Murder on the Ile Saint-Louis

Starred review from January 8, 2007
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.

November 1, 2006
Here's a surprise for Aimée Leduc fans: she's got a baby. No, it's not hers, though it is surely awakening tender feelings in our tough detective. Aimée has found the little tyke near her apartment after receiving a desperate phone call from a woman whose voice she does not recognize. Soon, she's juggling diapers and security updates for the mighty Regnault company while trying to track down the baby's mother. Her twisty search leads her to a group of protesters whose march to halt government collusion with a polluting oil company has ended in fiasco; someone has planted Molotov cocktails on a protester to make the marchers look less than peaceful. Aimée's efforts lead her from framed protestor Kryzsztof, scion of a noble Polish family on hard times in Paris, to enigmatic filmmaker Claude, who covered the march, and eventually straight into the Seine for a good dunking and a slimy schlep through the nearby tunnels to arrive at the truth. And never fear, despite the baby entanglements, Aimée does get a man (in her usual here-and-gone manner). Another taut, well-observed, and thoroughly entertaining Aimée Leduc mystery, this book continues the series' blend of suspense and "attitude engagée" while nicely developing our heroine's character. For all mystery collections. [See Prepub Mystery, "LJ" 11/1/06.]Barbara Hoffert, "Library Journal"

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2006
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.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)