Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collections
Publication
Soho Crime (2003), 369 pages
Description
Fiction. Mystery. HTML:Meet Aimée Leduc, the smart, stylish Parisian private investigator, in her bestselling first investigation Aimée Leduc has always sworn she would stick to tech investigation�??no criminal cases for her. Especially since her father, the late police detective, was killed in the line of duty. But when an elderly Jewish man approaches Aimée with a top-secret decoding job on behalf of a woman in his synagogue, Aimée unwittingly takes on more than she is expecting. She drops off her findings at her client's house in the Marais, Paris's historic Jewish quarter, and finds the woman strangled, a swastika carved on her forehead. With the help of her partner, René, Aimée sets out to solve this horrendous murder, but finds herself in an increasingly dangerous web of ancient secrets and buried war crimes. From the Trade Paperbac… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member gooutsideandplay
WANTED: Firm and gifted editor to work with talented murder mystery author who has good ideas and a great location- (every murder is set in Paris) but needs help. Duties include: taming wild and improbable plot twists, checking and correcting impossible and technically wrong computer references
Show More
(main character is supposed to be computer forensic detective), and cleaning up muddy and repetitive phrasing. Once the correct editor has been hired and is on board, we will all look forward to tighter, less irritating and rambling Aimee Leduc Crime Series novels. Please apply now!! Show Less
LibraryThing member lindapanzo
I had mixed feelings about this mystery set in Paris, the first in the Aimee Leduc series. Leduc investigates computer crimes but she's asked to investigate a World War 2 era photo. There's the murder of a Jewish woman and lots of plot points with ties to Nazi Germany. It's right in my wheelhouse
In the end, I liked it but the first two thirds of the book were extremely slow, though things really picked up after that. Far too many plot points. Far too many undeveloped characters.
And yet, in the end, it was a good story. I liked it well enough to continue with the series, at least for one more book. It's a long-running series so perhaps things really improve.
Show More
and I should've loved it.In the end, I liked it but the first two thirds of the book were extremely slow, though things really picked up after that. Far too many plot points. Far too many undeveloped characters.
And yet, in the end, it was a good story. I liked it well enough to continue with the series, at least for one more book. It's a long-running series so perhaps things really improve.
Show Less
LibraryThing member cathyskye
First Line: Aimée Leduc felt his presence before she saw him.
Aimée Leduc lives in an inconvenient apartment in an ideal location (an island in the River Seine in Paris), and she's a private investigator specializing in computer forensics. She has an apparently mundane task: decipher an encrypted
With the help of her partner, René, Aimée uncovers clues relating to a German war veteran, the Jewish girl he saved from Auschwitz, and other shadowy figures. In order to understand the real motive behind the killing, Aimée has to question reluctant older residents of the Marais and to go undercover in an Aryan supremacist group.
I loved reading this book for its bringing Paris to life, and for Black's inclusion of fascinating tidbits like this:
" He referred to white and brown sugar, the metaphor for right-wing conservatives and leftist socialists. She knew that in many households political leanings were identified by the kind of sugar sitting in sugar bowls."
The plot line involving World War II collaborators was fascinating, and although I didn't feel as though I had a very good sense of Aimée or her partner René, I look forward to learning more about them as I read more of this series.
Aimée Leduc lives in an inconvenient apartment in an ideal location (an island in the River Seine in Paris), and she's a private investigator specializing in computer forensics. She has an apparently mundane task: decipher an encrypted
Show More
photograph from the 1940s and deliver it to an old woman living in the Marais, the historic Jewish quarter of Paris. When Aimée tries to deliver the photo, she finds the woman dead, a swastika carved in her forehead.With the help of her partner, René, Aimée uncovers clues relating to a German war veteran, the Jewish girl he saved from Auschwitz, and other shadowy figures. In order to understand the real motive behind the killing, Aimée has to question reluctant older residents of the Marais and to go undercover in an Aryan supremacist group.
I loved reading this book for its bringing Paris to life, and for Black's inclusion of fascinating tidbits like this:
" He referred to white and brown sugar, the metaphor for right-wing conservatives and leftist socialists. She knew that in many households political leanings were identified by the kind of sugar sitting in sugar bowls."
The plot line involving World War II collaborators was fascinating, and although I didn't feel as though I had a very good sense of Aimée or her partner René, I look forward to learning more about them as I read more of this series.
Show Less
LibraryThing member FicusFan
I was interested in this book because of the setting in Paris. I like a well done, out of the everyday (for me) setting. Then my RL Mystery Group picked this series.
I wanted to like this, and mostly did, though there are some flaws.
The story is of a half French, half American woman, Aimee Leduc,
This story focuses on the Marais, the old Jewish quarter in Paris. It has to do with war crimes from WWII, when Jews were deported, and with those who collaborated, survived and have tried to hide their identities and crimes. There is also a tie in to modern times with a Neo-Nazi organization, and the EU trying to come to terms with the influx of immigrants looking for a better life. The setting is not too long after the Iron Curtain came down. In an echo of the past, some of the EU ministers and their countries think deportation and camps are a solution. There is also a secret modern day Nazi organization pulling the strings to keep up the persecution of the Jews, and bring laws into place that reflect their attitudes towards those they consider inferior.
The writing is not bad, and the story flows, though it seems to drag, because the pace is too slow. We spend a lot of time following Amiee around as she goes from office to police station to home and back around again. We watch as she eats and changes clothes, but its too long for too little that happens to advance the story. Her visits with the suspects and witnesses are little better.
She has a pet, and we know its name, but I don't think she ever tells what it is. It eventually barks so we know its a dog, but not what kind. She has a partner, a dwarf, but we know almost nothing about him, and he only appears when she needs his help. A cousin pops up at the end as needed. At one point Aimee is being hunted and thinks so little of wandering the city, with no place to go, that she schedules a hair appointment. There is a lack of depth, and reality to the story.
The descriptions are hard to follow in terms of settings and events, so you have all the ingredients, but can't put them into a picture to match what Black is saying.
There are lot of characters, without much development, and many plot threads. Its hard to keep them all straight.
Finally Aimee seems to be unrealistic in terms of action. She seems to be more of a superhero rather than a real person: climbing over slate roofs in her high heels is just part of the silliness.
Overall, I hope these problems are newbie issues and can be worked out, I think there is enough there, to hold on until she improves. I have other books in the series and will read them.
I wanted to like this, and mostly did, though there are some flaws.
The story is of a half French, half American woman, Aimee Leduc,
Show More
who is a private investigator in Paris, where she lives. She is connected to the business through her father who was a police officer and then went private. She focuses on the computer aspect of investigating. Her father was killed on a case and she has been running shy of field work ever since, though she inherited their detective agency. The story is set 1993. Aimee has issues with her past and a mystery surrounding her mother.This story focuses on the Marais, the old Jewish quarter in Paris. It has to do with war crimes from WWII, when Jews were deported, and with those who collaborated, survived and have tried to hide their identities and crimes. There is also a tie in to modern times with a Neo-Nazi organization, and the EU trying to come to terms with the influx of immigrants looking for a better life. The setting is not too long after the Iron Curtain came down. In an echo of the past, some of the EU ministers and their countries think deportation and camps are a solution. There is also a secret modern day Nazi organization pulling the strings to keep up the persecution of the Jews, and bring laws into place that reflect their attitudes towards those they consider inferior.
The writing is not bad, and the story flows, though it seems to drag, because the pace is too slow. We spend a lot of time following Amiee around as she goes from office to police station to home and back around again. We watch as she eats and changes clothes, but its too long for too little that happens to advance the story. Her visits with the suspects and witnesses are little better.
She has a pet, and we know its name, but I don't think she ever tells what it is. It eventually barks so we know its a dog, but not what kind. She has a partner, a dwarf, but we know almost nothing about him, and he only appears when she needs his help. A cousin pops up at the end as needed. At one point Aimee is being hunted and thinks so little of wandering the city, with no place to go, that she schedules a hair appointment. There is a lack of depth, and reality to the story.
The descriptions are hard to follow in terms of settings and events, so you have all the ingredients, but can't put them into a picture to match what Black is saying.
There are lot of characters, without much development, and many plot threads. Its hard to keep them all straight.
Finally Aimee seems to be unrealistic in terms of action. She seems to be more of a superhero rather than a real person: climbing over slate roofs in her high heels is just part of the silliness.
Overall, I hope these problems are newbie issues and can be worked out, I think there is enough there, to hold on until she improves. I have other books in the series and will read them.
Show Less
LibraryThing member michaelm42071
Aimée Leduc is spike-haired, with jeans, leather jacket and boots. She is the daughter of a flic, a Parisian policeman, and his American wife who bolted when Aimée was eight years old—we don’t know why, but I suspect someone corrected her French pronunciation one time too many. Aimée has a
The Marais is historically the Jewish quarter of Paris, between the Place de la Bastille and what is now the Centre Georges Pompidou. This quarter and the Rue de Louvre where she has her office and the Ile St. Louis where Aimée has inherited an apartment from her grandfather all form the backdrop for this mystery, which has its beginnings in Nazi-occupied Paris, but is very much about the city and its people in the nineties. This book shows us Paris from the rooftops to the catacombs and the sewers. Aimée Leduc’s creator, Cara Black, is not French but American, but this sort of cultural appropriation is common in detective fiction, where you will find a French detective created by a Belgian, a Belgian detective created by an Englishwoman, and English, Irish, and Italian detectives all created by Americans. And of course, the original fictional detective was also a Parisian created by the American Edgar Allan Poe.
What we have in Aimée Leduc is a detective very much in the hard-boiled school, with a French twist. She is resourceful with costumes, wigs, and the quick lie. She’s tough and resilient. She survives jumping out of a moving car to escape the Neo-Nazi hate group she’d infiltrated, and she’s also knocked off her moped and nearly murdered by hit men. She’s as handy with a gun as with a computer. If you like Sara Paretsky’s V. I. Warshawski and have a soft spot for the City of Lights, Aimée Leduc is probably your demitasse.
Murder in the Marais is the first of five mysteries Cara Black has written about this character. The first three have been optioned by a Dublin production company, but so far I’ve heard of no TV or movie feature that has resulted. All of the books deal with particular quarters that Black calls “funky . . . gritty, off-the-beaten-tourist track Paris”—Belleville, the Sentier, the Bastille, and Clichy, as well as the Marais—and all feature Aimée Leduc.
Show More
sidekick named René who is a computer wizard, and together they run a quiet little agency in the Rue de Louvre, specializing in computer security. Aimée does a small computer-hacking job for a client in the Marais quarter of Paris, but when she finds her client shot dead with a swastika carved in her forehead, Aimée suddenly becomes a murder investigator. The Marais is historically the Jewish quarter of Paris, between the Place de la Bastille and what is now the Centre Georges Pompidou. This quarter and the Rue de Louvre where she has her office and the Ile St. Louis where Aimée has inherited an apartment from her grandfather all form the backdrop for this mystery, which has its beginnings in Nazi-occupied Paris, but is very much about the city and its people in the nineties. This book shows us Paris from the rooftops to the catacombs and the sewers. Aimée Leduc’s creator, Cara Black, is not French but American, but this sort of cultural appropriation is common in detective fiction, where you will find a French detective created by a Belgian, a Belgian detective created by an Englishwoman, and English, Irish, and Italian detectives all created by Americans. And of course, the original fictional detective was also a Parisian created by the American Edgar Allan Poe.
What we have in Aimée Leduc is a detective very much in the hard-boiled school, with a French twist. She is resourceful with costumes, wigs, and the quick lie. She’s tough and resilient. She survives jumping out of a moving car to escape the Neo-Nazi hate group she’d infiltrated, and she’s also knocked off her moped and nearly murdered by hit men. She’s as handy with a gun as with a computer. If you like Sara Paretsky’s V. I. Warshawski and have a soft spot for the City of Lights, Aimée Leduc is probably your demitasse.
Murder in the Marais is the first of five mysteries Cara Black has written about this character. The first three have been optioned by a Dublin production company, but so far I’ve heard of no TV or movie feature that has resulted. All of the books deal with particular quarters that Black calls “funky . . . gritty, off-the-beaten-tourist track Paris”—Belleville, the Sentier, the Bastille, and Clichy, as well as the Marais—and all feature Aimée Leduc.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Cecilturtle
What's fun with Aimée Leduc is that not only is she spunky and clever, she's also fallible. Contrarily to so many sleuths, she makes mistakes and sometimes leaves bodies in her wake. This makes her human, without making her a bumbling idiot or a super detective.
This backdrop of WWII showing the
Aimée is a true Parisian despite her half-American heritage, which makes her interesting and adds to her dimension.
Too bad Black's publisher doesn't believe in splurging for a bilingual editor - the French sure could use some cleaning up.
This backdrop of WWII showing the
Show More
horrific side of the Nazis and the après-guerre makes the modern murders even more potent and gripping.Aimée is a true Parisian despite her half-American heritage, which makes her interesting and adds to her dimension.
Too bad Black's publisher doesn't believe in splurging for a bilingual editor - the French sure could use some cleaning up.
Show Less
LibraryThing member kambrogi
Cara Black’s mystery series is set in different arrondissements (districts) of the city of Paris. In this volume, she has used her knowledge of the Marais, the old Jewish neighborhood, to good advantage. The contemporary murder is motivated by events that occurred during WWII and the occupation.
Show More
Young Aimée Leduc, a French-American detective, follows in the footsteps of her deceased detective father, adding her own particular skill in computer forensics. This is great idea for a series, and anyone who knows Paris will appreciate the spot-on references to the city and its inhabitants. Alas, the character development and the line-level writing, along with insufficient detail to drive the story home, left me rather unsatisfied with the reading experience. It’s a bit thin for my taste. Show Less
LibraryThing member WinterFox
Writing a good mystery is harder than it looks, and I want to put as a case in point this book here. I think from a synopsis of the story - spunky woman detective and offbeat partner work to solve a murder case with strong ties both to World War II France and both neo- and classical Nazi
However... the writing, while good particularly for the characters who are connected to the older, WWII part of the plot, is not as strong for some of the more recent characters, and particularly for the lead one. I didn't really find Aimee great, and a lot of the descriptions of her actions didn't really gel for me. Other secondary characters - let me advance Herve in particular - seemed very weak and one-dimensional to me. There's also a lot of wild plot twisting going on that I don't find totally buyable, but I suppose it is exciting enough.
For me, though, I found the most frustrating thing the editing. There's a couple of mistakes that gave away the ending to me, and could not have been intended by the author. I won't quote them, because even in a review that'd be really spoiler-y, but it ruined a mystery I'm not entirely sure I would have gotten otherwise. So, negative points for professionalism there.
There are enough positives that I can see how someone helping the writer smooth things out and tighten things up could lead to stronger books, but I'm not sure I'd personally be around to try them. This is most recommended for people who really like Paris, I think, and hardcore mystery fans, but otherwise, I'd probably give it a miss.
Show More
organizations - sounds like a pretty strong frame to start on to me. And the setting of a Paris that's not the one we usually see is quite strong, too. The atmosphere of the city comes through quite nicely.However... the writing, while good particularly for the characters who are connected to the older, WWII part of the plot, is not as strong for some of the more recent characters, and particularly for the lead one. I didn't really find Aimee great, and a lot of the descriptions of her actions didn't really gel for me. Other secondary characters - let me advance Herve in particular - seemed very weak and one-dimensional to me. There's also a lot of wild plot twisting going on that I don't find totally buyable, but I suppose it is exciting enough.
For me, though, I found the most frustrating thing the editing. There's a couple of mistakes that gave away the ending to me, and could not have been intended by the author. I won't quote them, because even in a review that'd be really spoiler-y, but it ruined a mystery I'm not entirely sure I would have gotten otherwise. So, negative points for professionalism there.
There are enough positives that I can see how someone helping the writer smooth things out and tighten things up could lead to stronger books, but I'm not sure I'd personally be around to try them. This is most recommended for people who really like Paris, I think, and hardcore mystery fans, but otherwise, I'd probably give it a miss.
Show Less
LibraryThing member firedog
My first introduction to Cara Black. Following Aimee Leduc through Paris neighborhoods and history. I will definitely be reading the next book in this series.
LibraryThing member allthesedarnbooks
This is the first book in Black's series starring Paris PI Aimee Leduc, and I really enjoyed it. The plot is very action packed, dramatic, and not more than a little ridiculous, but the effects of World War II on the Jewish population of Paris, the Gentile residents, and even the Nazi invaders are
Show More
well drawn. Aimee is a strong, smart heroine, with more than a few flaws, and the city of Paris is described lovingly. I will definitely be reading the next in the series (Murder in Belleville). Heck, I've already bought it. Four stars. Show Less
LibraryThing member porch_reader
Murder in the Marais is the first book in the Aimee Leduc series. Each of the books in this series is set in a different neighborhood in Paris. Marais is the historic Jewish quarter of Paris, and this mystery is linked to events that occurred during World War II. Overall, I enjoyed this book and
Show More
the history that is woven into the plot. However, there are flaws. The plot is complex and at times, I had trouble keeping the various threads straight. Aimee Leduc is a struggling private detective who may grow on me, but she wasn't a stand-out character is this first book. However, I liked Murder in the Marais enough that I will try another book in this series. Show Less
LibraryThing member etxgardener
I love Paris and I love mysteries, so why is it that I cannot find an intelligent series of mysteries set in the City of Light? I did have high hopes for this book, but I found that the author must have been overly influenced by modern action movies as the book is long on violent action scenes and
The story, such as it is, jumps about in fits and starts from one character's perspective to another as well as traveling from the present back to the 1940's. It is, quite frankly a mess.
Seeing as in my enthusiasm, I have purchased a second volume in this series, I will be giving it another chance. However, if the writing doesn't improve, it will be two strikes and you're out for this particular series for books.
Show More
short on a coherent plot or any kind of character development.The story, such as it is, jumps about in fits and starts from one character's perspective to another as well as traveling from the present back to the 1940's. It is, quite frankly a mess.
Seeing as in my enthusiasm, I have purchased a second volume in this series, I will be giving it another chance. However, if the writing doesn't improve, it will be two strikes and you're out for this particular series for books.
Show Less
LibraryThing member lucybrown
Murder in the Marais is blighted by some pretty kitschy prose, lackluster to caricature-like characterization and an annoying tendency to use French terms when they don't seem needed for either establishing the setting or mood. However, it is saved by the development of a couple of the characters
Show More
(I hesitate to saw more because of not wanting to give away any thing) and the suspense. Granted it was pretty obvious who the murderer was by page 77,but kenning how it was going to play out, who was working for whom, and how it all tied back to the Nazi Occupation was fun, as was the moody use of the city of Paris. Granted based on this book alone I would never want to go there as it seems persistently damp, mouldy, drafty and run down. Other than the mentions of rather luscious foods and the possibility of turning up Hermes scarfs at the flea market, one cannot find much gay about gay Paris in this thriller. At first the detective Aimee LeDuc was a flimsy character, but gained some credibility as the novel developed, so I might read others in the series. Show Less
LibraryThing member bcrowl399
I liked this book, but I didn't love it. I love the locations and the mystery was fairly interesting. I'm not so crazy about Aimee Leduc, although I have no specific reason why. Perhaps too young for me to appreciate? I'm not sure.
LibraryThing member tuke
One reviewer called Cara Black's detective Aimee Leduc "Kinsey Milhone [Sue Grafton's detective] in Paris," and that has some truth to it. But the canvas here is larger than Grafton's, encompassing French politics and the long hangover of collaboration.
The evocation of everyday life in Paris was ok
There is a lot of computer security forensics in the book, almost all of which was ridiculous, even for 1993 (the setting of the novel). But that was one of the "donnees" of the book, so I'll just accept it as the price of admission.
This was the first one in the series and had a really hard plot -- I hope the later ones are a bit easier to follow. On the other hand, the conclusion was plausible (at least in terms of the mystery). I'm probably going to skip to Murder in the Latin Quarter which seems to have gotten the best reviews. If that one doesn't impress me, then I'll stop reading Black.
The evocation of everyday life in Paris was ok
Show More
but maybe a little thin - but what can one expect for the American reader?There is a lot of computer security forensics in the book, almost all of which was ridiculous, even for 1993 (the setting of the novel). But that was one of the "donnees" of the book, so I'll just accept it as the price of admission.
This was the first one in the series and had a really hard plot -- I hope the later ones are a bit easier to follow. On the other hand, the conclusion was plausible (at least in terms of the mystery). I'm probably going to skip to Murder in the Latin Quarter which seems to have gotten the best reviews. If that one doesn't impress me, then I'll stop reading Black.
Show Less
LibraryThing member annejacinta
Cara Black is guaranteed to satisfy any nostalgia you may have for Paris. Main character Aimee Leduc is usually fun to follow as she solves quite complex murders. This time there is a more serious undertone as the SS deportation of French Jews in the Second World War is the basis of the plot. As a
Show More
result, this is a more serious, sombre novel as it explores horrifying events and their ongoing consequences for modern France . Nevertheless, Aimee flaunts many a French icon on her body - Hermes scarves etc, and her travels take her around every location in Pars you may recall. Show Less
LibraryThing member marsap
This book is the first novel in a series about Aimee Leduc a French private investigator who takes over her father's agency after he's killed in a terrorist attack. For the most part she is a computer investigator, but when asked by Jewish survivor of the Holocaust she agrees to look into look into
Show More
a “decoding job” on behalf of a woman in his synagogue (in the Paris neighborhood of the Marais—the historic Jewish quarter). When Aimee drops off her findings, she finds the old woman strangled, a swastika carved on her forehead. With the help of her partner, René, Aimée sets out to solve this crime—and soon finds herself immersed in WWII deportation of Jews, French collaborators, and neo-Nazis. The book is a run of the mill mystery—nothing too surprising. You would think in the first of the series it would give a little more background on the main characters—but I have very little knowledge of Aimee or her partner Rene. The author does give a nice overview of Paris—particularly of the Marais neighborhood—which I did enjoy. I am not sure this is a series that I will stick with. A 2 out of 5 stars. Show Less
LibraryThing member ucla70
This was an assigned February reading for a Mystery Readers group I just joined. The fast-paced plot kept me reading to the end, but the implausibilities are a bit too much, and the character development is shallow. Bringing in WWII, the Holocaust, and French collaborators, then throwing into the
Show More
mix neo-Nazis and the emerging French anti-immigrant sentiment, it all seems to be thrown in haphazardly in an effort to propel the action. Show Less
LibraryThing member wyvernfriend
Not a bad read, there were times when I enjoyed it wholeheartedly but there were times when I felt that it slowed down or was a bit scant in details I didn't really feel a connection to the characters and it felt more like an intellectual exercise than immersive mystery.
Aimee Leduc is a
Shows promise.
Aimee Leduc is a
Show More
half-French, half-American detective working in Paris, trying hard to make ends meet and sometimes succeeding. She gets caught up in New-Nazis in Paris when she decrypts an World War II photograph and brings it to a old woman that she then finds dead, with a Swastika carved in her forehead, this leads her down paths she would rather not get involved in but her reputation and life are on the line.Shows promise.
Show Less
LibraryThing member alanteder
I found that this was over-plotted with an enormous number of characters and subplots which had odd jumps in continuity. When investigator Aimée Leduc interviews a key figure about half way through the book (Wednesday morning) I had no idea where that lead had even come from. When one of the big
I was plodding through this very slowly for about 2/3rds of the way until the story did finally start to take off and i did finish it quite quickly then but am not likely to try another one.
This was another reminder not to trust author blurbs, even from someone like Lee Child, whose sense of suspense I normally respect quite highly. His blurb of "One of the BEST heroines in crime fiction" sold me on this book and I feel quite betrayed by that as I had hoped this might be a new favourite series, especially with its Paris locale which is normally one of my favourites.
The plot involves private investigator Aimée Leduc and her partner René Friant getting involved with a murder that turns out to be related to French collaborators with the Nazis in WWII. Dealings with the Jewish community in the Marais area of Paris, present-day international trade negotiations with nefarious subclauses and a neo-Nazi white power group are along to complicate the situation. In the end this all actually came together but not with any satisfaction for this reader.
Show More
bad's henchman pops up towards the end I had no recollection where they had appeared previously. That is aside from some of the other absurd situations (a rooftop escape in designer high-heels) and interactions (Leduc has a few romantic liaisons with a seemingly completely inappropriate character) that the characters go through which you can somewhat forgive from an author providing entertainment.I was plodding through this very slowly for about 2/3rds of the way until the story did finally start to take off and i did finish it quite quickly then but am not likely to try another one.
This was another reminder not to trust author blurbs, even from someone like Lee Child, whose sense of suspense I normally respect quite highly. His blurb of "One of the BEST heroines in crime fiction" sold me on this book and I feel quite betrayed by that as I had hoped this might be a new favourite series, especially with its Paris locale which is normally one of my favourites.
The plot involves private investigator Aimée Leduc and her partner René Friant getting involved with a murder that turns out to be related to French collaborators with the Nazis in WWII. Dealings with the Jewish community in the Marais area of Paris, present-day international trade negotiations with nefarious subclauses and a neo-Nazi white power group are along to complicate the situation. In the end this all actually came together but not with any satisfaction for this reader.
Show Less
LibraryThing member grandpahobo
This was a difficult read. Part of the problem was the many references to streets and districts in Paris. Since I have never been there, most of them were lost on me. If you have been to Paris or are familiar with the city, you will probably enjoy this aspect of the book.
Another problem was the
Finally, the writing seemed choppy. There were several places where the story seemed to jump from one point to another with no connection.
Given all this, I thought the mystery itself was well crafted. I will try the next one in the series.
Another problem was the
Show More
number of characters and how often they jump into the story briefly. At one point I had to go back an restart the book because I kept losing track of who these characters were and their relationship to the main character and the story.Finally, the writing seemed choppy. There were several places where the story seemed to jump from one point to another with no connection.
Given all this, I thought the mystery itself was well crafted. I will try the next one in the series.
Show Less
LibraryThing member rab1953
Sadly disappointing. I had heard that this was an atmospheric detective novel set in one of my (everyone’s?) favourite cities, and had hopes for it. But it’s an action genre novel with characters of little depth who exist primarily to push the plot from one improbable point to another. It’s
Show More
set in the Marais, and refers to many sites and buildings that are fond recollections, but they are used as little more than flat background. They don’t add atmosphere, just setting. The neo-Nazi plot could have been intriguing, but again it’s just a plot device in which some bad guys play, and is no more illuminating than the crime scenes in a gangster novel. There’s no emotional involvement in the characters because they are too limited, and even the attempts to give them a back-story don’t go anywhere. The final confrontation is so absurd, with literally a Deus ex machina resolution, that I had to wonder if the author was having a sly chuckle with us about the conventions of the made-for-tv novel. But I think not – it’s more like the hopeful scenario for a series that the author wants to sell to a movie or television production company. Perhaps I was expecting too much – this isn’t Victor Hugo, although it is set in his city (and home) – but I’m not drawn to try her other novels. Show Less
LibraryThing member fbswss
Very different, unexpected and enjoyable mystery!
LibraryThing member lucybrown
Murder in the Marais is blighted by some pretty kitschy prose, lackluster to caricature-like characterization and an annoying tendency to use French terms when they don't seem needed for either establishing the setting or mood. However, it is saved by the development of a couple of the characters
Show More
(I hesitate to saw more because of not wanting to give away any thing) and the suspense. Granted it was pretty obvious who the murderer was by page 77,but kenning how it was going to play out, who was working for whom, and how it all tied back to the Nazi Occupation was fun, as was the moody use of the city of Paris. Granted based on this book alone I would never want to go there as it seems persistently damp, mouldy, drafty and run down. Other than the mentions of rather luscious foods and the possibility of turning up Hermes scarfs at the flea market, one cannot find much gay about gay Paris in this thriller. At first the detective Aimee LeDuc was a flimsy character, but gained some credibility as the novel developed, so I might read others in the series. Show Less
LibraryThing member Dokfintong
Somehow Aimée Leduc is an archetypal French woman. Breezy, stylish, skillful, thrifty, sexy, and she has a curly haired lapdog that never needs a walk. She also has a dwarf and an apartment in an ancient unheated Parisian building. If this sounds unbelievable, it is, but as we give the French as a
Aimée is a trained detective who specializes in industrial espionage. She and her colleague, the dwarf René, are computer hackers who never ever do field work after some earlier exploits that are never fully explained but which left Aimée wounded. One day, though, an elderly Jewish gentleman arrives at Aimée's office and asks her to deliver an envelope to an elderly Jewish woman who lives in the Marais. (I never quite figured out why he could not do it himself.) Aimée thinks that while this job is outside her new operating parameters, the bank account is empty, the rent is due, and the taxman is calling, so she agrees to run this simple errand. When she arrives, the old woman is dead and then the old man is murdered. Aimée uses her prodigious skill set and an assortment of disguises (including posing as a neo-Nazi) to solve the murder. The murderer's identity is implausible and, like the hyper-successful continuation of the underground Nazi political cell "Werwolf" ("Werewolf" in English"), completely unneeded. Simplicity would have been better.
"Murder in the Marais" was published in 1998 but it is set in 1993. This date is somewhat arbitrary as Ms Black needed to find a time modern enough so Aimée could be a computer hacker but early enough that the characters in the story who were thrown together by WW2, were still young enough to be professionally active. This did not work very well, I thought, but I tend to forget how young soldiers were in WW2. Here we are told that one of the soldiers was only 18. Maybe, but it did not feel right.
All in all "Murder in the Marias" is a first book and is a little rough. But it is amusing and I enjoyed it even though I rolled my eyes a bit.
I received a review copy of "Murder in the Marais" by Cara Black (SoHo Press) through NetGalley.com. SoHo Crime is celebrating 25 years of publishing international crime fiction with a reading challenge. I'm reading my way through Cara Black over the next two months.
Show More
whole a pass on this kind of stuff, we should certainly should allow Aimée to entertain us.Aimée is a trained detective who specializes in industrial espionage. She and her colleague, the dwarf René, are computer hackers who never ever do field work after some earlier exploits that are never fully explained but which left Aimée wounded. One day, though, an elderly Jewish gentleman arrives at Aimée's office and asks her to deliver an envelope to an elderly Jewish woman who lives in the Marais. (I never quite figured out why he could not do it himself.) Aimée thinks that while this job is outside her new operating parameters, the bank account is empty, the rent is due, and the taxman is calling, so she agrees to run this simple errand. When she arrives, the old woman is dead and then the old man is murdered. Aimée uses her prodigious skill set and an assortment of disguises (including posing as a neo-Nazi) to solve the murder. The murderer's identity is implausible and, like the hyper-successful continuation of the underground Nazi political cell "Werwolf" ("Werewolf" in English"), completely unneeded. Simplicity would have been better.
"Murder in the Marais" was published in 1998 but it is set in 1993. This date is somewhat arbitrary as Ms Black needed to find a time modern enough so Aimée could be a computer hacker but early enough that the characters in the story who were thrown together by WW2, were still young enough to be professionally active. This did not work very well, I thought, but I tend to forget how young soldiers were in WW2. Here we are told that one of the soldiers was only 18. Maybe, but it did not feel right.
All in all "Murder in the Marias" is a first book and is a little rough. But it is amusing and I enjoyed it even though I rolled my eyes a bit.
I received a review copy of "Murder in the Marais" by Cara Black (SoHo Press) through NetGalley.com. SoHo Crime is celebrating 25 years of publishing international crime fiction with a reading challenge. I'm reading my way through Cara Black over the next two months.
Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Anthony Award (Nominee — First Novel — 2000)
Macavity Award (Nominee — First Novel — 2000)
Language
Original publication date
1999
ISBN
9781569477274
Local notes
Aimée Leduc has always sworn she would stick to tech investigation—no criminal cases for her. Especially since her father, the late police detective, was killed in the line of duty. But when an elderly Jewish man approaches Aimée with a top-secret decoding job on behalf of a woman in his synagogue, Aimée unwittingly takes on more than she is expecting. She drops off her findings at her client’s house in the Marais, Paris’s historic Jewish quarter, and finds the woman strangled, a swastika carved on her forehead. With the help of her partner, René, Aimée sets out to solve this horrendous murder, but finds herself in an increasingly dangerous web of ancient secrets and buried war crimes.