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  • The Dark Vineyard

  • By: Martin Walker
  • Narrated by: Bill Wallis
  • Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (144 ratings)
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The Dark Vineyard cover art

The Dark Vineyard

By: Martin Walker
Narrated by: Bill Wallis
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Summary

Just before dawn one late-summer morning, Captain Bruno Courrèges is roused from sleep by the wail of the town siren atop the Mairie, summoning the volunteer firemen of St Denis. Bruno, the only policeman in the small Périgord town, follows the fire engines towards the site of a large barn, now engulfed in flames, the surrounding fields ablaze. Everything points to arson.

A Californian wine maker is planning to buy up half the valley to create a huge wine-producing operation. But opinions are divided. When another outrage follows the crop burning, it appears that someone is determined to stop the scheme and is prepared to go to any lengths including murder to do so.

©2008 Walker and Watson Ltd (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about The Dark Vineyard

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

An unfortunate mismatch

Would you consider the audio edition of The Dark Vineyard to be better than the print version?

Martin Walker's books adapt well to audio, but in this case the print version is far superior.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Bruno is a thoroughly endearing character, with interesting hints of a difficult start in life but a deep devotion to the part of France where he now makes his home. The book is set in France, and Martin Walker brings to life the traditions and pleasures that really are still there after the tourists have gone home. But the picture of the friendly, familiar local copper also draws on a long and esteemed tradition including Dixon of Dock Green, Barnaby and Lewis---although the British-type nature of the character only occurred to me when I heard this reading.

Would you be willing to try another one of Bill Wallis’s performances?

Bill Wallis reads well, with good pace and clear diction, but he is an unhappy choice for this particular character. Bruno is meant to be a youngish (40-ish) French policeman; Bill Wallis makes him sound very much like Wexford--an elderly Englishman. Regional accents too draw on various unidentified bits of the UK; and the ladies' voices all sound like querulous old women. Finally, his French pronunciation can be quite distracting: Perigueux, the capital city of the Perigord, is pronounced with 3 syllables ---per-i-gueux, not 4--- per-i-fu-eux. The second 'u' is not pronounced, its only purpose being to harden the 'g'.Bill Wallis is an accomplished reader, and in something like Dickens or Trollope he would be magnificent. He is just an unfortunate mismatch for this particular book.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

This is a gentle detective story, without lots of violence and gore, but with an original plot that draws on Martin Walker's knowledge of this specific and very beautiful part of France.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant !

Great entertaining writin from Martin Walker with absolutely fabulous narration from Bill Wallis.

You actually feel like you are there, great characters with a cracking story line, you know when you've picked a good one when you actually feel like you're there !

Really looking forward to the next one !

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Another great work by Martin Walker.

I wondered whether reading this book out of sequence wouldn't mar my enjoyment of the story, but I needn't have worried. I actually enjoyed returning to the beginning of the series and revisiting where the story of Bruno and all the lovely people of St. Denis began.
As always with Martin Walker, "The Dark Vineyard" offers a brilliant story, breathtaking settings and wonderful characters. Most enjoyable.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great plot and characters but narrator too old

Why does Audible keep doing this? Complete mismatch of age of narrator to age of main character? Really disappointing

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Awful Narration

Couldn’t complete listening to this audible book which is an absolute shame as I very much enjoyed Book 1 narrated by Ric Jerrom. Why the narrator was chosen for book 2 and beyond is incomprehensible to me as the narrator is totally unsuitable. Not only are the accents all wrong,the pronunciation is not clear and a lot of the characters sound as of they’re in their dotage. I cannot complete the book and cannot begin to imagine why I would be inclined to listen to further books in this series.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Midsomer Murders meets Maigret

I have read several of Martin Walkers books and have thoroughly enjoyed them all.
I love reading of all the goings on in a French village and the French bureaucracy. Great and knowledgeable reads.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

nit bad

shades of Montalbano, which is a good thing,I'll probably try some more Bruno in the future.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Brilliant narrator

Loved how the narrator brought the essence of Bruno to life with this portrayal- the storyline is a relaxing, thriller-type, ‘easy’ entertainment. A little too predictable at times but still very well worth the ‘escape‘ from reality. Might also make a lovely holiday read!
Many thanks, escapism in its truest form!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Bruno, our underestimated hero

Narration by Bill Wallis much appreciated. The first book's reader made pronunciation errors and didn't seem to understand French culture, but the later books suffer even more, from a narrator who adopts comic French (and Scots) voices for most characters. The cocacolonisation of the French wine industry is at the centre of the plot, mass production, plus, possibly, maybe, some insecure jobs. Trust no one except God and your dog, Bruno!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent and gentle

I love listening to these books. The words evoke pictures of life lived well. The descriptions of the countryside, the food and the wines are so carefully crafted as to be almost a tactile experience.

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