Murder in the Latin Quarter (Aimee Leduc) by Cara Black
| Murder in the Latin Quarter (Aimee Leduc) by Cara Black | |
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| Category: Crime | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: Paris is the star of this fast-paced mystery starring the impetuous and irrepresible Aimée Leduc. Recommended. | |
| Buy? Maybe | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 368 | Date: April 2010 |
| Publisher: Robinson Publishing | |
| ISBN: 978-1849013147 | |
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Aimée Leduc is back and this time she might just have found the sister she's always longed for. When a Haitian woman arrived in the offices of Leduc detective in central Paris and announced that she was Aimée's father's illegitimate daughter Aimée allowed enthusiasm to overrule logic as she'd been lonely since her mother's disappearance and her father's death. René, her partner in Leduc Detective, is wary but he can't dissuade Aimée. It's not long before she's involved in the murky world of Haitian politics and murder in Paris' bohemian Latin Quarter.
Forget the characters, forget the story. This book is worth reading for Paris alone and it's not tourist Paris – it's the one where people live and work. You'll smell the coffee and hear all those sounds which are uniquely Paris – I even took to following the action on the thoughtfully-provided map.
And there is action aplenty. Aimée is not one to spend a lot of time cogitating before she springs into action. Occasionally you wish that you could read with your eyes closed because you're sure that something nasty is about to happen. It usually does too, as Aimée lurches from scrape to close escape. Her impetuosity should be balanced by René's calm logic, but he's very much the junior partner.
Despite the fact that the story is rather over-shadowed by the action it is still a very good plot. Haiti has been in the news recently and it was thought-provoking to realise that the country had considerable difficulties even before the 2010 earthquake. It's shaming that poor countries receive so little quality help from the richer countries. At the end of the book, I felt that I understood much more about Haiti but even less about why it should be that way.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag. We also have a review of Murder in Saint-Germain by Cara Black.
For another Parisian crime novel where you can really smell the coffee, we can recommend Wasp-Waisted by David Barrie. We can also recommend the work of Fred Vargas.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Murder in the Latin Quarter (Aimee Leduc) by Cara Black at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Murder in the Latin Quarter (Aimee Leduc) by Cara Black at Amazon.com.
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