Murder on the Ile Saint-Louis (Aimee Leduc Investigations, No. 7) [Large Print] [Paperback]

Cara Black (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2007

Praise for the Aimée Leduc series:
 
“One of the best heroines in crime fiction.”—Lee Child
 
“The Parisienne Kinsey Millhone.”—Los Angeles Times
 
“One of the best new writers in the field today.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
 
“Haunting.”—The New York Times Book Review
 
Aimée is faced with a tight deadline on a computer security contract when a telephone call from a stranger leads her to an abandoned infant. She brings the baby to her home and names her Stella. She expects the mother to reclaim the child, but days pass as Aimée tries in vain to discover her identity. Her partner, René, urges her to turn the baby over to the authorities, but for Aimée this is too close to her own abandonment by her mother.
 
The search brings her among ecological protesters and oil company tycoons, newspapermen and would-be actresses, as demonstrators near her home on the Ile Saint-Louis, in the heart of Paris, march against the pollution of the North Sea only to be dispersed by armed police.
 
Two murders and an abortive bombing keep Aimée running until, in the sewers beneath the Seine, she finds the woman she has been looking for, only to discover that the man she has just fallen for is a cold-hearted criminal.

For more information, visit www.carablack.com
 

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. At the start of Black's gripping seventh mystery to feature Parisian computer expert Aimée Leduc (after 2006's Murder in Montmartre), a distraught, late-night anonymous phone call distracts Aimée from her deadline and sends her to the courtyard of her Ile Saint-Louis building, where she finds an infant girl. After the caller never shows up for her baby (whom Aimée decides to care for), Aimée wonders if the woman may have become an "Yvette," a Jane Doe dragged from the Seine. She follows a tenuous lead to discover the caller's identity, bringing her Samaritan impulses into direct conflict with her business sense. A wonderfully complex plot is lent immediacy by environmental activists agitating against a proposed oil agreement—secondary characters who play a crucial role in the intrigue. This Paris has a gritty, edgy feel, and Black's prose evokes the sound of the Seine rising with the spring thaw. Aimée makes an engaging protagonist, vulnerable beneath her vintage chic clothing and sharp-witted exterior. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Aimee Leduc, computer-security analyst and intrepid sleuth, usually needs to wander the arrondisements of Paris to find murder cases in which to involve herself. This time, though, the murder comes to the doorstep of her apartment building on the city's historic Ile Saint-Louis. Not only does Aimee find herself in the middle of a murder investigation, she also finds a baby in her arms--left on that same doorstep by an unknown woman. Following the baby's trail leads her to a violent conflict between environmentalists and an oil company. As the bodies accumulate, Aimee must sort out good guys from bad on both sides of the dispute. Meanwhile, the ever-hip investigator must come to terms with the emergence of some shocking maternal instincts. Black again makes the most of her setting, drawing on the juicy history of the Ile Saint-Louis--a crucial scene takes place on the Rue de la Femme-sans-tete (road of the headless woman)--but this time the plot lacks a bit of the sizzle that sparked previous episodes. Still, this series remains must reading for fans of the jauntier side of European crime fiction. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 471 pages
• Publisher: Wheeler Publishing (August 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159722586X
• ISBN-13: 978-1597225861
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,942,371 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Cara Black lives in Noe Valley with her bookseller husband, Jun, owner of Foto-Graphix Books, and her son, Tate. She's a San Francisco Library Laureate, Macavity and three time Anthony award-nominee for her series, Aimée Leduc Investigations, set in Paris

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Kinder, Gentler Aimée Leduc, February 24, 2008

By 

Liz at reviewedbyliz.com "Because life is too... (Cedar Springs, Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder on the Ile Saint-Louis (Aimee Leduc Investigations, No. 7) (Paperback)

MURDER ON THE ILE SAINT-LOUIS is an Aimée Leduc book. This time out, we see a softer side of Aimée, as she is prompted by a phone call from a frantic woman to come down to the courtyard of her building. Not knowing what to expect, Aimée slips on her kitten heels and grabs her gun. Instead of trouble, she finds a tiny baby girl wrapped in a denim jacket. Okay, for Aimée, that is trouble. Uncertain what else to do, Aimée enlists all of her friends to help her care for the baby until the mother returns for her.

Of course, Aimée doesn't sit idly by and wait for this to happen. Instead, she tries to find out how the mysterious caller knows her, how she came to select the unlikely Aimée as the child's protector, and to determine what is keeping the mother from returning to claim her infant. Along the way there is a healthy dose of Parisian history, a few more dead bodies, and some lovely couture frocks acquired at bargain basement prices.

Of the Aimée Leduc books I have read, MURDER ON THE ILE SAINT-LOUIS is my favorite. It has the same wonderful descriptions of the architecture and the historical stories that I enjoy so much, but it has a kinder, gentler Aimée, too. In this book, she must make the safety of the baby her primary concern and she tones down her often reckless and thoughtless behavior. A more considerate main character involves me more in the story because she is easier for me to relate to.

Favorite character? René, Aimée's business partner and emergency baby sitter. In this book, his unfulfilled wishes are there for all to see as he cares for the baby. Did I guess it? Some of it. Will I read another? Yes.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Aimée Leduc Story Continues..., March 24, 2007

By 

Suz - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder on the Ile Saint-Louis (Aimee Leduc Investigations, No. 7) (Hardcover)

I liked this book -- for two reasons, mainly. First, I enjoyed hearing more about Aimée Leduc and how her character is developing. She and her colleague René become (as they inevitably do in each story) involved in the lives of others, and in this story a lovely little baby falls into their care. It is fun to see how they respond. Second, I love hearing all the details of the nooks and crannies of Paris -- the sewers, the estate houses... These are all things I might not be privy to seeing when I visit Paris, and it is fun to picture these things.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another side of Aimee Leduc, December 8, 2010

By 

Catherine (San Franciso) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder on the Ile Saint-Louis (Aimee Leduc Investigations, No. 7) (Paperback)

This is my second favorite mystery in the Aimee Leduc series. In this book, we learn a bit more about Aimee and we see her vulnerable side a bit more. This also happens to be a neighborhood in Paris that I truly love because I was fortunate enough to live on this island for a few weeks.

Once again, Cara Black does a great job of giving us all great details. These descriptions make me want to know more about all of the main characters every time. I like that these books are all set in the late 90's which means that our technology is ahead of the characters in the book. They had no Yahoo or Google, just yer.