Murder in Belleville

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!

I loved this book...offbeat and showing a gritty, intriguing part of Paris that I would never have known about. The historical research by the author amazed me, but it never intruded on the story thanks to the skillful weaving and multiple storylines. The breadth of characters make it a book I want to read again. And again. The author takes the reader to a complex and layered Belleville, the old working class quartier of Paris where Edith Piaf sang on the streets which is now home to North Africans, Islamic fundamentalists and Algerian Nationalists. This was written before 9/11 but how prophetic.I highly recommend this!

I enjoyed Ms. Black's first book "Murder in the Marais" so much, that I took the book to Paris with me a year later just so I could reminisce in situe. I was very excited when her next book "Murder in Belleville" appeared. I was not dissappointed. The fast moving plot, surrounding the murder of the mistress of a cabinet minister in a car bombing, and a North African underground network, takes place in Belleville, a working class neighborhood of Paris with a vibrant immagrant population. The reader is taken deep into places we, as perhaps mere tourists, may never go, and back again. For me the real appeal of Cara Black's writing is her vivid characterization both of the main characters and the small walk-on parts, and the gritty visual impressions of the surroundings that are always being woven in. It's a kind of crunchy, textured realism that is very particularly observed, and evokes strong pictures in my mind's eye. Ms. Black builds up layers of sights and sounds and emotions, just in a fleeting moment. Take for example the painterly quality of this chapter opening:"Twighlight dimmed the Belleville sky, canceling the magenta and orange slashes left from the fading sunset. Aimee sniffed the algai accompanying the biting wind blowing from Canal Saint Martin. The breath of spring she'd felt the otherday had disappeared. Passengers erupted from the Metro like particles from a jet stream, eratic and windblown". The fast, urgent pace of this story, and my fondness for Aimee had me feeling attached to her every move. If a morning went by without my knowing how Aimee filled the time, I found myself wondering and projecting. Had she taken Miles Davis, her bichon-frisse dog out? Had she remembered to re-charge her cell-phone? Probably not. Aimee is no-nonsense character, cynical but full of integrity, brave and tenacious, yet full of vulnerability. I wanted to get behind her armour, caused by childhood hurts and the loss of her father and help her heal her sad heart. She has trouble with relationships, and comes unglued by the attractive but fickle Yves, a love-interest that carries over from "Murder in the Marais". It's the way she can't help herself and falls back in with him, then kicks herself afterwards, that makes Aimee so endearing to me. She's human. Okay, so I'm a big fan, in a nutshell. The plot was complicated, but fascinating. It was like taking another, more gnarly, anxiety-ridden trip to Paris,(without the kids)and being next to Aimee and her adventures. I hope things go better for her in the next book??

In April 1994 Paris Computer Security specialist Aimee Leduc tried to explain to Anais that she did not perform spousal investigations. However, her friend's sister, wife of a French government minister, sounds desperate over the cell phone; Aimee reluctantly agreed to meet her as soon as she finishes delivering a network security system. Apparently Anais learned that her spouse was having an affair with someone named Sylvie in the Belleville section of town. Anais decides to confront the mistress just as Aimee arrives. A bomb explodes, killing Sylvie. Aimee makes some quick inquiries of the local, mostly Arab immigrant community, and learns that Sylvie is known here as Eugenie Grandet, allegedly a member of a North African radical group. As Aimee continues to investigate, the group and French government officials agree that they want her to stop what she is doing; though they go about achieving their requests quite differently. MURDER IN BELLEVILLE is an exciting private investigation novel that hooks the reader from start to finish. The story line works not just because of the action, but because of the depth provided by the secondary cast, especially the residents of Belleville. Aimee retains the strength of character she displayed in her debut (see MURDER IN THE MARAIS) and repeat players (her partner and a police officer) augment the reader's understanding of her. Cara Black shows she is not a one-book wonder as her talent surfaces once again with a powerful who-done-it.Harriet Klausner

Fans who fell in love with Cara Black's first novel, Murder in the Marais, will love Murder in Belleville even more. Paris is just as beautifully and accurately conveyed; but this time the writing is even tighter and the plot moves faster. In Murder in the Marais, the plot revolved around the slaying of an old Jewish woman who had survived wartime Paris. In Belleville, Aimee must sort out how a cabinet minister may be involved with Arab militants and mysterious pearls. Aimee is even more compelling here than in her first book--strong and smart, cynical and passionate, a lonely knight and seeker of truth. If you love Paris, if you love a good, taut mystery, this book is for you.