An Enemy in the Village

Summary

A real estate agent’s death sends shock waves through the idyllic town of St. Denis, leading Bruno, chief of police, to suspect that there’s more to this tragedy than meets the eye.

When Bruno stumbles upon a motionless figure in a car parked at a scenic overpass on the ridge of the Vézère Valley, he’s ready to investigate. Inside, he finds a suicide note and the dead body of Monique, a successful businesswoman who rented châteaus to wealthy expats. It seems like an open-and-shut case.

But Bruno can’t shake the suspicion that something sinister lurks underneath this tidy narrative. After he delivers Monique’s final messages to those most important to her, malicious gossip about Bruno begins to spread through the village. One thing leads to another, and soon Bruno faces pressure to resign from his job. Despite this disturbing turn of events, Bruno remains Bruno, never one to turn down a fine meal with good company in the French countryside. Over the course of the inquiry, he meets Laura—and her dog, which happens to be the same breed as his beloved basset hound, Balzac. As sparks fly and Bruno realizes just how much he has at stake, he races to fin out what really happened to Monique, before he loses his badge, his new love—or something even worse.