Fatal Pursuit: The Dordogne Mysteries 9

The real life disappearance of 'the most beautiful car ever made' sparks a new compelling case for Bruno, Chief of Police

The Bugatti Type 57 Atlantic was called the most beautiful car of all time. Only four of them were ever built. A California museum paid $37 million for one; Ralph Lauren bought another; a third was smashed by a train at a level crossing. The fourth disappeared in France during World War 2. It was the car used by British racing ace, William Grover Williams, twice winner of the French and Monaco Grand Prix, who became an undercover agent in Occupied France.

The latest adventure in the Bruno series of mystery novels starts from this true story. Two young men, both racing drivers with a passion for antique cars, compete to find new clues as to the car's hiding place in the Perigord region of France where Bruno is the local chief of police.

When a local researcher turns up dead on Bruno's patch, and French intelligence starts investigating the use of classic car sales to launder money for funding Islamic terrorism, Bruno finds himself once more caught up in a case that reaches far beyond his small town and its people.

With the bucolic charm and gourmet cooking that are the hallmark of this series, Bruno's latest adventure finds him falling in love again as he races to find the murderer and to track down the fate of the most beautiful car ever made.

Martin Walker is a prize-winning journalist and the author of several acclaimed works of non-fiction, including The Cold War: A History. He lives in the Dordogne and Washington, DC.