Murder in Clichy

Aimee Leduc, the computer-security expert who can't seem to stay out of murder investigations that take her to some of Paris' rougher neighborhoods, is at it again in this fifth episode in a consistently satisfying series. Previous installments have found the intrepid Leduc working in various blue-collar and immigrant districts around the city ( Murder in Belleville0 , Murder in the Marais0 , etc.), and this time she lands in a neighborhood, Clichy, in which Old World wealth sits jowl to jowl with a growing Vietnamese population. The murder she investigates--after a Vietnamese man is shot on the street and dies in her arms--affords plenty of opportunity to experience all aspects of Clichy's multifaceted personality. As always, Black seamlessly integrates fascinating historical material about both Paris itself and the immigrant groups in the story (the history of jade and its role in Vietnamese culture drive the action here). The mystery plot creaks a bit--too many blind alleys--but Leduc's irrepressible appeal and Black's signature ability to use Paris as a character provide ample compensation. --Bill Ott Copyright 2005 Booklist

A small act of generosity leads to murder in Anthony-nominee Black's beguiling fifth outing for savvy and sensitive Parisian PI Aimee Leduc (after 2003's Murder in the Bastille). Still reeling from injuries sustained in her previous adventure, AimEe agrees to help a middle-aged Vietnamese nun, Linh, by delivering an envelope to Thadee Baret. When Aimee meets Thadee for the drop-off, he hands her a bag of precious jade; soon after, an unseen gunman murders Thadee. Who was Thadee? Why did he give Linh the jade? Who wanted him killed? Once it becomes apparent Aimee is involved in something bigger and more dangerous than at first seemed the case (a government surveillance team threatens her; her partner, Rene, is kidnapped), even more questions arise. Readers may feel in the dark at times, and it's consoling to know that Aimee is often just as baffled. As usual, the author renders the city in dazzling detail. She paints an especially rich portrait of the curious Clichy neighborhood, a district made up of "Aristocrats with de la before their name," and "immigrants with -ski, akela, or khabib at the end of their names." Weaving culture, history and suspense, Black scores again. Agent, Linda Allen. (Mar. 15) Forecast: Blurbs from Val McDermid, Alan Furst, Stuart Kaminsky and Linda Fairstein should help broaden the appeal beyond Francophile mystery fans. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Temporarily blinded though she was in her last mystery (Murder in the Bastille), Aimee Leduc just can't keep away from trouble-even with her new doctor boyfriend warning her to stick to her chosen field, corporate security. Aimee is attending meditation sessions at the Cao Dai temple when a Vietnamese nun asks her to deliver an envelope to the mysterious Thad?e. Unfortunately, Thad?e is gunned down just as Aimee is handing over the envelope, and she ends up with the bag he was carrying-a cache of precious jade. Soon, Aimee's partner, Ren?, is kidnapped, and Aimee finds herself hunting down Thad?e's former wife and daughter, chatting up museum curators, and running from suspicious types ostensibly linked to the French police. The plot is inevitably complex, but it is beautifully-and thrillingly-rendered. Like all Aimee Leduc mysteries, this one involves larger political issues-here, the legacy of France's Indochina adventure and current tensions between Vietnam and China. And like all Aimee Leduc mysteries, this one positively breathes Paris. Another winner.-Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Her eyesight restored, AimÉe Leduc investigates an ancient Asian mystery in modern-day Paris. To try to rest her fragile optic nerve, AimÉe (Murder in the Bastille, 2003, etc.) studies meditation at a storefront Cao Dai temple, where she meets Linh, a Vietnamese nun new to Paris. Linh begs her to deliver an envelope, but when AimÉe tries to meet ThadÉe Baret in a boulangerie near Place de Clichy, shots ring out, and AimÉe has just enough time to snatch the backpack containing several exquisite jade carvings and run before the flics arrive. Spooked, AimÉe hides the bag in the office of her lover, ophthalmologist Guy Lambert--but before she can retrieve it, the office is ransacked and the figures taken. Now Guy is angry at AimÉe, not only for causing the break-in but for risking her sight again. Even though their relationship may not survive, AimÉe can't stop her investigation because someone's kidnapped her partner, RenÉ Friant, and she knows that finding the jade is the key to finding RenÉ. Baret's ex-wife Sophie and his daughter Nadège might help her, a thug named Blondel definitely wants to hurt her, and secret agent Fabien Regnier may not be at all what he seems. Although AimÉe's imperiled romance sprawls, Black's fifth leaves plenty of room for puzzlement, along with her unique brand of Ambiance de Paris. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.