Murder in Belleville (Aimee Leduc Investigations, No. 2)

I wanted to like Cara Black's books. I really did. I love Paris, I love mysteries, and these sounded perfect. I made a big mistake and bought four of her books in one swoop, basing my purchase on reviews. I read the first while in Paris, and in a good enough mood. Now I'm back home, reading the second, and thinking "Uh oh..."

I do love revisiting the city of my dreams, but not with cliched gumshoe Aimee or her creator. First of all, the writing is disjointed and confusing. She chops up events randomly, introduces too many extraneous characters without giving them any buildup or grounding in the story (so you end up thinking "who the hell cares about this person. In fact, who is this person?"). Second, she annoyingly gives many characters "real life" names. I kept thinking "Aren't any of the other characters at any point going to say 'Her name is Eugenie Grandet, like the Balzac character?" or "Martine Sitbon, like the designer?"...but they never do. Stop it, Ms. Black! There are many good fictitious names to chose from and as a writer you should be creative enough to pluck some from thin air, and not the pages of the classics or fashion magazines.

I might read the next installment, because

a) I purchased the dang thing and

b) hope springs eternal

but if I start seeing any more second-rate Philip Marlowe dialog and nonsensical situations, I'm putting them right back out on Amazon.

I forced myself to finish this book, though it was touch and go in several places, just so I could feel able to review it fairly. It seems I liked it even less than reviewer Ms. Trieste "CF", below, but I am in general agreement with her points. There are just so many things wrong with this book that even the grating "famous names" don't really stand out for me. Let's see, where to begin: the naive political ranting, the unspeakable dialogue, the corny love interest, the wholly implausible technology, the absurd coincidences, the distractingly disjointed structure, the proliferation of minor characters, the talky explanations of the detective's thought processes, the total incompetence and corruption of the police - I can't go on; it's hackneyed and poorly written, and that's all there is to it.

I give this book one star only because it takes place in Paris, I live in Paris, and I love mysteries that take place in Paris. Cara Black knows the city well, or at least she has a good "plan" of the city, because she mentions a street name or Metro station in almost every paragraph.
So the book is not quite dreadful, but it's close. Cara Black writes like a rank amateur, throwing in cliche after cliche, and treating the reader like an idiot. Ms. Black, we can TELL when Aimee Leduc is scared, or confused or whatever; you don't have to tell us at every turn.
And Soho seems to have decided an editor was too expensive. Or at least it seems no editor did more than a browse. (Or perhaps they just gave up on poor Cara.)
I hate to think what a hash she's made of "Murder in the Sentier."
Paris, you deserve better.
P.S. For readers who want to read an author who paints a rich portrait of his city (Edinburgh) and has a great character, check out Ian Rankin and his Rebus mysteries. Now HERE's a writer!

I give this book one star only because it takes place in Paris, I live in Paris, and I love mysteries that take place in Paris. Cara Black knows the city well, or at least she has a good "plan" of the city, because she mentions a street name or Metro station in almost every paragraph.
So the book is not quite dreadful, but it's close. Cara Black writes like a rank amateur, throwing in cliche after cliche, and treating the reader like an idiot. Ms. Black, we can TELL when Aimee Leduc is scared, or confused or whatever; you don't have to tell us at every turn.
And Soho seems to have decided an editor was too expensive. Or at least it seems no editor did more than a browse. (Or perhaps they just gave up on poor Cara.)
I hate to think what a hash she's made of "Murder in the Sentier."
Paris, you deserve better.
P.S. For readers who want to read an author who paints a rich portrait of his city (Edinburgh) and has a great character, check out Ian Rankin and his Rebus mysteries. Now HERE's a writer!

Being stuck for a week with only the first seven Leduc Investigations books to read (three I had to give up on), I now know literary hell. The main character is a leftist private detective, who dislikes the incompetent and corrupt police (but is the daughter of a senior Prefecture of Police officer), who has a weakness for bad boys, Couture fashion and cigarettes, and is possibly the most annoying character I have read. The author has no clue about criminal investigations, French law enforcement, weapons, or forensics, but besides that...

Also the author besides her socialist leaning drivel and improbable plot lines, has the charming ability of making Paris the City of Light, seem as drab, grimy and nearly appealing as Detroit.

Everything in this book made Paris come alive...the writing, the textured society and vibrant ethnic population in the Belleville quartier. Fascinating story line and Aimée the computer security detective is so hip, real and vulnerable at the same time. I love Paris and 'visiting' an off the beaten track area....April in Paris, like Aimée says, isn't like the song. But wonderful and sad and beautiful in it's own way.

A truly memorable trip with her and her partner, René Friant.

I wish I had discovered this series earlier, but now I have three more books to relish! All I can say is have the author write faster!

This is Cara Black's second Aimee Leduc mystery. It is a tad more realistic than the first and its plot largely revolves around North African illegals (sans-papiers) in France. Some are engaged in peaceful demonstrations to avoid being returned to their homelands.
Others are engaged in illegal operations, including terrorist bombing, prostitution and drugs. There are connections to high officials in the government which only come clear at the very end of the book.

The portrait of Belleville, where glass factories & dark wood brasseries have given way to Thai restaurants, Chinese discount shops, and cellphone stores with Arabic signs, is vivid and enjoyable to read. I'm sure it's quite true to life. But as in her first book, Black has concocted an extremely complicated plot. She does pull it all together at the end, but along the way, you STILL need a scorecard to keep track.

I have a love-hate relationship with these books. It is fun that she does so much research, and fun to discover new places in Paris that really exist (Les Fous de l'Ile, Favela Chic, the Cirque d'Hiver, Café des Vielleuses - you can google them). But the books are often not very relaxing to read because of so many plot threads and so many characters seen in vignettes only.

Aimee is a bit (just a bit!) more human and less Superwoman in this book. Her business is network security systems, in partnership with her dwarf geek buddy Rene, who minds her bichon frise Miles Davis when she is busy buzzing around Paris on her bike getting into and out of danger. About this pup - yes, he is a cute furball - but don't go getting one, thinking you can leave him on his own as much as Aimee does! These dogs need groomed every day or they end up a matted mess - and you never ever see Aimee grooming this dog. Hm. How reliable, then, are some other details?

The opening incident of this book involves the sister of her journalist friend Martine, Anais, who narrowly escapes being blown up in a terrorist incident while visiting her husband's mistress. Aimee can't walk away from this investigation because it touches off her memory of losing her father in a similar incident. Her father's friend Morbier sends her to poke around in a ring of Algerians, related in intricate ways which do not come clear until quite near the end of the book.

If you enjoy puzzles, you will ADORE this - you will not guess the ending too soon. But if you like to be able to follow a few nicely-laid clues and feel smarter during the course of the book, you're going to gnash your teeth a bit. To each his own.

The plot involving the pied-noir interior ministry official, Bernard Berge, is quite touching - but it is a mere teaser for most of the book and unfolds, yes, near the end.

The later books in this series are winning various awards. Perhaps some of these structural difficulties are disappearing...or maybe not. I keep reading them...because of their settings and their history. But they would be more effective as entertainment if she simplified just a bit...

This seems to be a successful series, so I had high hopes. Who wouldn't want to read a good mystery that takes place in Paris? What a disappointment. To begin with, the author's basic sentence structure and grammar leave something to be desired. More than that, the plot is almost incomprehensible. I continued reading until, about 3/4 of the way through, I decided that whatever happened in the end, the novel could not be redeemed.

I’m so happy to have discovered this author. If you liked the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and Penny’s Inspector Gamache series, you should enjoy Aimee Leduc and her world.

I bought this because I liked the Marais one. But this was way too long, denouement completely implausible, didn't care about any of the Algerian characters either like or dislike. In sum not her best