Murder in the Rue de Paradis

November 26, 2007
In Black’s riveting eighth Aimée Leduc mystery (after 2007’s Murder on the Ile Saint-Louis
), Aimée reconnects in the summer of 1995 with a former boyfriend, investigative journalist Yves Robert, while Paris still reels from the St.-Michel Metro bombings. But after a romantic evening when Yves even proposes marriage, Aimée is shocked to be called in to identify Yves’s body at the morgue. Believing he was working undercover, Aimée ignores the sanitized police report and enlists her partner and best friend, René Friant, to help solve Yves’s murder. Her investigation ignites a chain reaction that reveals assassination plots, informers and secret contracts surrounding the strained relationship of a militant Turkish group and the Kurdish Labor Party, all leading back to Yves. Aimée Leduc, smart, spirited and sassy, takes the reader on an action-packed ride fueled by the hidden secrets of her beloved Paris.

Starred review from November 1, 2007
In Paris working as a nanny, devout Shi'a Nadira Abouz is given an important assignment by her Iranian handler: assassinate Kurdish feminist Jalenka Malat for the glory of Allah. Meanwhile, edgy, stylishly outré Aimée Leduc (last seen sleuthing her way through "Murder on the Ile Saint-Louis") has a little assignment of her own, for on-again, off-again boyfriend Yves has suddenly reappeared and proposed marriage. And then Yves is dead, leaving Aimée to hunt for his chador-clad killer. Her investigation leads her straight into the heart of the Kurdish question and Nadira's murderous plan because world-class reporter Yves was deeply involved in a story about the ongoing Kurdish bid for independence and dam construction in Turkey on reclaimed Kurdish territory. Does Aimée triumph? Of course, but first she'll have her usual brawl with the Préfecture de police. Once again, Black has crafted a superb tale informed by current political tensions, showing how they play out in French society while suggesting larger implications. The plot itself is swift and assured, the language elegantly gritty, the characterization deft, and the end a truly satisfying surprise. Highly recommended for all mystery collections. [See Prepub Mystery, "LJ" 10/1/07; see the Q&A with Black on p. 48.Ed.]Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2007
A surprise visit from former lover Yves goes horribly wrong in Blacks seventh Aim'e Leduc novel. In a few short hours, computer-security analyst Aim'e goes from accepting Yves marriage proposal to identifying his body in the Paris morgue. Blacks series uses a similar setup in every adventurea murder in which Aim'e has a personal stake gets in the way of her less exciting but more lucrative joband the narratives all follow in the same general direction: the seemingly overmatched Aim'e proves up to the challenge. The formula may be starting to fray, but the chief attraction of this popular series has always been the way Black uses her Paris setting: not just to prettify the surroundings but as an essential element of the stories, most of which concern one of the citys many immigrant groups. This time Aim'e lands in the middle of rival Turks and Kurds. Yes, were tiring a bit of the sameness with which Aim'e crashes breathlessly around the streets of Paris, but were as entranced as ever by the vivid evocation of those streets and the history they hold.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)