Murder on the Ile Saint-Louis
A Review of Cara Black's Latest Paris Mystery
When detective Aimee LeDuc gets a late night call for help, she finds an infant lying in her courtyard. Later, a woman is murdered nearby. Could it be the mother?
In the most recent of Cara Black's Aimee LeDuc murder mysteries, the computer detective is drawn into a web of intrigue surrounding a demonstration against an oil company planning off-shore drilling sites on the North Sea. A woman is murdered not far from her apartment (inherited from her grandfather) on the chic Ile Saint-Louis, an exclusive island enclave in the center of the Seine River.
Little Stella
While Aimee investigates, she learns to care for the infant, whom she names Stella. Unwilling to take the baby to child services and subject the little girl to a lonely childhood like she had known, Aimee carries the baby with her, sometimes putting both of their lives in danger.
Saving the North Sea
The protest group, MondoFocus, has been infiltrated by an oil company spy, one whose methods are brutal at best. Will Aimee find Stella's mother? Can she extradite herself and the baby from the events closing in around her? It will certainly take all of her resources -- and contacts -- to do so.
Murder on the Ile Saint-Louis, like the rest of Ms. Black's Aimee LeDuc series, offers a tight plot , a likeable heroine, and an intimate look at "behind-the-tourist-attractions" Paris. Ms. Black's knowledge of Paris history and her sprinkling of Paris slang phrases, make the story feel authentic.
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 Ile Saint-Louis is her seventh novel.
