Bruno, chief of police

Considered by Antony Beevor (Berlin) one of the most entertaining books of recent times, Captain Bruno Courrèges holds the pompous title of police chief, despite being the only police officer in the small town of St. Denis, in southwestern France. He has a gun, but never carries it; he has the power to arrest, but hopes never to use it. When the elderly head of a North African immigrant family is found dead, the marks on his body point to a racist crime, and suspicion falls on a young man found with Nazi memorabilia. Bruno is unconvinced; he suspects the crime may have roots in the most painful period in French history—World War II.