Murder on the Ile Saint-Louis (Aimee Leduc Investigations, No. 7)

MURDER ON THE ILE SAINT-LOUIS is an Aimée Leduc book. This time out, we see a softer side of Aimée, as she is prompted by a phone call from a frantic woman to come down to the courtyard of her building. Not knowing what to expect, Aimée slips on her kitten heels and grabs her gun. Instead of trouble, she finds a tiny baby girl wrapped in a denim jacket. Okay, for Aimée, that is trouble. Uncertain what else to do, Aimée enlists all of her friends to help her care for the baby until the mother returns for her.

Of course, Aimée doesn't sit idly by and wait for this to happen. Instead, she tries to find out how the mysterious caller knows her, how she came to select the unlikely Aimée as the child's protector, and to determine what is keeping the mother from returning to claim her infant. Along the way there is a healthy dose of Parisian history, a few more dead bodies, and some lovely couture frocks acquired at bargain basement prices.

Of the Aimée Leduc books I have read, MURDER ON THE ILE SAINT-LOUIS is my favorite. It has the same wonderful descriptions of the architecture and the historical stories that I enjoy so much, but it has a kinder, gentler Aimée, too. In this book, she must make the safety of the baby her primary concern and she tones down her often reckless and thoughtless behavior. A more considerate main character involves me more in the story because she is easier for me to relate to.

Favorite character? René, Aimée's business partner and emergency baby sitter. In this book, his unfulfilled wishes are there for all to see as he cares for the baby. Did I guess it? Some of it. Will I read another? Yes.

For a visit to Paris and a chance to see if your old French lessons come back to you, Cara Black's books are parfaitement. I like that her heroine, Aimee Leduc, has one foot in the present as a computer security expert, and another firmly in the past as a resident of Ile. Saint-Louis. Her own past is complex and comes back on her through a new story about a mother who vanished and relationships with her late father's amis among les flics.

Politics, pollution, a Polish prince, and a sexy filmmaker combine with corporate skullduggery and bombs, both faux and real, to make for a complex well-woven plot as good guys and bad guys with multiple agendas come into conflict. There are moments of high tension as Aimee gets away from the bad guys through grit, guile and the backdoor of a bakery.

For action, she has to swim, use a sword, pick a lock and take care of a baby - most of which she does with aplomb. For the baby part she needs a little help from her friends -investigative reporter Martine lends a Nanny, partner Rene provides stuffed animals and Michou, Rene's transvestite neighbor, prepares bottles and changes diapers. A great scene is when Aimee runs into an old boyfriend who upon seeing her with a baby makes all the logical wrong assumptions leaving her speechless and conflicted.

All in all, tightly crafted with well-drawn distinctive characters, some of whom are crazy or cranky but grow on you. The details of the smells, the architecture and the other Parisian surroundings are compelling. I also love that she has a dog named Miles Davis.

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.

If you like conspiritorial views of capitalism and its evils, this is the book for you. Tedious detail about Paris archicture are intermixed in a mystery which presumes that the evil oil company is hiding secrets that destroy the environment. If you subscribe to such views, Aimee will be your heroine and you'll love her and the book, as she saves the day! If not, its a tedious, silly mystery that I could hardly read to the end. Good for PC brain washed sophmores!

Unlike the other one-star reviewers, I had no problem with Aimee's politics; I disliked the book because it was boring. I finished the book because I rarely find a book so bad I don't finish it, but reading this was a chore. One of the reasons I found it dull is because I have no interest in the history of Polish aristocracy which took up too many pages of the book. I connected with none of the characters; the plot was ridiculous as every man that sees Aimee is attracted to her and her attachment to the baby seemed unrealistic and forced; the conversations about the pollution and problems caused by the oil company were to repetitive and dull. Aimee is like the energizer bunny; she experiences all types of violence but keeps on going.

One reviewer said this was the best of the series. This being the first one I read and I disliked it, I won't be reading any others. Perhaps one has to be a Francophile to enjoy these books.

This novel (my first in this series) starts with a bang, and goes on at high speed right to the end.

The setting is superb: the description of Paris from top to bottom, from cast-off Polish (and French) aristocrats to the homeless and sewer dwellers.

And the characters are equally superb: from Aimee to Renee to Stella to Jules to Helene to Radziwill to Jean Caplan. All are three-dimensional, and have intricate back-stories that Black conveys at a touch.

The prose is clean and efficient, sometimes poetic without ever being pretentious.

And the plot? Intricate, puzzling, always interesting, always unexpected, and--amazing--emotionally satisfying.

Some critics here at Amazon, whose religion is apparently capitalism, complain that Aimee or the author is a socialist. Not true, of course, as anyone who read the book will plainly see.

Too bad.

This is my second favorite mystery in the Aimee Leduc series. In this book, we learn a bit more about Aimee and we see her vulnerable side a bit more. This also happens to be a neighborhood in Paris that I truly love because I was fortunate enough to live on this island for a few weeks.

Once again, Cara Black does a great job of giving us all great details. These descriptions make me want to know more about all of the main characters every time. I like that these books are all set in the late 90's which means that our technology is ahead of the characters in the book. They had no Yahoo or Google, just yer.

mediocre knowledge of Paris although it pretends much more. Rather inferior to Alan Furst's novels. Perhaps appropriate for those who know little about France. Being born and raised in Paris, Cara Black's stories (read three lately) miss the mark

I love reading her books. There is always a little french in it, which makes it charming. I can't wait for her to come to our bookstore again for a reading

I have enjoyed the entire series of the Aimee Leduc Investigations series. Each story draws you in and keeps you captivated under the crime is resolved. You are rooting for her both as an investigator and a person.