Murder in the Rue de Paradis

Reading these books is like making another trip to Paris and we can all use a Paris fix now and then.

Americans who base their images of Paris on old Audrey Hepburn movies may recoil at first from Cara Black's portrait of a city that is increasingly defined by "outsiders" - immigrants and fringe ethnic groups - but it is for just this reason that we should read her mysteries. Postcard Paris will always be there, but Black gives us the underbelly that makes us appreciate the gleaming, romantic surface all the more.

This is a terrific book. From a simple murder in an alleyway, Cara Black brings us along on a harrowing journey from the hallways of Agence France Presse to the back rooms of the underground metro. With the backdrop of a conspiracy between Kurds and Turks, Ms Black's keeps us turning pages as we follow Aimee Leduc to find out who murdered her lover Yves. Other characters points of view include Narida, Vatel, and Aimee Leduc's partner Renee. It's a great read.

In this 8th book that follows Aimée in another international plot that shocks us with the opening events, you 'll see what happens on the rue de Paradis. One must read the previous books to appreciate why this causes our Aimée to spin into action. Cara Black gets better with each book. I'd love to see a TV series based them

In 1995 Paris remains shell-shocked from the recent bombings at the St.-Michel Metro. In that milieu of distrust, private investigator Aimee Leduc is elated to see her former boyfriend, investigative journalist Yves Robert. They share an incredible evening together topped off by his proposal, which she accepts. The next morning the Paris police call Aimee to come to the city morgue in order to affirm the corpse is her fiancé of not even one day. Stunned and unable to let it go especially since the official police report is more interested in remaining politically correct preferring to blame an unknown male prostitute during these harrowing times rather than solving a murder, Aimee investigates. She believes that Yves was working undercover and with her partner Rene Friant make inquiries that tie Yves' last assignment to bitter enemies Turkey and its Kurdish populace. As always with an Aimee Leduc French mystery (see MURDER ON THE ILE SAINT-LOUIS), readers obtain a tour of Paris that the government and the tourist bureaus prefer to hide. The current case is very personal as Aimee and Rene follow clues that bring Paris to life. Readers will appreciate her obsessive need to know answers to whom and why as the MURDER IN THE RUE DE PARADIS is another outstanding French private investigative thriller. Harriet Klausner