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redbecca's review against another edition
1.0
This book was terribly written; much of the action was improbable, as others have noted. She also gets basic history wrong. One really obvious mistake: she refers to the "war" as occurring from 1941-1945 (the years of the U.S.'s participation), not realizing that France declared war on Germany in 1939 and fell in 1940. I kick myself a little for reading all the way to the end.
christopherborum's review against another edition
2.0
This was an interesting novel that spanned 1993 Paris and the Nazi Occupation. I liked Aimee Leduc, the lead, but the story was too convoluted and I lost track of a couple of characters. There were one or two coincidences too many; the one that made me shake my head was Leduc inadvertently taking the file on Thierry's parentage from Claude's breakfast table . Would she have sussed out all the connections without that information? I'm not sure how she could have. I felt that there was also a little puffery. I understand wanting to create atmosphere, but some of the descriptions could have been edited down.
I will read another in this series, however, if it comes along.
I will read another in this series, however, if it comes along.
bookadventurer's review against another edition
2.0
Aimee Leduc is a private detective in 1990s Paris, who focuses on computer crimes. Which is really interesting in the 1990s, isn't it? Did they have computers back then? Ha. Certainly not ubiquitous internet. Back to the story: even though she and her father used to work on missing persons cases for Holocaust victims and survivors, she stopped doing that after a personal tragedy. However, when Soli Hecht walks into her office and asks her to investigate something completely off the books, she returns to her roots - and ends up in hot water, to mix metaphors.
It took me a few tries to get into this book, because it starts slowly and I was trying to listen on audiobook. When I found it secondhand at a bookstore, I picked it up - and found it much easier to get through. I did find the scatterings of French phrases to be a bit over the top - such as "red wine" which is used repeatedly. The mystery is more dangerous than I expected, and it's quite involved. I had trouble sometimes keeping up with the different threads, there are so many. There's a troublesome romantic liaison at one point - Leduc gets into bed with someone she thinks is a neo-Nazi. After my initial disgusted reaction, I assumed that of course, he wasn't *really* a neo-Nazi. Paris makes a prominent secondary character - the sense of place and time seems solid to me (and very front-and-center), though I've never been to Paris and speak without any knowledge of it. The portrayal of Leduc's assistant, Rene, who is a little person, doesn't stand up to the passage of time and suffers from the book's being published in the late 1990s.
Side note: I'm trying to imagine the world of 1990s computing, because it's vastly different from our own. It added to the ambience, to be sure - but I'm also sure I'm making some of it up. When will books start printing images of computers and networks that don't exist anymore for the young kids these days who are growing up with microscopic computers and 5G everywhere? Is there a Dictionary of Obsolete Technology?
It took me a few tries to get into this book, because it starts slowly and I was trying to listen on audiobook. When I found it secondhand at a bookstore, I picked it up - and found it much easier to get through. I did find the scatterings of French phrases to be a bit over the top - such as "red wine" which is used repeatedly. The mystery is more dangerous than I expected, and it's quite involved. I had trouble sometimes keeping up with the different threads, there are so many. There's a troublesome romantic liaison at one point - Leduc gets into bed with someone she thinks is a neo-Nazi. After my initial disgusted reaction, I assumed that of course, he wasn't *really* a neo-Nazi. Paris makes a prominent secondary character - the sense of place and time seems solid to me (and very front-and-center), though I've never been to Paris and speak without any knowledge of it. The portrayal of Leduc's assistant, Rene, who is a little person, doesn't stand up to the passage of time and suffers from the book's being published in the late 1990s.
Side note: I'm trying to imagine the world of 1990s computing, because it's vastly different from our own. It added to the ambience, to be sure - but I'm also sure I'm making some of it up. When will books start printing images of computers and networks that don't exist anymore for the young kids these days who are growing up with microscopic computers and 5G everywhere? Is there a Dictionary of Obsolete Technology?
janetlun's review against another edition
I finished it, so it was good enough to keep me reading. I wanted to know what happened next. But I have no desire to read another book in the series. Too silly.
melissadeemcdaniel's review against another edition
3.0
Murder in the Marais absolutely reeks of Paris. From the sewers to the rooftops, with stops for baguette and Berthillon in between, Cara Black takes us on a whirlwind tour. Aimee is not a very approachable character, she is prickly and defensive, but she is a lot of fun, and well worth the afternoon's read!
ninachachu's review against another edition
3.0
Entertaining - not wholly believable, but that's OK with me. Lots of action too plus history. Altogether a good combination.
margaretpinard's review against another edition
2.0
Two and a half stars. Enjoyable for the Paris detail, the fun clothing quick-changes, humor, and chase scenes. Missed out on some character development of principal characters, and had many confusing exchanges that didn't enlighten even after several readings... Needed more editing, I'd say. But as this was the first, I bet she got better.
- 157, 165, 177, 242, 251, 258
- 157, 165, 177, 242, 251, 258
kimberlyp's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
wyvernfriend's review against another edition
3.0
Not a bad read, there were times when I enjoyed it wholeheartedly but there were times when I felt that it slowed down or was a bit scant in details I didn't really feel a connection to the characters and it felt more like an intellectual exercise than immersive mystery.
Aimee Leduc is a half-French, half-American detective working in Paris, trying hard to make ends meet and sometimes succeeding. She gets caught up in New-Nazis in Paris when she decrypts an World War II photograph and brings it to a old woman that she then finds dead, with a Swastika carved in her forehead, this leads her down paths she would rather not get involved in but her reputation and life are on the line.
Shows promise.
Aimee Leduc is a half-French, half-American detective working in Paris, trying hard to make ends meet and sometimes succeeding. She gets caught up in New-Nazis in Paris when she decrypts an World War II photograph and brings it to a old woman that she then finds dead, with a Swastika carved in her forehead, this leads her down paths she would rather not get involved in but her reputation and life are on the line.
Shows promise.