Parisian private investigator, Aimee LeDuc is thrilled, if somewhat confused when she finds her former lover, Yves, waiting for her outside of an appointment one winter's night. Yves, an investigative journalist had disappeared from Aimee's life suddenly about a year previously in hot pursuit of a story in Africa. Although she is skeptical, he claims he's thought of her constantly and asks her to marry him, giving her a Turkish betrothal ring as a token of his sincerity.
Mourning Yves
The morning after their romantic evening, Aimee wakes to find Yves gone. It is not until she is called to the Brigade Criminelle the next day, however, that she learns he is gone from her life forever. According to witnesses, Yves was last seen in a doorway in the Rue de Paradis, a street known for its high-end crystal and china shops as well as its immigrant Arabic and Turkish population.
Aimee LeDuc Moves On
Putting her grief aside, Aimee is determined to discover why Yves left her for that early morning meeting and why is ended so tragically. When her contacts and Yves newspaper colleagues start turning up missing or dead, she knows she's on the right track...but at what cost?
Murder in the Rue de Paradis is the eighth is the Aimee LeDuc mystery series. LeDuc, the daughter of a Paris police detective who was killed investigating a crime several years ago, lives in the elegant, but aging Ile St. Louis townhouse that once belongs to her grandfather. She mostly works with computer crimes, but this crime is personal.
Cara Black shows again her grasp of Parisian politics and civic affairs as well as the ins and outs of Paris away from the tourist track. The intricate plot in Rue Paradis involves current affairs in Turkey, the Middle East, and Africa. It might be a little difficult to follow for those not up-to-date in these things, but the tragic love story of Aimee and Yves works on multiple levels. Like the other Aimee LeDuc novels, Rue Paradis is a unique and enjoyable tale of intrigue set in one of the most beautiful and interesting cities in the world.
About Cara Black
Cara Black is an American writer with a passion for France. She lives in San Francisco with her husband, a bookseller, and their son, and makes frequent trips to Paris. Murder on the Rue Paradis is her eighth Aimee LeDuc mystery.
