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Aimee Leduc Investigations #3
Murder in the Sentier
When a mysterious visitor promises contact with her long-lost mother, Aimée Leduc finds herself hot on the trail of the Seventies radicals with whom her mother was evidently associated. The result is not just good suspense but an affecting and realistic psychological study of a daughter's coming to terms with an absent parent. This is another high-class mystery from Black, whose previous works in the series (Murder in Belleville, Murder in the Marais) have the same indelible sense of place and sophisticated political context.
322 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
About the author
Cara Black
47 books1,307 followersCara Black frequents a Paris little known outside the beaten tourist track. A Paris she discovers on research trips and interviews with French police, private detectives and café owners. She lives in San Francisco with her husband, a bookseller, and their teenage son. She is a San Francisco Library Laureate and a member of the Paris Sociéte Historique in the Marais. Her nationally bestselling and award nominated Aimée Leduc Investigation series has been translated into French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, German and Hebrew. She received the Medaille de la Ville de Paris for services to French culture. She's included in the GREAT WOMEN MYSTERY WRITERS by Elizabeth Lindsay 2nd editon published in the UK. Her first three novels in the series MURDER IN THE MARAIS, MURDER IN BELLEVILLE AN MURDER IN THE SENTIER - nominated for an Anthony Award as Best Novel - were published in the UK in 2008 and MURDER IN THE LATIN QUARTER comes out in the UK in 2010. Several of her books have been chosen as BookSense Picks and INDIE NEXT choice by the Amerian Association of Independent Bookstores. The Washington Post listed MURDER IN THE RUE DE PARADIS in the Best Fiction Choices of 2008. MURDER IN THE LATIN QUARTER is a finalist for Best Novel Award from the NCIBA Northern California Independent Booksellers Association.
She is currently working on the next book in the Aimée Leduc series.
She is currently working on the next book in the Aimée Leduc series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 177 reviews
October 6, 2015
Cara Black's "Murder in . . . " is another favorite series. Set in Paris, Aimee Leduc grew up in the milieu of law enforcement as her late father was a flic (cop). She and her partner Renee officially run a computer forensics company, but she is also unofficially a PI, seduced in each book by a murder that somehow just happens to connect to her or people she knows.
In this installment, the murders are very personal, involving the mystery of why her mother left when she was 8 and whether or not she is alive now. The setting is the Sentier, traditionally the garment district of Paris and now home to many high-tech start-ups. Aimee hopes to find out more about her mother who is purported to have belonged to a subversive terrorist group of '70's radicals. Indeed, finding her mother becomes her obsession! She also learns along the way that her father was considered "dirty" when he was killed in the bombing of their van - an incident in which she was injured. She is determined to expose the truth and avenge his reputation.
As in all Aimee Leduc mysteries, there are many story lines, lots of action, seductions, many situations which require heroics on her part in which she barely escapes with her life and which keep you guessing. I was less engaged in Murder in the Sentier in the first half feeling it was a little slow-moving. But it definitely grabbed me in the last half with its unusual setting and break-neck pace. One thing I find funny is that Aimee often dons oddball disguises and in this book she even gets roped in to being a substitute model in a off-the-beaten track fashion show Couture Contra Couture.
Black's writing is particularly visual, clearly portraying the people and the settings which adds to my enjoyment of this series.
In this installment, the murders are very personal, involving the mystery of why her mother left when she was 8 and whether or not she is alive now. The setting is the Sentier, traditionally the garment district of Paris and now home to many high-tech start-ups. Aimee hopes to find out more about her mother who is purported to have belonged to a subversive terrorist group of '70's radicals. Indeed, finding her mother becomes her obsession! She also learns along the way that her father was considered "dirty" when he was killed in the bombing of their van - an incident in which she was injured. She is determined to expose the truth and avenge his reputation.
As in all Aimee Leduc mysteries, there are many story lines, lots of action, seductions, many situations which require heroics on her part in which she barely escapes with her life and which keep you guessing. I was less engaged in Murder in the Sentier in the first half feeling it was a little slow-moving. But it definitely grabbed me in the last half with its unusual setting and break-neck pace. One thing I find funny is that Aimee often dons oddball disguises and in this book she even gets roped in to being a substitute model in a off-the-beaten track fashion show Couture Contra Couture.
Black's writing is particularly visual, clearly portraying the people and the settings which adds to my enjoyment of this series.
February 19, 2017
Having re-started the series from the beginning after the prequel was published in 2016, I'm re-discovering the wild and complicated world of Aimée Leduc in the early 1990s of Paris. It's a world full of immigrants, the undocumented, resisters, terrorists, greedy gangsters, and even a Goth designer in a haute couture contre couture runway show where Aimée finds herself a model. Little of the computer security firm she runs with her partner René is part of this one, but being pursued and attacked all over Paris is. And through it all, what started this story, the ongoing search for her mother. Although I find I need a rest between Leduc mysteries, I always re-plunge into one with the greatest glee.
May 11, 2012
This is the third in a series of stylish mysteries set in 1990's Paris starring private detective Aimee Leduc and her brilliant partner Rene who is a dwarf and computer genius.
I have to confess that while I really liked the book, I found it to be different from the first two in the series in that Aimee is so obsessed with finding her mother that it interfered with her work and annoyed me with how it took over the whole story.
For those who have not read the first two books, Aimee was the daughter of a French flic (cop) who had left the force and ran a private detective agency with Aimee and Rene and who died in an explosion of their van. Her mother was an artist who sent her to school one day and then ran away from home to join a band of revolutionary terrorists.
Aimee's father sent her to school in the USA for a time and refused to speak of her mother ever again. At the beginning of this novel, a woman named Jutta Hald, a former terrorist friend of Aimee's mom and former room mate in prison, shows up offering Aimee some of her mother's papers in exchange for money. She hints that Aimee's mother had access to something valuable.
Aimee ditches work to go get a questionable loan from a questionable friend in the rag industry (fashion) only to find Jutta murdered on the bench where they were to meet and herself the suspect! Run, Aimee, run. There is a LOT of running in these novels with either bad guys or the flics in hot pursuit (not good either way, the flics always want to accuse her of murder).
When Aimee manages (through shifty means, that crafty girl!) to get an interview with Jutta's room mate at the prison, she finally begins to get links to follow but no one tells her much. One thing she finds out, her father left the force after an art robbery by her mom and the terrorists , under a cloud.
There is a lot of atmosphere here which I adore. The cemetery element and who or what is in the mausoleum vault is downright creepy. I highly recommend this series. Aimee is quite quirky (find out WHY she got that tatoo and why the guy she slept with came at her with a gun right afterward)and imperfect.
On the one hand, I do feel sorry for Aimee at some level because any child whose mother just tells her, at the ripe old age of 8, to go the neighbor's apartment after school so the mother can run away from home is going to be devastated. She brought this child into the world and the little girl needed for her mother to grow up and be responsible and unselfish and be there for her instead of running off from a loving husband and the child to rob, loot, and kill along with a bunch of thugs and terrorist types. On the other hand, I am frustrated with Aimee for giving a damn when the woman so clearly was self-centered and didn't really love the child. Her mother was not worth even one shed tear or thought. Aimee can't even have a normal relationship herself. She only gets interested in bad boy types who hurt her or who are married (or as here, who try to kill her!).
This isn't a mindless mystery, obviously!
I have to confess that while I really liked the book, I found it to be different from the first two in the series in that Aimee is so obsessed with finding her mother that it interfered with her work and annoyed me with how it took over the whole story.
For those who have not read the first two books, Aimee was the daughter of a French flic (cop) who had left the force and ran a private detective agency with Aimee and Rene and who died in an explosion of their van. Her mother was an artist who sent her to school one day and then ran away from home to join a band of revolutionary terrorists.
Aimee's father sent her to school in the USA for a time and refused to speak of her mother ever again. At the beginning of this novel, a woman named Jutta Hald, a former terrorist friend of Aimee's mom and former room mate in prison, shows up offering Aimee some of her mother's papers in exchange for money. She hints that Aimee's mother had access to something valuable.
Aimee ditches work to go get a questionable loan from a questionable friend in the rag industry (fashion) only to find Jutta murdered on the bench where they were to meet and herself the suspect! Run, Aimee, run. There is a LOT of running in these novels with either bad guys or the flics in hot pursuit (not good either way, the flics always want to accuse her of murder).
When Aimee manages (through shifty means, that crafty girl!) to get an interview with Jutta's room mate at the prison, she finally begins to get links to follow but no one tells her much. One thing she finds out, her father left the force after an art robbery by her mom and the terrorists , under a cloud.
There is a lot of atmosphere here which I adore. The cemetery element and who or what is in the mausoleum vault is downright creepy. I highly recommend this series. Aimee is quite quirky (find out WHY she got that tatoo and why the guy she slept with came at her with a gun right afterward)and imperfect.
On the one hand, I do feel sorry for Aimee at some level because any child whose mother just tells her, at the ripe old age of 8, to go the neighbor's apartment after school so the mother can run away from home is going to be devastated. She brought this child into the world and the little girl needed for her mother to grow up and be responsible and unselfish and be there for her instead of running off from a loving husband and the child to rob, loot, and kill along with a bunch of thugs and terrorist types. On the other hand, I am frustrated with Aimee for giving a damn when the woman so clearly was self-centered and didn't really love the child. Her mother was not worth even one shed tear or thought. Aimee can't even have a normal relationship herself. She only gets interested in bad boy types who hurt her or who are married (or as here, who try to kill her!).
This isn't a mindless mystery, obviously!
August 19, 2015
It’s puzzling to me why an American author living in the United States would choose to write one novel after another in a long-running series of detective novels set in a foreign land. Cara Black, whose Aimee Leduc series is set in Paris, is by no means the only example of this phenomenon. For instance, think Elizabeth George and Deborah Crombie, two of Britain’s leading writers of detective fiction despite the fact that they’re both irredeemably American — and those are just the ones who come quickly to mind. I suppose they all like to travel a lot. (I got my fill of that years ago.) They would have to do so, since all their work reeks of authenticity.
In Black’s Murder in the Sentier, private investigator Aimee Leduc is drawn into a dangerous search for the murderer of a famous author. Willy-nilly, she finds herself suddenly caught in the middle of a violent clash among the survivors of a notorious gang of 1970s radicals — among whom, apparently, was her mother. Risking her life and her livelihood, Leduc pursues the increasingly elusive truth, coming into conflict along the way with the Paris police, several old revolutionaries, and her business partner, Rene, a computer wizard.
At least in the first three of the fourteen novels in the Aimee Leduc series, Black takes on substantive subject matter. In Murder in the Marais, the first novel in the series, she writes about the legacy of Nazi terror in 1990s Paris. The second novel, Murder in Belleville, takes on the refugee crisis in early-90s France (reminiscent of today’s headlining conflict). Black clearly knows Paris well, and she does solid research for her novels. I plan to continue reading the series in order.
In Black’s Murder in the Sentier, private investigator Aimee Leduc is drawn into a dangerous search for the murderer of a famous author. Willy-nilly, she finds herself suddenly caught in the middle of a violent clash among the survivors of a notorious gang of 1970s radicals — among whom, apparently, was her mother. Risking her life and her livelihood, Leduc pursues the increasingly elusive truth, coming into conflict along the way with the Paris police, several old revolutionaries, and her business partner, Rene, a computer wizard.
At least in the first three of the fourteen novels in the Aimee Leduc series, Black takes on substantive subject matter. In Murder in the Marais, the first novel in the series, she writes about the legacy of Nazi terror in 1990s Paris. The second novel, Murder in Belleville, takes on the refugee crisis in early-90s France (reminiscent of today’s headlining conflict). Black clearly knows Paris well, and she does solid research for her novels. I plan to continue reading the series in order.
January 5, 2019
The real star of Cara Black's Aimee Leduc novels is the city of Paris. In Murder in the Sentier, Aimee is on the rail of her American mother, who was a member of the notorious Baader-Meinhof gang of the 1970s (called something else in this book).
Aimee is contacted by a former cellmate of her mother's who offers to give information (for money) about her mother's whereabouts, but she is murdered before Aimee gets the info. Whereupon she delves into the remnants of the old terrorist networks that prevailed at the time. There are some funny scenes, such as when she is enlisted as a runway model for a fashion show when the scheduled model passes out.
Another good book, though probably with too many characters. Black should study writers like Ross Macdonald who could have incredibly complicated scenes and characters without losing the reader.
Aimee is contacted by a former cellmate of her mother's who offers to give information (for money) about her mother's whereabouts, but she is murdered before Aimee gets the info. Whereupon she delves into the remnants of the old terrorist networks that prevailed at the time. There are some funny scenes, such as when she is enlisted as a runway model for a fashion show when the scheduled model passes out.
Another good book, though probably with too many characters. Black should study writers like Ross Macdonald who could have incredibly complicated scenes and characters without losing the reader.
July 4, 2014
This is the third in the Aimee Leduc series by Cara Black. And it has become one of my favorite mystery series ever.
In this installment, Aimee is contacted by someone who may know a little bit about her mother, who disappeared years ago. The trail leads Aimee into dark territory of former terrorists from a well known European gang from the 1970s. Was Aimee's mother involved with such a group? This novel, set in 1994, is all about Aimee's determination to find out.
What I love about this series is that Cara Black is an outstanding writer. I've said this in my earlier reviews of this series, but Black's writing makes you feel like you are among the sights and sounds of Paris. Plus, Aimee Leduc is a very believable character and one that you can really feel for.
I plan on reading this entire series, it's so good.
In this installment, Aimee is contacted by someone who may know a little bit about her mother, who disappeared years ago. The trail leads Aimee into dark territory of former terrorists from a well known European gang from the 1970s. Was Aimee's mother involved with such a group? This novel, set in 1994, is all about Aimee's determination to find out.
What I love about this series is that Cara Black is an outstanding writer. I've said this in my earlier reviews of this series, but Black's writing makes you feel like you are among the sights and sounds of Paris. Plus, Aimee Leduc is a very believable character and one that you can really feel for.
I plan on reading this entire series, it's so good.
January 14, 2019
The further adventures of Aimee Leduc the Parisian Private Eye. Aimee is seeking her mother or news of her mother who she has not heard of since she was eight years old. Jutta Hald calls to see Aimee and says that she and Aimee's mother had briefly shared a prison cell. Jutta is shortly afterwards shot dead and this leads Aimee to a trail of 1970's terrorists, bank robberies and an abduction. The questions for Aimee are why have the killings started now? Was her mother a terrorist? Was her father a corrupt policeman? For me the questions are never fully answered but this probably leaves threads for further novels.
Aimee is an interesting character in her role as a computer nerd with business partner Renee, as they operate their security service. As a private eye I'm not so certain. However there is plenty of action and lots of whizzing about Paris by scooter. Enjoyable enough and 3 going on 4 stars this time.
Aimee is an interesting character in her role as a computer nerd with business partner Renee, as they operate their security service. As a private eye I'm not so certain. However there is plenty of action and lots of whizzing about Paris by scooter. Enjoyable enough and 3 going on 4 stars this time.
March 25, 2018
Another winner for author Cara Black. This mystery series shows both the glamorous and seedy sides of Paris. I only hope that as the series progresses, characters such as Rene, and Martine get larger storylines.
September 17, 2023
3.5⭐️. I like this series overall. The setting of Book #3 certainly creates a feel of the grittier side of Paris. However, the murder plot felt disorganized/ distracted to me.
Kay’s review says it better than I.
Kay’s review says it better than I.
August 22, 2011
This one, the third to last offering from the Bodacious Box of Books from Julie, took two tries to get through, but I ended up liking it. The plot finally caught me, though there were a lot of details about terrorist groups and revolutionaries and dapper older men, most of which I allowed to flow over me without worrying about keeping them straight. Black's writing style, however, is really strange--it's very choppy, jumping from event to event without transitions or even, sometimes, linked details. I thought it felt like a translation--maybe from Russian or something, or a bad translation from the French, but apparently Black is American.
Here's the example that first made me close the book: Aimee is on the phone with a mysterious woman.
She says, about Aimee's mom, "We were cellmates."
Cell mates? Her mother in prison? Her father never spoke of her mother after she left, nor had her grandparents. Now her curiosity was mixed with fear.
She looked over to her writing desk. Her answering machine blinked red, filled with messages. She hit the play button. (6 - 7) and the plot goes on. Apparently the phone call has ended.
What? Did the woman hang up? Did Aimee? Especially at the beginning, when I was settling into the book and gathering details (and there are many to gather), that kind of disjointedness makes for hard reading, and feels a lot like careless writing and/or sloppy editing.
BUT: I finished it, I liked it, and I'm giving it to Lori to read next.
Here's the example that first made me close the book: Aimee is on the phone with a mysterious woman.
She says, about Aimee's mom, "We were cellmates."
Cell mates? Her mother in prison? Her father never spoke of her mother after she left, nor had her grandparents. Now her curiosity was mixed with fear.
She looked over to her writing desk. Her answering machine blinked red, filled with messages. She hit the play button. (6 - 7) and the plot goes on. Apparently the phone call has ended.
What? Did the woman hang up? Did Aimee? Especially at the beginning, when I was settling into the book and gathering details (and there are many to gather), that kind of disjointedness makes for hard reading, and feels a lot like careless writing and/or sloppy editing.
BUT: I finished it, I liked it, and I'm giving it to Lori to read next.
April 3, 2012
I'm lying a little, as I've still got a few pages left. However, it is a pretty silly plot, and the silliness started when the author chose the name Haader-Rofmein for the key terror gang. Why not just use Baader-Meinhof, the real name - they aren't likely to sue. Must be my twisted sense of humour because every time I came across the made up name I burst out laughing. And what is sillier than a bunch of ageing revolutionaries...well, I read this one by going down the middle of the pages to catch how the plot unfolds and today I will discover the results, but will be surprised if I'm surprised.
Reviews written by other writers generally put me off - I always feel it's a matter of 'you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours'. Of course they're going to say nice things.
If you want trips around Paris, and a good map, this book is one to pick up - the map is at the beginning.
Reviews written by other writers generally put me off - I always feel it's a matter of 'you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours'. Of course they're going to say nice things.
If you want trips around Paris, and a good map, this book is one to pick up - the map is at the beginning.
April 12, 2009
Of the three Cara Black mysteries I've read thus far, this is my favorite. Aimee's longing for her mother, for any information about her past, makes her reckless and vulnerable. The writing is becoming more assured. I am very much enjoying this series!
July 24, 2015
This had a four rating from me until the final 50 pages when it fell apart. Those pages deserve a two.
December 9, 2024
It's July 1994 and hot in Paris. Aimee has just returned from a dead-end trip to Berlin hoping to find out information relating to her father's murder. A woman calls claiming information about Aimee's mother, who left when Aimee was 8, and who was linked to a terrorist group in the 1970s, at the time she disappeared. Despite press of bills and work, Aimee can't resist finding out what she can, even if she suspects this woman knows nothing. She agrees to meeting her in the Sentier section of the 2nd Arrondissment, home of the 'rag and shag' trade, and now in the 1990s home to the Parisian equivalent of Silicon Alley and untraditional artists. Alas, when she arrives, it is to find the woman had just been shot.
As Aimee continues to pursues answers - about her mother, her father's death, and the bodies that start to accumulate of old terrorists from the 70s, Aimee leads us through the vibrant and decaying Sentier and along many of its hundred year old Passages Couverts to a climactic ending in an abandoned Metro station. Much is resolved yet questions remain.
Paris is so much a part of these detective stories, and Aimee's emotional journey to discovering her parents' secrets adds a richness as a secondary plot. While the first in the series Murder in the Marais was tied to events during WWII and the German Occupation of Paris, this one took me back to the 1970s, a time of protest and terrorist acts with ties to post WWII Germany and the reshaping of Europe, but also to French involvement in Africa, and the treatment of the pied-noir, the African immigrants.
Steeplechase - Paris 17x - last tag
As Aimee continues to pursues answers - about her mother, her father's death, and the bodies that start to accumulate of old terrorists from the 70s, Aimee leads us through the vibrant and decaying Sentier and along many of its hundred year old Passages Couverts to a climactic ending in an abandoned Metro station. Much is resolved yet questions remain.
Paris is so much a part of these detective stories, and Aimee's emotional journey to discovering her parents' secrets adds a richness as a secondary plot. While the first in the series Murder in the Marais was tied to events during WWII and the German Occupation of Paris, this one took me back to the 1970s, a time of protest and terrorist acts with ties to post WWII Germany and the reshaping of Europe, but also to French involvement in Africa, and the treatment of the pied-noir, the African immigrants.
Steeplechase - Paris 17x - last tag
January 10, 2024
When Aimée Leduc is contacted by a mysterious woman claiming to know her mother, her curiosity is mixed with fear, for the unknown woman claims to have been her mother’s cell mate! She claims that Aimée’s mother was imprisoned for terrorism. After her mother disappeared when Aimée was eight, her father had never spoken of her since. Now she is being offered something that belonged to her mother, but for a price. She needs to raise money, and to find out about her mother.
Aimée Leduc is head of Leduc Investigations which she has inherited through her grandfather and father, the latter who was a former police officer, and killed by a bomb blast that almost also killed her.
As Aimée endeavours to pick up the trail of the mysterious woman who claims to have known her mother she finds herself in a different world. Leduc Investigations deal with software programme security and Aimée finds herself in the world of intrigue and murder.
I love Paris, and oh! how wonderfully does Cara Black capture the essence that is so Paris. I was back there again, where I lived for a short six months, but which ensnared me for ever.
A marvellous book that encompasses many facets of mystery that make it a compulsive read. Highly recommended.
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Reviewer: Lizzie Hayes
Aimée Leduc is head of Leduc Investigations which she has inherited through her grandfather and father, the latter who was a former police officer, and killed by a bomb blast that almost also killed her.
As Aimée endeavours to pick up the trail of the mysterious woman who claims to have known her mother she finds herself in a different world. Leduc Investigations deal with software programme security and Aimée finds herself in the world of intrigue and murder.
I love Paris, and oh! how wonderfully does Cara Black capture the essence that is so Paris. I was back there again, where I lived for a short six months, but which ensnared me for ever.
A marvellous book that encompasses many facets of mystery that make it a compulsive read. Highly recommended.
------
Reviewer: Lizzie Hayes
May 21, 2023
Book number three in the Aimée LeDuc Investigations mystery series. This time it’s personal. A woman contacts Aimee and promises information about Aimée’s mother, who disappeared when Aimee was very young. The woman says she knew Aimée’s mother when they were in prison together, a revelation to Aimee. For the next week, Aimée will ignore the press of usual business, and the pleas of her partner, René, in order to focus on finding out the truth of her mother’s past and where she might be today.
I like Aimée as a lead character. I like that she is intelligent, independent, resilient, strong, and more than capable when it comes to defending herself. But I was not a great fan of this storyline. While I appreciate getting to know more about Aimée’s background, and issues that drive her forward in the present, I didn’t really connect with the politics of this storyline. There were so many twists and turns that I had difficulty keeping things straight.
And I really want more of René. He’s such an interesting character … or I think he is. I hope that he gets a chance to shine in future episodes of the series.
I like Aimée as a lead character. I like that she is intelligent, independent, resilient, strong, and more than capable when it comes to defending herself. But I was not a great fan of this storyline. While I appreciate getting to know more about Aimée’s background, and issues that drive her forward in the present, I didn’t really connect with the politics of this storyline. There were so many twists and turns that I had difficulty keeping things straight.
And I really want more of René. He’s such an interesting character … or I think he is. I hope that he gets a chance to shine in future episodes of the series.
October 11, 2023
I really want to like this book but there are enough issues with badly needed edits that I have to leave this one unfinished.
1. If you name a dog Miles Davis, one or two references to your coolness in naming is enough for the whole book especially when the dog has very little personality to begin with. We will know who you refer to if you say “he” or “the dog”. (Does Aimee even listen to Davis’ music; we never see that.)
2. Clarify the back story with the parents.
3. Have the main character do some work at her paying job—at least matching her partner’s. It makes me crazy how people just drop everything to run off on a whim. What is paying the rent? How can you afford Vuitton with as little work as you do?
Lots of French which keeps me interested as well as the setting around Paris. not enough, sadly.
1. If you name a dog Miles Davis, one or two references to your coolness in naming is enough for the whole book especially when the dog has very little personality to begin with. We will know who you refer to if you say “he” or “the dog”. (Does Aimee even listen to Davis’ music; we never see that.)
2. Clarify the back story with the parents.
3. Have the main character do some work at her paying job—at least matching her partner’s. It makes me crazy how people just drop everything to run off on a whim. What is paying the rent? How can you afford Vuitton with as little work as you do?
Lots of French which keeps me interested as well as the setting around Paris. not enough, sadly.
May 7, 2021
Another book from this series.
I always have a hard time to get into this series. But it does pay off if you stick with it. The main character is clever, not the stereotypical feminine damsel in distress. She can outwit someone, think on her two feet quickly, how to get out of a sticky situation and seem somewhat awkward with romance. The descriptions are really good, sometimes I visualize it, at times it's too much and lose track. Perhaps that's why I struggled finished this book this time. The beginning was slightly too slow, maybe it wasn't the right book to read at the time. Regardless, I'll continue reading the series because at a time we cannot travel, Paris is extraordinary to get lost in.
I always have a hard time to get into this series. But it does pay off if you stick with it. The main character is clever, not the stereotypical feminine damsel in distress. She can outwit someone, think on her two feet quickly, how to get out of a sticky situation and seem somewhat awkward with romance. The descriptions are really good, sometimes I visualize it, at times it's too much and lose track. Perhaps that's why I struggled finished this book this time. The beginning was slightly too slow, maybe it wasn't the right book to read at the time. Regardless, I'll continue reading the series because at a time we cannot travel, Paris is extraordinary to get lost in.
July 3, 2019
I felt like I was reading a writing class assignment: where did she go, what did she do there, what was she wearing? By the end I could predict the action scenes based on the relative absurdity of the detective's outfits. There didn't seem to be much consideration as to whether the storyline would be believable to the reader. For example, the detective has
September 3, 2019
Detective Aimee Leduc fears that a group reminiscent of the 1960s Red Terror gang is on the loose -- and her long-lost mother may just be one of them. If Aimee wants to learn the truth about her mother, she is to meet Jutta Hald at a rendezvous point in an ancient tower in the Sentier. But when Aimee arrives, Jutta is dead, shot in the head at close range.
3rd book of series and I have been enjoying them. I like that we learned more about Aimee's mother and her activities. She also attempts to clear the name of her French policeman father. I find her books well-written and fast-paced and the characters are unique. I know these books get better so I will continue to read them. Recommended!
3rd book of series and I have been enjoying them. I like that we learned more about Aimee's mother and her activities. She also attempts to clear the name of her French policeman father. I find her books well-written and fast-paced and the characters are unique. I know these books get better so I will continue to read them. Recommended!
May 18, 2020
3+? 4-, even?
It's good, but I'm on the fence about reading the rest of them. However, I'm not sure how much of that hesitation comes from the giant complicating factor of closed libraries plus the in-network ones not having ebooks of the first however many books in the series (and/or the related issue of having started with book #3...).
That said, though, I'm pretty sure none of that would've stopped me from diving in further after, say, my first Louise Penny or Tana French book, to name a couple of fantastic series I came to fairly late. So it's not *just* me/coronavirus issues in any "It's not you, it's me" calculation.
It's good, but I'm on the fence about reading the rest of them. However, I'm not sure how much of that hesitation comes from the giant complicating factor of closed libraries plus the in-network ones not having ebooks of the first however many books in the series (and/or the related issue of having started with book #3...).
That said, though, I'm pretty sure none of that would've stopped me from diving in further after, say, my first Louise Penny or Tana French book, to name a couple of fantastic series I came to fairly late. So it's not *just* me/coronavirus issues in any "It's not you, it's me" calculation.
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April 10, 2024A visitor from the past opens up old wounds for Aimee. Jutta, recently released from 20 years in prison, comes to Aimee with information about her mother who disappeared decades prior. But, Jutta is murdered before she can tell any secrets. Connections lead Aimee to an author who committed suicide, but the case opens further as Aimee realizes the author's connection to her mother.
Following the trail to find her mother, Aimee discovers that the decades old case included a heist and a potential treasure that several terrorists may still want to get their hands on. As her cases and work begin to overlap, Aimee also sees a way to clear her father's name.
Following the trail to find her mother, Aimee discovers that the decades old case included a heist and a potential treasure that several terrorists may still want to get their hands on. As her cases and work begin to overlap, Aimee also sees a way to clear her father's name.
July 28, 2017
I loved the first two books, but this was just hard to follow and so convoluted. The characters were difficult to follow and it felt like a short story that was stretched into a long book by fillers. Didn't enjoy it. Kept reading to get the answers but I didn't really even get those. Some of the writing and plot seemed forced and stilted. I was so impressed with the first two but it may be hard to keep up that level through the series--as appeared here in book #3. I gave it 3 ⭐️ only because it's in Paris and I've been to some of the locations in the book.
July 14, 2020
I'm a fan of this series having read 5 books but I just didn't like this one. This is the 3rd in the series and I highly recommend the new reader read the series in order. For some reason, the characters and the pace of the book just didn't agree with me. I started and stopped and just lost interest. I dnf'ed at 15%. This is a character driven series and for some reason I just didn't connect or liked the characters. I didn't care if they lived or died so I just decided to quit the book and read something else.
January 4, 2023
I confess I find rating this difficult. I did not like it very much. But I think that is just a matter of taste. It is not a reflection on the quality of the book. If you were in the mood for this, if you were really captured by the underbelly of Paris, you might really enjoy this.
The odd thing is that once every few years I read one of the Aimee Leduc series. I guess I think I SHOULD like them so I keep trying. But I never really do like them. Possibly the main problem is Aimee, who I find annoying?
Anyway, I've compromised at three stars.
The odd thing is that once every few years I read one of the Aimee Leduc series. I guess I think I SHOULD like them so I keep trying. But I never really do like them. Possibly the main problem is Aimee, who I find annoying?
Anyway, I've compromised at three stars.
July 3, 2019
This is my fourth Aimee Leduc mystery. I do like the character sensational as she is in her exploits, her companionship with co-worker Renee and the education the reader gets of the neighborhoods in Paris. Nonetheless, this particular story seems to follow same pattern as others; a body presents early on to Aimee and in the process of investigating there is a link to her mother who abandoned her at age eight. The original investigation is detoured to uncover more about her mother whatever the means or cost. In this case, fifty thousand dollars. I recommend to all Aimee fans.
September 9, 2020
Aimee has always wondered what happened to her mom. Then one day, a woman claims she was her mother's cellmate and will sell her information. Aimee agrees. While she is trying to round up the cash, the woman is killed. And so starts the investigation. That is supposed to be the subplot to the mystery that she is really solving.But I find it the more entertaining part of the story. Set back in the 70's. A time I remember well.
December 17, 2020
Aimee is contacted by a friend of her mother, who left her as a child. Her disappearance was in the early 70s. She apparently was involved with a group of terrorists. Plot was contrived and predictable. The best part of the story was to hear the French words pronounced properly. Narrator did a great job with female characters, but the men came off as whiny. May have been better with a male narrator too. Skippable.
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March 5, 2022I read 50 pages and realized this book just wasn't grabbing me, as a murder mystery should. Right now I want to read a book that is either beautifully written, and/or really draws me into the story. Authors that usually do that, for me, are Helen Simonson, Fredrik Backman, Amor Towles, Ann Patchett, Lisa See, Kent Haruf, Walter Mosley, Natasha Solomons. Not every book they write is great, but often enough they are. And there are other authors I really like too. Who do you love reading?
June 14, 2023
I remembered reading at least one of these a while ago (I'm pretty sure I read more than one, but only one is recorded). so I picked it up. One of the things I appreciated was the setting - I love books that make the setting a part of the story, and Paris is the warp in these books.
Solidly in my wheelhouse, although a bit more hardboiled than my more recent books, I think Aimee is a powerhouse, and the whole cast is a bit off kilter and interesting.
Solidly in my wheelhouse, although a bit more hardboiled than my more recent books, I think Aimee is a powerhouse, and the whole cast is a bit off kilter and interesting.
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