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creeker868's review against another edition
2.0
Premise was interesting. Usually enjoy stories about long lost paintings. This was my first Aimee Leduc mystery and it didn't really hold my interest. She doesn't appear to be a very competent detective as she seems to blunder from one mishap to another.
lazygal's review against another edition
4.0
A mystery series set in Paris? Yes, please.
Our Heroine, Aimee Leduc, is semi-involved with the police - her grandfather, father and godfather all were members of the force (although Dad seems to have been drummed out ignominiously) but she is supposedly a computer security person. And yet she gets involved with solving crimes, with a closet filled with disguises and a wallet with many different IDs (names, phones, occupations, etc.). In terms of darkness, this is more like Penny's Gamache series than a Rebus or Dalgliesh, and no where near the amateur sleuth cozies of Rita Mae Brown, Dorothy Cannell, etc.. That's all good.
The setting, Paris, is really brought to life for readers; even though I've spent time there and knew some of the areas, there were streets and histories that eluded me and made me want to get out my maps and travel guides to learn more. Again, that's good.
The main mystery is who is killing for the "new" Modigliani, a portrait of Lenin that has been forgotten in a storage unit for 70 years. There are Russians, Serbs, political activists and art thieves running through this story, not all of whom are working together. Aimee's role is to find the painting, but before she does there are at least two murders and several assaults. There's a side story about Rene, her partner, and his misadventures in Silicon Valley, but that doesn't seem to really have an effect here and could easily have been left out.
While this was so close to being a five star, what cost it were two things: clunky exposition and too much product placement. By "clunky exposition" I mean the many, many times when Aimee was supposed to be some place and the writing is something like "'Meet me at Les Invalides' - the former military hospital and where Napoleon is buried". It felt a little like the author was trying to cram in as much Parisian background as possible, when less would have done fine. The product placement comes from Aimee's closet. It doesn't really make a difference to the plot if she's wearing vintage YSL or Chanel or Sonia Rykiel, but we're told time and again who the designer is.
Still, this is an author and series I didn't know before... and as soon as possible, I'll be reading the previous books! Luckily, it doesn't seem imperative that you read them in order.
ARC provided by publisher.
Our Heroine, Aimee Leduc, is semi-involved with the police - her grandfather, father and godfather all were members of the force (although Dad seems to have been drummed out ignominiously) but she is supposedly a computer security person. And yet she gets involved with solving crimes, with a closet filled with disguises and a wallet with many different IDs (names, phones, occupations, etc.). In terms of darkness, this is more like Penny's Gamache series than a Rebus or Dalgliesh, and no where near the amateur sleuth cozies of Rita Mae Brown, Dorothy Cannell, etc.. That's all good.
The setting, Paris, is really brought to life for readers; even though I've spent time there and knew some of the areas, there were streets and histories that eluded me and made me want to get out my maps and travel guides to learn more. Again, that's good.
The main mystery is who is killing for the "new" Modigliani, a portrait of Lenin that has been forgotten in a storage unit for 70 years. There are Russians, Serbs, political activists and art thieves running through this story, not all of whom are working together. Aimee's role is to find the painting, but before she does there are at least two murders and several assaults. There's a side story about Rene, her partner, and his misadventures in Silicon Valley, but that doesn't seem to really have an effect here and could easily have been left out.
While this was so close to being a five star, what cost it were two things: clunky exposition and too much product placement. By "clunky exposition" I mean the many, many times when Aimee was supposed to be some place and the writing is something like "'Meet me at Les Invalides' - the former military hospital and where Napoleon is buried". It felt a little like the author was trying to cram in as much Parisian background as possible, when less would have done fine. The product placement comes from Aimee's closet. It doesn't really make a difference to the plot if she's wearing vintage YSL or Chanel or Sonia Rykiel, but we're told time and again who the designer is.
Still, this is an author and series I didn't know before... and as soon as possible, I'll be reading the previous books! Luckily, it doesn't seem imperative that you read them in order.
ARC provided by publisher.
bgg616's review against another edition
3.0
I would have given this a higher rating but Serbian mafia guys and Russian millionaires are not that interesting to me. Also some of the ways Aimee got info and in and out of out spots were a bit ludicrous.
ericgaryanderson's review against another edition
3.0
#13 in the series, so obviously Cara Black and Aimee Leduc have lots of fans. I dipped in because I went to Paris last summer and was especially intrigued by the Modigliani angle in this book. (There's a long-lost/previously unknown Modigliani painting—of Lenin!—and all sorts of French and Serbian Mafia hijinks once the painting comes into view.) I made my way all the way through the book—yay—but was underwhelmed, though. Mostly I was distracted and mildly annoyed by small things: repetition of ostensibly local tics and quirks (okay, maybe EVERYONE in Paris doesn't pick up their phone, but jeez), guide-book/Wikipedia style local info that seems pasted in, and capsule summaries and reminders of things that literally JUST happened. Also, let there be NO DOUBT that Aimee Leduc has mother abandonment issues and is up in a tizzy about them about every 4-6 pages. Plot: okay. Solution to mystery: fairly surprising but not an earthshaker. Writing: meh. Paris setting: sometimes nicely evoked, sometimes Wikipedian.
nonna7's review against another edition
4.0
I fell in love with Paris a long time ago. I fell in love with this series only a few years ago, but it's been my gateway to Paris now for the last several years. I love Aimee Leduc - smart, sexy, rides around in a faded pink Vespa, has a beretta which she uses sparingly, a wide variety of phony business cards and id's as she pursues her next case at Leduc Detective Agency while simultaneously running a computer security company.
In the past she could rely on her business partner, Rene, to run that side of the business. However, Rene has left her behind to pursue an impressive offer from a Silicon Valley company. Meanwhile, Aimee has been given a 5000 Franc (these stories do NOT take place in the present) retainer to find a lost Modigliani that is a never before seen portrait of Vladimir Lenin when he was in exile in Paris.
For both Rene and Aimee things are not what they seem. Yuri, the man who hired Aimee, is found tortured to death and the painting is nowhere to be found. He had a relationship with her mother, someone Aimee has not seen she was 8 yrs old when her mother disappeared. Renee discovers that his Silicon Valley employers are not what he expected.
I'm not going to spoil the surprise, but there's a BIG one at the end! Loved this one as I have Ms. Black's previous books.
In the past she could rely on her business partner, Rene, to run that side of the business. However, Rene has left her behind to pursue an impressive offer from a Silicon Valley company. Meanwhile, Aimee has been given a 5000 Franc (these stories do NOT take place in the present) retainer to find a lost Modigliani that is a never before seen portrait of Vladimir Lenin when he was in exile in Paris.
For both Rene and Aimee things are not what they seem. Yuri, the man who hired Aimee, is found tortured to death and the painting is nowhere to be found. He had a relationship with her mother, someone Aimee has not seen she was 8 yrs old when her mother disappeared. Renee discovers that his Silicon Valley employers are not what he expected.
I'm not going to spoil the surprise, but there's a BIG one at the end! Loved this one as I have Ms. Black's previous books.
gwawrz's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. This was the first Aimee Leduc book i've read and i'm definitely considering reading the other 12 that came before it.
heyalisa's review against another edition
4.0
I listened to this one in the car. I liked the French details and the mystery was pretty strong.
carolsnotebook's review against another edition
2.0
I think if I knew Aimee and her friends more, I would have understood more of what was going on and why, but as it was, it seemed like Aimee made bad decisions, never paid any attention to her dog, let down her friends even though I think she was supposed to be loyal to them. I just didn't care, and I didn't understand what the big fuss with her mother was, but she kept obsessing over her and I had to wonder if this was standard for the series or just an add-on to this one. Aimee seems to have men-trouble and a fondness for vintage clothes, but I'm not really sure what makes her qualified to be a detective or run a computer security company, other than that she inherited the agency from her family and has friends who know their way around computers.
You can see my whole review at Carol's Notebook.
You can see my whole review at Carol's Notebook.
ermartinez's review against another edition
4.0
This was a great book- definitely going to read the rest of the series by Cara Black.
booksuperpower's review against another edition
4.0
Murder Below Montparnasse a Soho crime publication is a March 2013 release. This book is written by Cara Black.
Aimee is a private detective in France. Her partner, Rene' has taken a job in America leaving her to run the agency. Amiee's and her friend and associate, Saj, are involved in an accident that inadvertly involves them in a chase for a priceless painting and a link to Aimee's mother.
Yuri comes across a painting in a storage area that is priceless, but instead of keeping it to himself until he can have the painting appraised, he begins to tell other people about it. Now, there is no shortage of interest in this painting, which also points to a Soviet secret.
Meanwhile, Rene' is finding that things aren't what they appear in Silicon Valley.
Aimee' also must deal with her mother's shady past, her grandfather's refusal to address those issues, and her boyfriend being on assignment and incommunicado, all while trying to run the agency, being attacked, and trying to find the elusive painting Yuri hired her to find.
Set in France, this mystery/detective novel is a bit off the beaten path. The French names and words sometimes slowed my reading pace down a little, but I loved the story. Well plotted with many layers all tied in together. The ending was a bit of surprise, especially for Aimee'. I will be looking for more novels by Cara Black. Highly recommend. Overall an A. Thanks to Edelweiss and Soho for the ARC.
Aimee is a private detective in France. Her partner, Rene' has taken a job in America leaving her to run the agency. Amiee's and her friend and associate, Saj, are involved in an accident that inadvertly involves them in a chase for a priceless painting and a link to Aimee's mother.
Yuri comes across a painting in a storage area that is priceless, but instead of keeping it to himself until he can have the painting appraised, he begins to tell other people about it. Now, there is no shortage of interest in this painting, which also points to a Soviet secret.
Meanwhile, Rene' is finding that things aren't what they appear in Silicon Valley.
Aimee' also must deal with her mother's shady past, her grandfather's refusal to address those issues, and her boyfriend being on assignment and incommunicado, all while trying to run the agency, being attacked, and trying to find the elusive painting Yuri hired her to find.
Set in France, this mystery/detective novel is a bit off the beaten path. The French names and words sometimes slowed my reading pace down a little, but I loved the story. Well plotted with many layers all tied in together. The ending was a bit of surprise, especially for Aimee'. I will be looking for more novels by Cara Black. Highly recommend. Overall an A. Thanks to Edelweiss and Soho for the ARC.