The books are nicely formatted and easy to read and understand. Each character is progressively developed as the story continues and there are a number of mysteries to solve.
Book plotting and characters
Bruno chief of police is the most popular book in all of Martin Walker creations and received incredible acceptance from fans and reviewers. The book features one main protagonist character knows as Benoit Courreges who was nicknamed Bruno by his friends and workmates. He is a municipal policeman in a small French village popularized by café rituals and eating traditions.
He is also a former soldier and gourmet cook who enjoys treating his peers to delicious meals. He was injured in a peacekeeping mission and had since resettled in a new town. Bruno is passionately treated all and considered the chief of police. He has a weird demeanor in the area and acts contrary to the norm. He has a gun that is never used, lost the key to his handcuffs, never uses his power to arrest and has embraced a slow rhythm of the countryside. The first book in the series, which also bears the name of the series, introduces Bruno living in a restored cottage of a shepherd.
He patronizes weekly markets and ignores the EU bureaucrats from Brussels. The beloved policeman also registers death and birth certificates, finds lost dogs, fights fires, teaches local students sports and enforces packing laws. He has never known or met his father and the mother left him in a casket in church which sent him to an orphanage. His mum died leaving a note of where the child was taken and Bruno is accepted into the family of his cousins following this death. He later joins the army at 15 and gets injured in a mission which brings him to the current predicaments.
After being silent and comfortable in his new life for a while, Bruno’s attention is suddenly galvanized when a North African is found dead with a swastika on his chest. The North African also fought in the French army alongside Bruno. The state quickly sends a young policewoman from Paris to help Bruno with the investigation of the murder. It is first though that the anti-immigrant militants were the perpetrators of the killing.
However, results of a visiting scholar regarding the deceased past reveal more complex motives that return Bruno back to his worst fears. It reopens one of French History darkest chapters of the World War II when brother set up brother in terrible betrayal. What’s more, Bruno finds out his safe heaven at the small la belle is not safe from the impacts of a rather sinister legacy. The second book of the series is The Dark Vineyard published in 2009.
Bruno is startled from sleep when a loud siren summons him atop the Mairie. As a volunteer fireman, Bruno quickly dresses up and heads to the direction of the siren where a large barn together with field surrounding it is ablaze. When Bruno smells the vivid odor of petrol, he immediately recognizes the fire as a result of arson and has no doubt over it. He applies his detective skills to assist in the investigation and catch criminals.
There are many other books in the series including Black Diamond of 2010, The Crowded Grave in 2011 and The Devil’s Cave in 2012. In all the books, Bruno applies his own sense of justice to find criminals and bring them to conviction. This often puts him at crossroads with the EU bureaucrats, professional detectives, local guardsmen and even officials in the distant Paris. Martin Walker carefully builds the story across his novels and develops Bruno to become a full character that readers can easily identify with.
TV films, movies and awards
Martin Walker has received various awards and accolades for his contributions in writing. Bruno the chief of police was an international bestseller. The books sold over one million copies on Germany alone. The books were launched in 2008 and are yet to be made into a TV film or movie. However, the remarkable reception indicates readers may soon watch a movie or TV series based on the books. As a journalist, Martin’s columns were nominated for the prestigious Naftali Price.
The Cold War was shortlisted for Britain’s Book of the Year and named a notable book of the year by New York Times. His works have received other recognitions including top ten positions in bestseller and post-bestseller lists.
Conclusion
Martin Walker is an iconic personality known all over Europe and America. His books have been translated into more than eleven languages and the sales are incomparable. His wife is also a novelist and a food writer with whom he has two daughters. He specializes in detective writing and books based on real-life events some of which he covered as a journalist.
Book Series In Order » Authors »
Any issues with the book list you are seeing? Or is there an author or series we don’t have? Let me know!
The Bruno series is delightful. Walker’s command of language and World history is inspiring. Wish his series could be part of all school curriulums
former master of English The Boston Latin School
Who was first? Mr Walker’s Bruno? Or Louise Penny’s Gamache (highly recommended)? They are very similar men. They both live in idyllic villages among memorable characters. I have read all the Gamache’s and keep noticing similarities. Gamache has a battle scar on his forehead. Bruno has one on his side. Penny talks about food a lot too.
I found the first Bruno book in one of those neighborhood book cabinets on Fessenden Street in Washington DC about 4 years ago. Since then I have read every one of that series and am awaiting another one hopefully. They are addictive. His mystery solving and his gourmet cooking are “the most”. Hopefully there will be another one soon.
I used to be a journo in another life. I met Peter Preston and Alan Rusbridger. Does Mr Walker still wish he was the Grauniad Ed? Or was it a blessing in disguise? I will make a start on Bruno but I did not enjoy The Caves of Perigord which was really three books. Plus if he does a search he will be horrified how many times he used the word grin. What is a grin? What’s wrong with smile? Don’t think I would recognise a grin. Still he is rich and famous and I am not so who am I etc.
Walker published the SAME BOOK under two different
titles: The Dying Season/The Patriarch. Two bites of the apple? Poor form! He should know better.
Lost confidence in him. Bruno though is good!
H. Herman
Many of his books are under alternate titles, and are all listed above. It can be a quite common practise among authors for a variety of different reasons.
Does that mean I might buy the same book twice?
It’s certainly possible. Which is why we list the alternate titles above – stick to those and it won’t happen 🙂
I own and love every one of the non-fiction works and the Bruno series. I have a burning question: is Martin ever going to let Bruno find the love of his life, marry, and have children of his own?
When is “Bruno” going to produce his own cookbook with pictorials of the Dordogne? Each recipe should include the particular novel it appears in. We invite “Bruno” into our lives and homes why not also enjoy some of what he cooks.
Love the Bruno books. Have the cookery books been printed in English?
I love the Bruno series, so many thanks. It’s rare to find an error, and I may be wrong. However, this seems to be important, so you may wish to take a look at it. In the beginning of Chapter 22, in the paragraph that starts with “Thanks to the metal detector, we found the sniper’s rifle” you indicate “the McMillan has Rentoul’s prints on it.” I should think so, since it’s his gun. In order to link the crime with O’Rourke, I suspect this is the name that should be there.
Still, another fine book which I enjoyed very much.
Since I love mysteries and I enjoy Mr.Walker’s presentations at our local SILL lectures I thought I would enjoy his Bruno series. Sure enough ,I love them and can’t wait for the next book to be released.
Where can I find a list of the titles that have been translated into French?
We so enjoyed the “Bruno” series that when we traveled to the South of France we tried to retrace some of Bruno’s steps near Lascaux in the Perigord region. The meals he cooks in the series caused my wife to research the making of onion marmalade, it sounded so savory!
I made it from necessity. France for obvious reasons looks blank whe you ask for chutney. I now look for compote but will try ‘marmalade’ which sounds like a French word.
A read with Bruno is like a walk through an old growth forest. The story envelops you. It embraces all your senses. You are safe with Bruno. I will read absolutely everything Martin Walker writes.