The Patriarch: A Bruno, Chief of Police novel (Bruno, Chief of Police, 10);

A beloved village, a renowned 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 €œthe Patriarch€ Desaix, it€s the fulfillment of a boyhood dream. But when the party ends in the death of Gilbert, Marco€s longtime 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; Victor€s seductive wife, Madeleine, whose roving eye intrigues Bruno even more than her fierce political ambitions; Yevgeny, another son, an artist whose paintings seem to hold keys to the past; and the Patriarch himself, whose postwar Soviet ties may have intersected all too closely with Gilbert€s career in Cold War intelligence.

Bruno is diverted by a dangerous conflict between a local animal rights activist and outraged hunters€"as well as meals to cook, wine to share, and an ever more complicated romantic situation. 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.