Provocateurs

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Provocateurs : The seventh case for Bruno, Chef de police is a novel by the Scottish author Martin Walker . It was published by Diogenes Verlag in 2015 . The book series about the main character Bruno (actually Benoît Courrèges) takes place in France in the Périgord in a fictional village called Saint Denis. Walker, who himself lives temporarily in the Périgord, describes not only the work of the village policeman , but also the way of life and diet of the residents.

action

Bruno is called to the body of a North African who is obviously tortured. It quickly becomes clear that this was an undercover agent who was smuggled into the jihadist scene in Toulouse . Almost at the same time, Bruno received the news that a distraught young Frenchman had turned up in Afghanistan who was looking for help from the French troops and wanted to return to his homeland. Bruno knew this Sami from his youth when he coached him in tennis and rugby. Since it is initially totally unclear whether Sami is coming home as a friend or an enemy, Bruno makes inquiries about him. When trying to contact the foster father, who works as a teacher in the local school, Bruno is ambushed and incapacitated with a "cattle drive" ( stun gun ). It becomes clear very quickly that the perpetrators are the same who committed the murder of the North African.

Since Sami, severely traumatized during his childhood in North Africa, could no longer be raised by his foster parents in Saint Denis and there was suspicion that he was autistic , he was sent to a Muslim school in Toulouse. Then he disappeared without a trace for four years. It turned out that Sami had been sent to Afghanistan by jihadists. His return from Afghanistan was successful, but he was emaciated, ill and his back was covered with countless whip scars. After the investigation, it became clear that he had built detonators for bombs in Afghanistan as “the engineer” for the jihadists - his fingerprints had been found on them. In his youth, Sami had developed a great talent for repairing old electrical appliances, Bruno could remember that. During the first conversations with him, it quickly became apparent that Sami had an extraordinary memory and was able to reproduce all the names, car and telephone numbers that he had come to know over the four years. Therefore, the jihadists were interested in eliminating Sami. The French and American intelligence agencies were also keen to "skim off" as much information as possible and took Sami and his family to a well-secured chateau, where he was obviously comfortable.

When it becomes clear that the jihadists will try to kill Sami anyway, Bruno decides to eliminate the perpetrators on the way. Together with the US agent Nancy, he succeeds, also with the help of a helicopter.

A second storyline is woven into this story, which describes how two Jewish children were taken in and hidden by a family in Saint Denis at the end of World War II . Out of gratitude, the surviving Jew wants to donate a large amount of money to the community for a museum and a memorial. When the elderly lady comes into town, she is also in danger because the jihadists learn about her plan from the press.

rating

The subject of the novel is highly topical and political. Walker had written it before the Charlie Hebdo editorial office in Paris was attacked on January 7, 2015. The novel is very exciting. As always in the Bruno novels, the living conditions and habits of Bruno and the residents of Saint Denis are also described. This mixture is characteristic of Walker's novels.

expenditure