Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I loved Murder in the Marais. That said, while I enjoyed Cara Black's new, second book featuring Aimee Leduc, I didn't love it. Certainly, it rolls along at a good clip. But my primary problem, aside from a too-large cast of characters, was a fair absence of emotion on Aimee's part about the things that happen to some of the characters. Aimee's feelings in this tale seem to be focused primarily on herself, and, as a result, there's an absence of impact on the reader when terrible things happen. There are some fine moments, particularly one scene involving a cellphone conversation with the four-year-old daughter of Aimee's "employer." But this is a story about serious events and the lack of the heroine's feelings for the people involved in these events does a disservice to the overall narrative.

It is none the less an entertaining, if somewhat difficult, book and I would recommend that newcomers to Black's work read Murder In the Marais first. She manages to set the Paris scene wonderfully well; its smells, its sights, the feel of the place. And for that alone I give the author high marks.

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 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.

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.

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 did not enjoy MURDER IN BELLEVILLE as much as MURDER IN THE MARAIS. BELLEVILLE kept me reading until I reached its disappointing conclusion (like the optomistic kid looking for the pony in the room full of merde), but I had a difficulty keeping track of the convoluted storyline. There are too many Algerian factions. There are too many characters who keep coming and going. There are too many crises. The map in the paperback version did nothing to help me identify the many scenes of action. Perhaps the map in the hardcover is better, but I would not waste money on the hard cover. If you are going to the beach and plan to doze off while you read, this is not the book for you. If you are looking for good historical fiction this is not the book for you.

Although aspects of BELLEVILLE are reminiscent of LeCarre's novels of international intrigue, Black's tale is not as good. Aimee Leduc, the female protagonist encounters more danger in a single day than the average agent encounters in a year. The nature of her close calls boggle the imagination. My goodness --she stuggles out of the arms of a hit man who shoots her in the back, into the arms of a Siberian bear, down a feed chute, and is almost trampled by an elephant in the space of two pages.

Black appears to understand the Algerian and North African populations living in Paris. She describes their many faceted misogynist culture in interesting detail and links her storyline to real events such as the standoff in the Christian church by the "sans papiers" (illegal aliens) in the 1990s. I probably would have had more sympathy for their plight if I had read the book before Sept. 11. Now, it's difficult for me to feel any sympathy for those who break the law.

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...

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??

"Make a chain,
For the land is filled with crimes of blood,
And the city is full of violence." -- Ezekiel 7:23 (NKJV)

Aimee Leduc agrees to help the sister of a journalist friend deal with the ex-mistress of her husband. In a terrifying reprise of her father's death in a vehicle bombing, Aimee arrives in time to see the ex-mistress blown to bits in a Mercedes. Her frightened "client" asks her to help find the killer . . . and then drops out of sight.

This story has its historical roots in the French colonization of Algeria and the bloody battles there for independence. The current context involves undocumented illegal Arab immigrants who face deportation to an Algeria where their lives won't be worth much.

I didn't find this story nearly as engaging as Murder in the Marais, the first book in the series.

Although I know something about the historical context of this story, it wasn't enough for me to easily follow the final twists and turns of the plot.

I have read two of the books in this series and listened to readings of two other books. I liked listening to the readings much better than reading the books for myself.

I see the reviews are 'mixed'! The ones that love the books are, of course, actually in love with Paris. Either in person and/or through an incredible amount of research
, the author gives us Paris in extreme detail. I really must chuckle at all of the reviews, since I have had the same thoughts from book to book. At times I almost
think the author would love to become one and the same with Aimee. A look at the authors picture on the jacket and I say, there's Aimee! The books are OK if you
just go with the flow and don't expect serious writing skills. A couple little hints for you folks if I can sneak it in. Never buy a bunch of books based on reviews. I
have read all of the Aimee Leduc books except for the most recent one and all it cost me was a trip to the public library!