Customer Reviews

Murder in the Sentier: An Aimee Leduc Investigation

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

and that's the truth. This is the best Cara Black mystery I have read yet. The plot and the details of Paris were so interesting I hated to have to put the book down to do something else (like eat or sleep). I'll add some personal reasons why this book appealed to me, since there are a lot of rave reviews already. First, I have spent time in many parts of Paris, but never the Sentier. I had just finished Sarah Turnbull's Almost French, a nonfiction book about an Australian who comes to live in the Sentier. While it gave me an overview, Black supplies historical and cultural details of the neighborhood that now make me feel I have been up and down every street. The book also comes with a map of the area so that readers can easily follow along.

The German terrorists Black bases the story on were real. The Baader-Meinhof gang came to trial in 1975 and I was in Germany at the time. I still have the issue of Der Spiegel magazine that features the indictment on the cover. Much of the detail she uses about the fictional gang members is actually true. "Ulrike" would be Ulrike Maria Meinhof, a journalist turned terrorist. She actually did have a family, with twin daughters, that she abandoned. She was not a young student, however, but a woman over 40. She and others really were found hanged in their cells, and whether it was suicide or homicide has never been proven. "Marcus" is Andreas Bernd Baader, and he was in fact supported by Jean-Paul Sartre and other well known persons. For information on the real story, I recommend www.baader-meinhof.com. This site is in English.

Here is my one criticism: if an author is not fluent in a language (German), it is better not to use it or to have a German-speaker proof it. Spelling and grammatical errors aside, there are two things non-German-speaking Americans dont always know. One is that all nouns are always capitalized. I had to convince one of my bosses of this (in publishing) because he thought it looked "weird". Most importantly, English and German do NOT translate literally into each other, and one has to be very careful with idioms. A word in English can have five or six different meanings, while in German there may be five or six different words, one for each meaning. Please, Ms Black, dont get in over your head. It's not hard to make sure of the correct way of saying things, in any language you have your characters use. If you cant do it, use English. Readers will assume that a Russian is thinking in Russian, und so weiter.

A woman, a stranger, calls on detective Aimee Leduc with a strange story. She was Aimee's cellmate and can tell Aimee of her long-lost mother--but she demands money for her information. When Aimee shows up with the money, she finds the woman has been murdered. Desperate to find word of her mother, Aimee plunges into an investigation of the revolutionary terrorists of the 1970s--a circle that included her mother.

Aimee's search takes her through the depths of the Sentier district of Paris--still home to the remnants of the 1970s radical movement, socialist intellectuals, prostitutes, sweatshops, and the police. Walking a narrow line between law and unlawfulness, Aimee discovers evidence that something is being hidden--something beyond the memories of aging radicals.

Author Cara Black keeps Aimee in constant motion, rushing from one scene to the next, calling in favors from an intriguing variety of friends, toying with romance as she fights her craving for cigarettes. Aimee gains sympathy as she searches for her mother and tries to clear her father's name from the hints that he had become a dirty cop.

Although Black is an American author, her Paris feels terribly authentic. I would, however, have liked to see a little more cleverness on the part of Aimee. Her constant rushing about sometimes seemed to come at the cost of a bit of reflection--reflection which would have given Aimee insights into what she was doing and the reader a chance to internalize the action. The slam-bam action occasionally felt more like a movie script than a novel.

This title seemed to have so much going for it: local author, attractive design, Parisian setting.... For me, it just didn't deliver. While the story line is rather (too?) complex, that wasn't a major issue. Instead, I felt that at least two of the major questions posed by the mystery remained completely unresolved at the end, while the momentary distraction that permits our heroine to escape from the clutches of death seemed as contrived to me as if a bolt of lightning had shot from the sky and knocked a gun from the clutches of the villain. In addition, the Parisian atmosphere struck me as a very thin veneer indeed, with unidiomatic French phrases inserted at regular intervals (literal translations of English that don't have the same meanings in French, a reference to the female protagonist in the masculine form...). Other details are off, too (musician Youssou N'Dour's name is misspelled, Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side of the Moon' is referred to as having been released a year earlier than it in fact was, etc). I can say that my attention was at least held to the end. Was I expecting too much?

Having enjoyed Cara Black's debut novel, I proceeded to read the next two. Having read the third one, I can say with certainty that it will also be the last. What starts off as charming and interesting very quickly turns formulaic. It's as though the author has a specific plot outline that she follows for each book, and while her detailed depiction of Paris remains interesting/unique, everything else is the same old, same old. Each book begins with an unexpected event unrelated to the protagonist's real line of business, and against her best judgment, she takes on the challenge. This leads to twists and turns, with the 'regular' recurring characters hovering in the background, and then ends with a heavy-handed and unrealistic action scene where the protagonist emerges, injured but alive. Key protagonist Aimee's character remains undeveloped, as well as those around her. Too bad, it was off to a good start.

It's been a pleasure to discover Paris through the eyes of Aimee Leduc, the compelling, spike-haired, moped-riding, French-American private detective in Cara Black's compelling mystery series. And Murder in the Sentier, the fourth Aimee adventure, is the best one yet! Aimee's Paris is real. It's often gritty, bringing American readers into contact with a side of the city they never knew, but Black is smart enough to give us the ritzy side of Paris now and again. No matter. Whether Aimee's dressed up, dining à deux in the latest hotspot, or crawling alone through a back-alley slum, she takes us on the best kind of thrill ride possible, one that's a mixture of emotion and intellect. These books define the term "page-turner." I gobble them up and pass them on to friends. Five stars to Cara Black!

This book took me to Paris...the sights, sounds, smells made the story sing. It was like I felt the rough cobblestones under my feet. Aimee's strong but with a vulnerable side and fights for justice...she's rough and tumble and I can't wait for more.
I love exploring offbeat parts of Paris and the author hits it...down to the espresso and smell of Gauloise. The story and memorable characters are literary but full of action!

Aimee Leduc is drawn into the Sentier, home of Paris's Rag and Shag trades, now its Silicon Valley. A former terrorist just released from prison appears tries to sell information to Aimee--about her mother who disappeared when she was eight. When that woman is murdered, Aimee takes up the search for the mother and her terrorist past. Was Aimee's father a dirty cop? Is Mom still alive? Uses flashbacks of an old terrorist who returns to reveal info. The plot is a bit too jumpy--someone has information and the phone goes dead a few too many times. But the story is secondary to the atmosphere of the crumbling cobble stones and centuries old apartments--and Aimee's delightful escapes into tattoo parlors and haute couture.

After reading Murder in the Sentier I felt I'd been to Paris...without the airfare and baggage hassle. I know Paris, but this was an unexplored quartier, one I'd never visited and the sights, sounds and cobblestones enthralled me.
Aimée Leduc, who's pulled from computer forensics when a 70's German ex-radical offers her info about her long-lost mother, for a price is a great character. Not only would I like her dog, I'd like her apartment! Her quirkiness and smarts pulled me in.
There's a lot on many levels in this book and for French afficianodas or anyone who likes a good read I HIGHLY recommend this. I want more.
And now I'm going to find the first two in the series and read them!

Cara Black writes with clarity, poetry (even in a thriller!) and with a respect for Paris and French life that is outstanding.
I've lived in Paris and know the Sentier somewhat but now I want to return with the book to follow the path of her characters, look at the buildings that I may not have 'seen' except for the shops and generally enjoy the Sentier.
Cara, thank you for not only writing an excellent thriller but bringing Aimee as a character, the history of the Sentier and actual feel of the Sentier to your readers.
I look forward to reading all of your books!
To anyone reading this review, read the book now ! Then we can all join Aimee and Cara and Paris!
Jeannine

After reading Cara Black's "Murder in the Marais", an Anthony Award-nominated mystery, and her haunting "Murder in Belleville," I eagerly awaited her 3rd book, "Murder in the Sentier". In this, her latest book, the sites were even more vivid, a picturesque area of seedy and historic interest. Now we find it a dot.com and sweatshop area by day and a flesh trade area by night. This book is more personal then the previous ones. I was gripped by Aimee's strong portrayal, a satisfying story of action and humanity. It ranged from glimpses of the very timely past of terrorism of the 9170's to the different levels of Parisian society today. It is one of the best things I've ever read. Her heroine, Aimee, is smart and vulnerable. She touched my heart in her seach for her long-gone mother. I really enjoyed her other books, but after reading this one, I can't wait for her next one!