Customer Reviews

Murder in the Palais Royal (Aimee Leduc Investigations, No. 10)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Murder in the Palais Royal" takes intrepid PI Aimee Leduc to a crime centered in another part of Paris and the extensive description of the neighborhood--this time the Palais Royal on the Right Bank--is as informed and enjoyable as ever. Author Cara Black has fashioned a complex plot that opens with the shooting of Aimee's partner, Rene Friant, with everything pointing to Aimee as the assailant. The story line broadens to include the resurrection of an old act of anti-semitic terrorism, blackmail, more murders and assaults, computer hacking as detective work and betrayal by a friend. The action is well-paced and entertaining, and is by far the best part of the book.

What I liked less about this book (and in truth, others in the series), are the character or action elements that author Black throws into virtually every episode. For example, early in "Palais Royal" Aimee is once again involved with a guy who is "no good for her" AND the book closes with her about to take the plunge with still another questionable mec. After ten books, you would think that the character could grow a little in this area and be a little choosier. A second gripe is the protagonists's obsession with second-hand fashion. References to used designer clothing and observations by secondary characters about Aimee's chicness abound in this book to the point of tiresomeness.

While I'm going in this vein, I have to say that I'm tired of partner Rene Friant being used as prop and less as a supporting character. He's been given an interesting persona--give him more of the stage. In "Palais Royal," he's been relegated to a hospital bed for much of the story. And finally (for now), Aimee's endless pursuit of her mother and other members of her family continues its fruitless course in "Palais Royal." This subplot has gone no where for several books now. Time to fish or cut bait.

Okay, venting over. I like this series and I liked "Murder in the Palais Royal." But I'd like to think that Cara Black has more to invest in her protagonists and other characters. The tour of Paris is a very good hook for these stories, but there can be more variety in the individual episodes, more heft to the plot and growth in the people who populate them.

A three plus/four minus.

MURDER IN THE PALAIS ROYAL begins when Aimee Leduc, sharing some quiet moments with her newest boyfriend, Mathieu, receives a call from her partner, Rene Friant. One hundred thousand francs have been deposited into the Leduc Detective Agency bank account. Regrettably, no one owes them so much money and Rene is afraid Aimee has done something less than legal. A short time later, Rene is shot and Aimee is the principle suspect.

Using her connections at the Surete, Aimee escapes arrest and begins her own investigation, a move that requires she cancel her trip to New York City where she is expecting to meet the brother she never knew she had.

Fans of the series know that, with Aimee, nothing is simple or straightforward, and this adventure is no different. There is another large deposit of money into the Leduc Agency bank account leaving the Agency to be investigated for money laundering, Rene is taken to an undisclosed location to protect him from Aimee, Aimee receives a pass to visit a man who is in prison as a result of Aimee's testimony about the burning of a synagogue, a contact is murdered seconds before she and Aimee meet, and a man with a brilliant future in politics finds that future in jeopardy. There is some blackmail thrown in to make sure readers aren't bored and, just maybe, Aimee's long missing mother might have a hand in her problems.

Readers are never bored by Cara Black's series. Aimee lives a charmed life in so many ways. She invariably finds herself in tunnels or on rooftops but she is rarely out of breath and she has enviable good luck in finding couture fashions in rummage sales. The stories move as fast as Aimee and each book offers the reader a taste of the arrondissements (sounds so much better than zip codes) that make up the city of Paris.

Rene Friant, her business partner, Commissaire Morbier, her godfather, and a few girlfriends are the constants in Aimee's life as they are constants in the 10 books of the series. I always think that it is best to start a series at the beginning but the author has constructed the series so well that new readers can jump in anywhere and enjoy the story to the full.

Those who are familiar with Cara Black's series already know they are in for another treat. Those who haven't yet met Aimee should hurry to do so.

On the whole this was a mid-level read for the series. There is better Aimee than this and worse Aimee than this.

The thing that irritated me about the Kindle edition was that the words kept being run together, particularly when one of the character's names was involved. It irkes me to pay a price higher than the paperback cost and find that the proofreader took a nap or that the Kindle conversionformula was not spotchecked. Words that runtogether start to get on yournerves after a bit.

This is certainly as good as any of the previous books of Black's. Several reviewers have taken issue with the issue that Aimee can't move beyond her bad-boy guys, and yet, in real life, don't we continuously see women who never learn and stay in the same bad-boy rut? So it's realistic, at least. Having said that, though, I do wish she could take a chance on Renee. This relationship could be developed slowly; I'm sure both Renee and Aimee have sides of their personality that haven't been shown yet, if Black is afraid that that a steady relationship might make the books lack excitement. Surely after all the books to date, Aimee deserves a chance at a good guy; even good guys can be VERY exciting, if you give them a chance. Take note, Ms. Black, and take a chance with Aimee; we've invested much in her character.

I have read all of Cara Black's books and mostly enjoyed them,but honestly I really feel,and I think that I am quite correct in stating, that this book has the longest run on sentence I have ever read.Gee, I couldn't come close...and I was actually trying.

Absolute worst book to Kindle I have ever read. Too many errors to count, and very,very annoying. Words run into each other, or are hyphanated in the middle of a sentence.

Aimee is still Aimee and an ok plot.

Cara Black seems to have borrowed plots and characters from her previous books and pieced them together for her Murder in the Palais Royal. I had looked forward to her latest publication for the the new adventures of Aimee, but was disapointed in the formulatic writing for this book. I think I may move on from Aimee, as she is stuck in a rut and does not seem to be moving into any new terrritory. So sorry, I enjoyed eariler books very much.

Murder in The Palais Royal is the Best Yet. The reader is swept along in the magic. The pages simply fly by. Ms Black has perfected her craft. The characters are so well written you feel an immediate link to them, as if you had known them for years. As this is her 10th and best novel, I guess we have. All the more reason to hang on and enjoy the ride. Even after 10 novels, I am still spellbound by the plot and enchanted by the wonderful descriptions of her beloved Paris. Even though I can't afford the trip, I am there with Aimee all the way. Bravo! I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT installment

"A friend loves at all times,
And a brother is born for adversity." -- Proverbs 17:17 (NKJV)

I had heard of this detective series, but I had never read anything in it. Facing a long car trip, I discovered that this unabridged recording perfectly matched the length of my drive. Why not? I'm glad I chose it. I'm looking forward to going back to the series beginning.

In many mystery series, it's hard to enjoy the tenth book in the series . . . unless you have read and loved the prior nine. In this case, I felt right at home beginning with Murder in the Palais Royal. Any book about Paris is bound to be a fun read, and this one is no exception. The local color is terrific! Paris itself is always in the foreground.

The story quickly takes a sinister turn when Aimee Leduc's partner is shot . . . by someone who looks a lot like Aimee. Such suspicions are normally overcome quite quickly in detective novels, but attempts to clear her name don't work out in quite the ways that Aimee might hope.

In many such stories, the rest of the plot quickly becomes predictable . . . and there's some of that here, but the story twists and turns enough in unexpected ways that made me eager to get to the end and to find out the answers to several things. It was a rewarding trip that kept me excited to the end.

I enjoyed the narration. There was just the right mix of being easy to understand (when spoken in American English) while being charming (by including French pronunciations of people and place names). The pacing was excellent for building up foreboding where called for and other emotions as appropriate to that stage of the story.

Aimee as a character is just quirky enough to be interesting without being so unusual as to be unbelievable. I also liked her hearing about her foibles and mistakes.

To me, it's unusual to find a mystery with good suspense elements that also develops the characters well in a context filled with a strong sense of place. Ms. Black is obviously quite talented, and the reader is the winner.

Cara Black, the Lemony Snicket of female thriller writers, has done it again. Alone, mysteriously "orphaned", Amiee Leduc's skills and friends rescue her again and again. But the scenery is so palpable, the characters so accurate to human nature that I forget I'm reading, want to rescue her myself. A movie of Paris in this reader's mind!

In 1997 Paris, Leduc Detective's four foot Rene Fiant is shot twice by his colleague Aime Leduc. He is rushed to intensive care at Hotel Dieu. Stunned eyewitnesses tell Inspector Morbier they saw her fleeing the office where the dwarf was shot and an unexplained large amount of money has suddenly appeared in the firm's bank account, which has the tax authorities looking closely at Leduc Detective's.

Aimee knows this will be her toughest case ever as even Rene believes she tried to kill him with the Beretta. She wonders whether someone impersonating her shot her best friend, but though she has enemies from previous cases, Aimee cannot fathom whose motive would include attempted murder, which quickly changes into two homicides tied to her. Only Miles Davis believes in her innocence.

This is a super entry that goes full circle back to the first Leduc case Murder in the Marais, but a newcomer does need to read that tale to enjoy Murder in the Palais Royal although they will thoroughly enjoy that mystery and the rest of the series. Fans will appreciate this super thriller as the high heeled computer analyst has her work cut out proving her innocence and insuring her partner stays alive while providing the audience with a tour of the rest of Paris (and its suburbs) where impoverished immigrants from the former French colonies reside.

Harriet Klausner