The Chocolate War

Bruno, Chief of Police #11.6

by Martin Walker

Early on summer mornings, police chief Bruno enjoys wandering the stalls of the weekly market in the village of St. Denis as they are being loaded with wares—ducks, oysters, wooden toys, used books, exotic teas and now, even miniskirts and cellphone cases. St. Denis is changing.

But when Bruno’s old friend Léopold from Senegal and his young nephew Cali start selling African coffee and chocolate more cheaply than Bruno’s old friend Fauquet at his café across the square—Fauquet starts to lose his clientele and a competition erupts between the vendors. As a local taxpayer, Fauquet seeks protection against unfair competition while Leopold and Cali seek the right to do business fairly and protection from the anti-immigrant café-owners in nearby towns. As the rivalry escalates, it’s up to Bruno to find a way for the neighbors of St. Denis to make peace.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, France, Short Stories, Ebooks, Novella, Mystery Thriller

26 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 15, 2018

About the author

Martin Walker is the U.S. bureau chief for The Guardian (London), a regular commentator for CNN, and a columnist for newspapers in the United States, Europe, and Moscow. A published novelist and poet, he lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife, the novelist Julia Watson, and their two daughters.

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Martin Walker has penned a charming and timely tale of competition in small-town France — between market merchants and local brick-and-mortar retailers. It’s not deep, but it does address the tension between new-immigrant entrepreneurs and long-time locals, and it is a pleasant ten minute read. By the time you finish it, you will likely be seeking out chocolate, espresso or a combination of the two.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun, though short visit to the village of St. Denis on market day where competition over pricing of coffee with chocolate simmers into trouble that must be resolved cooperatively.

[Ellinor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fans of the Bruno series will enjoy this little story set at the market of Saint Denis. Bruno, Chief of Police, tries his best to settle a dispute between an immigrant seller of (excellent) African coffee and chocolate and the local sellers and bar/cafe owners - successfully of course. It‘s a quick read, perfect while having a cup of coffee yourself.

[Ken Fredette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a short story which Martin Walker published. It relates to peoples bias regarding how they can work together rather than sit alone brooding. Characters include Bruno, Chief of Police, the Mayor of St. Denis, Fauquet the cafe owner, Léopold a stall owner in the market, and Cali a nephew of Léopold. What basically happened was that Cali brought chocolates and different coffees from Africa and was selling them below what Fauquet could sell them for at his cafe. What started this was Fauquet complained to Bruno that he would be out of business shortly unless something was done to stop Leopold's nephew from selling his chocolates and coffee. After the squabble of plastic cups going to new enamel discards from a factory and having their stall run over by a motorcycle. The mayor became involved in the dispute. He brought all the people together and asked how did they meet and what did they do, Fauquet saw he was bias and worked with Leopold to see what they could do financially together to resolve the problem. Problem solved.

This was a good story for Martin Walker put together. He makes peoples biases vanish with helping people to live together through seeing how they came together in the first place. The moral of the story was basically love. I would recommend that you read this.

[Cathy Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bruno, the chief of police of the small French village of St. Denis, is one of my favorite literary crime fighters. As it says in this charming short story, "Bruno's approach to his job was that preventing trouble was far preferable to dealing with its aftermath." and many of the crimes in this mystery series are solved by his knowledge of the people he protects and serves.

This swiftly paced tale begins with a feud in the village market that shows all the signs of escalating into something far more serious, and we get to see Bruno in action. This would be an excellent introduction for newcomers to Walker's series as well as a welcome visit to St. Denis for all Bruno's fans.

[Dan O'Connor · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very short story in which Bruno and the mayor of St.Denis serve as mediators in a growing dispute between local businessmen that has potential to escalate across the region.
Despite it's brevity, the tale offers some insights into the art of mediation: knee jerk solutions are not the answer, all concerned parties need to be heard, and the path to resolution involves compromise and cooperation.

[Emily]

The story itself is a strange little ditty about a small-town cop in France, a Jean Valjean/King Solomon-type mayor, and coffee sales. What interested me more was the author, who is a former international correspondent! It makes me happy to see someone exploring their passion for writing fiction while also seeping out little bits of knowledge from a long career in journalism (and consulting, it appears).

[Amanda Caraway · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was pretty fun for a short story.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read that helps develop the characters of St. Denis.

[Cynthia Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful short book, long short story, about village policeman Bruno in France. Confrontation between the market stall holders and the shopkeepers is solved to everyone's advantage when past personal connections are revealed. The way conflicts should always be solved.

[Dipra Lahiri · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most utterly charming crime series I have read. Every book, including this very short story, is a treat.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The chocolate war” by Martin Walker is a short story - a Bruno, Chief of Police Story.
Bruno Courreges is the local policeman of the Perigord market town of St. Denis. One of his duties is to patrol and secure its weekly market every Tuesday morning. The prosperity of St. Denis “had rested for seven centuries upon this weekly market - the oldest and largest in the region.”
The story is quite short and showcases Bruno’s diplomacy skills when dealing with all matters involving his beloved St. Denis. He and the mayor work out a brilliant and respectful compromise between various stalls and cafes vying for their share of business.
Food and drink highlight any ‘Bruno’ story and it’s hard not to dream of the French countryside and its gastronomic delights when reading about this region of France.
“The chocolate war” compliments all the ‘Bruno’ stories written by Martin Walker.
They are always a delight to read in any form.

[Lynn]

Good little story. I'm going to try this series.

[Kathleen Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely quick read about a clash of old and new in a small French village, with Bruno, chief of police in the middle. The conflict arises when immigrants importing chocolate and coffee undersell the traditional merchants. There's a parable in here as the two sides resolve their issues. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

LB

Always a good read. Bruno always comes up with a novel solution to the problem. I love this series and can’t wait until I get the next book in the series.

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short Bruno pastiche, which also fills in some back story on a couple of recurring characters. And, of course, Bruno ensures that there is not, in fact, a chocolate war. Quite enjoyable.

[Lou Jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming literary tale that oozes with French provincial atmosphere. Martin Walker entertains us with yet another slice of life episode in the universe of Bruno, the chief of police of the small French village of Denis.... with his dog Balzac tagging along. A feud has erupted in the weekly village market between a stall seller and a local merchant .... involving the undercutting of price for fine coffee and chocolates. Unexpected violence occurs presenting Bruno to intervene in his own unique way.
A nice addition to the ongoing Bruno series. Thanks to Netgalley and Vinage for providing this entertaining story in exchange for honest review.

[Pam Wolfe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Cute Story of French Culture

Martin Walker's Chief Bruno mysteries are some of my favorite books. This short story, not long enough to be a real mystery, was enough to keep me going while waiting for Walker's next real book to come out. Filled with French and African cultural references and yummy descriptions of food, this story will make you want to head to a French market tout de suite!

[Marleen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not being familiar with Martin Walker's Bruno series, I was first drawn to this short read for its title. I thought that the combination of chocolate, of a small village market in the South of France, and some policing might pique my interest by way of introduction via this Kindle Single, but I was not particularly captivated. For me, the essential details were missed to make it a successful short story - not that it was bad, but it simply didn't resonate with me.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since the weekly market in St. Denis (which reads as inspired by the wonderful market in Sarlat) is one of the major sources of income for the villagers, it is up to chief of police Bruno to ensure it operates smoothly. So when a conflict breaks out over the pricing of chocolate and coffee, it is up to him to find a way to restore the peace. There is no mystery involved and the solution is quite predictable. Barely a short story, reads like a bit of espresso truffle.

[Wulf Krueger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yet another Bruno short story. This one deals with the market again and the ensuing eponymous “Chocolate War” that Bruno ends in a typical Bruno way.

This is a very short read but it’s a nice one at least.


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[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

i like this series.

The people are real, including the police officer. It’s how policing should work, sadly it doesn’t always. Whereas this officer is really open to different people, while not being romantic about differences he respects all kinds. I wish all officers were as able as he is to give everyone a chance and not to believe stereotypes. The books do have major crimes and clever solutions.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Chocolate War would be an excellent introduction to Bruno for newcomers, and veterans of the series will love to take a quick vacation back to St. Denis.

Full review can be found here: https://paulspicks.blog/2018/04/18/th...

Please check out all my reviews: https://paulspicks.blog

[Lynette Ledoux · Rating 4 out of 5]

First in the series for me — Never read that i know of a Martin Walker book. Was nice, a good read, not as inspector’ish as a Dona Leon or Louise Penny; more about the life, the village, people, country, region. A bit more lighthearted.

Yeah, I’d read the others or most of them, of the series or try writing other published works by Martin Walker.

[RICHARD STENTON · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another in the Bruno detective series by Martin Walker and it is a fast and short read but really shows off the skills of Chief of Police Bruno in his great handling of disputes in a reasoned and rational manner with all parties being satisfied with the result. A great read along with the regular Bruno stories about St. Denis and Bruno.

[Chris Yaldezian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The chocolate war?

A "war"? Hardly a war. Barely even a skirmish. I wanted more. It was just getting started and just ended. He could've/should have done another ten pages to tie up the story.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very short story focusing on a conflict between a new market vendor and the established village cafe owner. Bruno, of course, helps the two parties find a way to work together. The food and regional descriptions are always great!

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

An OK Bruno short story about tensions flaring over one of the market vendor's nephew selling coffee and chocolate for less than at the town's cafes. Bruno to the rescue to try to mediate an acceptable solution for all.

[Lana L Fiems · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bruno wins again.

I love Martin Walker's Bruno stories! Makes me want to live in st. Denis.
Great characters!! I can hardly wait for the next one!

[Tasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bruno helps to find a way to make everyone happy,in this short story.