Review: Murder in Passy: An Aimee Leduc Investigation by Cara Black

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Soho Crime (March 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569478821
• ISBN-13: 978-1569478820

Product Description

 

The village-like neighborhood of Passy, home to many of Paris’s wealthiest residents, is the last place one would expect a murder. But when Aimée Leduc’s godfather, Morbier, a police commissaire, asks her to check on his girlfriend at her home there, that’s exactly what Aimée finds. Xavierre, a haut bourgeois matron of Basque origin, is strangled in her garden while Aimée waits inside. Circumstantial evidence makes Morbier the prime suspect, and to vindicate him, Aimée must identify the real killer. Her investigation leads her to police corruption; the radical Basque terrorist group, ETA; and a kidnapped Spanish princess.

You're invited to experience even more of Aimée Leduc's Paris with an exclusive companion by Cara Black. Download the Aimée Leduc Companion for free at www.sohopress.com/companion.pdf

 

From Publishers Weekly

Full of French political intrigue, Black's atmospheric 11th Aimée Leduc investigation (after 2010's Murder in the Palais Royal) finds the Paris PI's world turned upside down with the arrest of her godfather and longtime mentor, Commissaire Morbier, for murder. Worse yet, the victim—Morbier's inamorata, Xavierre d'Eslay—was with Aimée minutes before her death by strangulation. To clear Morbier, Aimée must dig deep as his fellow officers close rank and refuse to cooperate. Helping Aimée are her detective agency partner, René; her cousin, Sebastian; and her former policeman lover, Melac, who may or may not have an agenda of his own during the investigation. Though Xavierre lived a life of privilege in the posh suburb of Passy, Aimée discovers her past is shrouded in secrecy, linked to Basque separatists and terrorist acts. While the characters and their motivations can sometimes be hard to follow, the plot builds to a satisfying conclusion. (Mar.)
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About the Author

 

Cara Black is the author of ten previous books in the bestselling Aimée Leduc series, all of which are available from the Soho Crime imprint. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and son and visits Paris frequently.

Cara blogs here:  http://murderiseverywhere.blogspot.com/ 
 

My Review

I was delighted to be transported once again to Aimee Leduc's Paris in Murder in Passy.  Each of Cara Black's books are focused upon a different area of Paris.  Aimee Leduc is a private investigator who with her partner Rene own the Leduc Detective Agency which is located on the rue du Louvre in the heart of Paris.  Aimee is tres chic running around Paris in couture and designer high heels and of course always wearing Chanel lipstick.  In this book, the eleventh Aimee Leduc adventure our heroine is still recovering from her injuries that occurred in the last adventure, Murder in the Palais Royale.

We leap right into the story in November 1997.  Aimee has decided to ask Morbier's assistance in locating her brother Julian.  And Morbier has a favour to ask of her.  Xavierre, Morbier's lady friend, who Morbier had asked Aimee to check up on is murdered and Morbier is the prime suspect.  Thus the race is on for Aimee to clear her godfather Morbier.  This fast moving, action filled novel is a pleasure to read.

This story explores the Passy section of Paris,  the 16th arrondissement, which sounds like a beautiful part of the city.  And it also focuses on the continuing fight of the Basques to gain independence from Spain and France.  The story also hints at police corruption and everything comes to a head when a Spanish Princess is kidnapped.  I was fascinated to learn about the Passy reservoir.  I always learn something new about Paris in Cara Black's books.  I enjoyed having The Aimee Leduc Companion which I downloaded from the site mentioned above to help keep track of characters and picture where all the action was taking place on the maps...I love maps!

We are given hints in this volume regarding the whereabouts of Aimee's mother.  It seems that Morbier has been keeping some secrets.  I'm looking forward to Aimee finding out more about her mother and her brother in future books.

I have read the entire series and I highly recommend this eleventh outing of the sophisticated, gutsy Aimee Leduc. 

I would like to thank Cara Black and Soho Press, Inc. for providing me with a copy of Murder in Passy for the purposes of this review.