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nolegirl's review against another edition
3.0
Right now I needed an uncomplicated read, book candy as one of my friends would call it. This was it. There were enough twists that it kept me reading and wondering if I had guessed the answer to the mystery. I had, sort of, the ended felt a little flat for me. So it wasn’t bad, but then again it wasn’t Agatha Christy either. Which is too bad because the premise was fantastic.
tazurrrnov's review against another edition
3.0
Summary for myself: Aimée Leduc, an "I don't do this anymore" private detective, takes on a case which leads her to the dead body of an elderly Jewish woman, a Swastika carved into her forehead. Leduc then infiltrates a neo-Nazi group and goes down various rabbit holes to understand who killed this woman and why.
I chose to read this novel not only because it's the first in its series but also because Le Marais happens to be my absolute favorite part of Paris. And as someone who studied in Paris for 3 months, then visited frequently when I lived in Southern France for 9 months, it is immensely clear to me that Cara Black adores Paris. No, it doesn't read like a book written by a French person -- the perspective is overwhelmingly American, much like the recent TV series Emily in Paris -- but the love for Paris, France, and the French shines through in every line. It is a little idealized, sure, but it was immensely exciting for me to read about Aimée's adventures in parts of Paris that I know as well as the back of my own hand.
While I did find the story engrossing and complex, it was, at times, too tangled to follow, and I was bewildered by how readily Aimée took on the role of an Aryan sympathizer. Also, since this was written in 1998, absolutely 100% of the technology-related aspects of her crimesolving were completely incomprehensible to me -- but honestly, I found that charming! How can she solve crimes using a floppy disk?! I sure don't know, but I enjoyed reading about it! Unfortunately, beyond Aimée herself, none of the characters are too fleshed out or interesting, and my patience for former Nazis is low to none. That being said, what a bold and gutsy choice to make the FIRST novel in your crime-fighting series be all about such a heavy, difficult, and painful subject; I really respect Ms. Black for that decision. And Aimée is a cool, kick-ass character -- even her high-heels lipstick feminism didn't stick out or grate on me, even reading it 22 years after it was written. This was fun, at times campy, never boring. Certainly not what I expected, but I'm glad I read it!
I chose to read this novel not only because it's the first in its series but also because Le Marais happens to be my absolute favorite part of Paris. And as someone who studied in Paris for 3 months, then visited frequently when I lived in Southern France for 9 months, it is immensely clear to me that Cara Black adores Paris. No, it doesn't read like a book written by a French person -- the perspective is overwhelmingly American, much like the recent TV series Emily in Paris -- but the love for Paris, France, and the French shines through in every line. It is a little idealized, sure, but it was immensely exciting for me to read about Aimée's adventures in parts of Paris that I know as well as the back of my own hand.
While I did find the story engrossing and complex, it was, at times, too tangled to follow, and I was bewildered by how readily Aimée took on the role of an Aryan sympathizer. Also, since this was written in 1998, absolutely 100% of the technology-related aspects of her crimesolving were completely incomprehensible to me -- but honestly, I found that charming! How can she solve crimes using a floppy disk?! I sure don't know, but I enjoyed reading about it! Unfortunately, beyond Aimée herself, none of the characters are too fleshed out or interesting, and my patience for former Nazis is low to none. That being said, what a bold and gutsy choice to make the FIRST novel in your crime-fighting series be all about such a heavy, difficult, and painful subject; I really respect Ms. Black for that decision. And Aimée is a cool, kick-ass character -- even her high-heels lipstick feminism didn't stick out or grate on me, even reading it 22 years after it was written. This was fun, at times campy, never boring. Certainly not what I expected, but I'm glad I read it!
attytheresa's review against another edition
3.0
I last read this around 2000, not long after it was published in 1999. Not long after I visited paris and actually walked the streets and located and enjoyed most of the locations in the Marais and around Paris where Aimee takes us as she solves the murder of an elderly jewess who had survived WWII. I'm really glad I did because while some parts were vivid, including the basic plot, I had forgotten masses of it. I also suspect that I paid little to no attention to the underlying social, economic, and historical setting. More on that later.
It's early November 1993 in Paris. An elderly Jew appears at the door of LeDuc Detecive Agency and on behalf of Temple Emmanuel hires Aimee, an expert on computer forensics detection, to decipher computer code and place the results into the hands of Lili Stein who lives on rue des Rosiers, the heart of the old Jewish quarter in the Marais. After successfully breaching the code, Aimee arrives to deliver it as instructed and finds Lili dead, a swastika carved into her forhead. From here, Aimee finds herself reluctantly solving not only Lili's murder, but a murder that happened in WWII and uncovering many deeply buried WWII secrets of the Marais.
This was [a:Cara Black|22663|Cara Black|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1410295565p2/22663.jpg]'s and Aimee's debut, one that has, as of today, led to 20 more Aimee investigations and 2 WWII independent historical novels. In all her work, the City of Paris is just as important a 'character' as Aimee herself and her partner Rene and her dog Miles Davis (pronounced of cours Meeles Davees- as if it is french), which adds so much to the enjoyment. All, so far, are set in the 90s, where there were computers, some limited internet (using dial-up and modems), and even mobile phones (Europe was way ahead of the US on this as getting home landlines could take years of waiting on list). But detection still required a lot of leg work, being undercover (Aimee's ability to change appearance using wigs, make-up, wardrobe is a constant delight here), digging through records in dusty archives. In that way, Black followed in the footsteps of the late great Sue Grafton whose Kinsey Milhone stayed in the 1980s where detectives still detected. Just with a soupcon of what was to come with computers. We also have a few hints of things in Aimee's past to be disclosed.
What hit me over the head like a 2 X 4 was how very significant it was for this particular story to be set in early November 1993. It's not subtle, yet somehow I think I missed it 22 years ago on my first read. The EU was officially formed on November 1, 1993. In the background here is the fact that the first meeting of all the newly formed EU nations is happening in Paris during the week of this plot, with the goal of signing a new treaty on immigration and employment of immigrants within the EU countries, and it's a harsh one as countries like France have 12.8% unemployment. Protests are happening, and the Neo-Nazi home grown terrorist acts are escalating (something that was in fact a problem throughout Europe at that time). Maybe having lived through the Trump administrations severe immigration polices and detentions and the increasing visibility of white supremacy groups in the US has made me more alert to these themes and how they play into the plot.
Many very ugly stories of WWII are told here through the memories of several characters, not just of Jews in the Marais but also of post-liberation, particularly the treatment of women descried as collaborators because they had relations with a German. Over the last 20 years, I've seen in the books being written that the French and other European nations are letting go of this black or white picture that you were resistance or you were a collaborator; acknowledging that active members of the Resistance were tiny in number, ditto those who chose to collaborate, that the vast majority were just trying to survive and put food on the table. I think Black did a really good job of showing all this.
I actually give this 3.5 stars. I found some leaps in the plot abrupt, or puzzling, or needing more explanation as to how Aimee got to that point. Some scenes were a little much -- particularly at the end. A few things weren't tied up as they needed to be. In the end I rounded it down to 3 stars. But it's definitely a powerful debut.
It's early November 1993 in Paris. An elderly Jew appears at the door of LeDuc Detecive Agency and on behalf of Temple Emmanuel hires Aimee, an expert on computer forensics detection, to decipher computer code and place the results into the hands of Lili Stein who lives on rue des Rosiers, the heart of the old Jewish quarter in the Marais. After successfully breaching the code, Aimee arrives to deliver it as instructed and finds Lili dead, a swastika carved into her forhead. From here, Aimee finds herself reluctantly solving not only Lili's murder, but a murder that happened in WWII and uncovering many deeply buried WWII secrets of the Marais.
This was [a:Cara Black|22663|Cara Black|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1410295565p2/22663.jpg]'s and Aimee's debut, one that has, as of today, led to 20 more Aimee investigations and 2 WWII independent historical novels. In all her work, the City of Paris is just as important a 'character' as Aimee herself and her partner Rene and her dog Miles Davis (pronounced of cours Meeles Davees- as if it is french), which adds so much to the enjoyment. All, so far, are set in the 90s, where there were computers, some limited internet (using dial-up and modems), and even mobile phones (Europe was way ahead of the US on this as getting home landlines could take years of waiting on list). But detection still required a lot of leg work, being undercover (Aimee's ability to change appearance using wigs, make-up, wardrobe is a constant delight here), digging through records in dusty archives. In that way, Black followed in the footsteps of the late great Sue Grafton whose Kinsey Milhone stayed in the 1980s where detectives still detected. Just with a soupcon of what was to come with computers. We also have a few hints of things in Aimee's past to be disclosed.
What hit me over the head like a 2 X 4 was how very significant it was for this particular story to be set in early November 1993. It's not subtle, yet somehow I think I missed it 22 years ago on my first read. The EU was officially formed on November 1, 1993. In the background here is the fact that the first meeting of all the newly formed EU nations is happening in Paris during the week of this plot, with the goal of signing a new treaty on immigration and employment of immigrants within the EU countries, and it's a harsh one as countries like France have 12.8% unemployment. Protests are happening, and the Neo-Nazi home grown terrorist acts are escalating (something that was in fact a problem throughout Europe at that time). Maybe having lived through the Trump administrations severe immigration polices and detentions and the increasing visibility of white supremacy groups in the US has made me more alert to these themes and how they play into the plot.
Many very ugly stories of WWII are told here through the memories of several characters, not just of Jews in the Marais but also of post-liberation, particularly the treatment of women descried as collaborators because they had relations with a German. Over the last 20 years, I've seen in the books being written that the French and other European nations are letting go of this black or white picture that you were resistance or you were a collaborator; acknowledging that active members of the Resistance were tiny in number, ditto those who chose to collaborate, that the vast majority were just trying to survive and put food on the table. I think Black did a really good job of showing all this.
I actually give this 3.5 stars. I found some leaps in the plot abrupt, or puzzling, or needing more explanation as to how Aimee got to that point. Some scenes were a little much -- particularly at the end. A few things weren't tied up as they needed to be. In the end I rounded it down to 3 stars. But it's definitely a powerful debut.
pattieod's review
3.0
Although I enjoyed the premise and the setting (a half-American, half-French daughter of a Paris detective who own her own cybersecurity firm in Paris) I'm hoping her subsequent books are better.
I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just say that the plot veers from the fairly believable to the not-at-all believable.
I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just say that the plot veers from the fairly believable to the not-at-all believable.
christinamk88's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
alic59books's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
auri_underthing's review
I think I just wasn't in the right mood, will probs come back to it later.
bookscatsbikes's review against another edition
3.0
I almost put this down about halfway through. Not sure what kept me going since I'm willing to let books go without a second thought but I did and it was fine. The ending was a bit much - running on slippery rooftops in high heels, getting rescued mid-fall (Was it a helicopter? That never gets explained.), that sort of thing. I'm all for ridiculous stunt sequences but when a story seems to be aiming for realism, this sort of thing stands out.
A couple of sections in the book confused me. I wasn't sure if I'd missed a new clue or was supposed to know something. It wasn't an overly complicated plot but there were some leaps involved (not the rooftop kind, either). Not sure if I'll keep going with this series.
A couple of sections in the book confused me. I wasn't sure if I'd missed a new clue or was supposed to know something. It wasn't an overly complicated plot but there were some leaps involved (not the rooftop kind, either). Not sure if I'll keep going with this series.
jonetta's review against another edition
3.0
Aimee Leduc, a young French-American detective living in Paris, is hired by a renowned Holocaust survivor to decode an encrypted message and ends up entangled in a murder investigation in the Marais district of Paris. Her undercover search leads to a neo-Nazi group and lots of intrigue involving current politicians and people involved in the German occupation of France in World War II.
The story was interesting and the characters certainly were a challenge as many were not who they seemed or presented themselves to be. Aimee Leduc was certainly resourceful and extraordinarily skilled at not only investigating the case but in taking care of herself. She's an enigma that this story seemed to only scratch the surface of and I very much liked her personally and as a detective.
Where this story fell short for me was with the lack of depth in developing the secondary characters who are a constant in Aimee's world. It was obvious that these were longstanding relationships but we weren't given enough history to make sense of their roles, especially Inspector Morbier. I couldn't discern if he had a fatherly, antagonistic or lust-from-afar relationship with Aimee. Her partner, Rene, obviously has a backstory but was relegated to pitching in here and there in a confusing way. Aimee's connection to Yves ended up being just bizarre in my opinion.
There was also a lot going on in the story. I didn't have a hard time tracking it but the transitions were awkward. I also felt a bit let down by the ending as there were so many issues that felt unresolved. I like the character so I'm committed to reading at least one more book in the series and hope that this first book bore the pains of establishing the foundation for the rest series.
The story was interesting and the characters certainly were a challenge as many were not who they seemed or presented themselves to be. Aimee Leduc was certainly resourceful and extraordinarily skilled at not only investigating the case but in taking care of herself. She's an enigma that this story seemed to only scratch the surface of and I very much liked her personally and as a detective.
Where this story fell short for me was with the lack of depth in developing the secondary characters who are a constant in Aimee's world. It was obvious that these were longstanding relationships but we weren't given enough history to make sense of their roles, especially Inspector Morbier. I couldn't discern if he had a fatherly, antagonistic or lust-from-afar relationship with Aimee. Her partner, Rene, obviously has a backstory but was relegated to pitching in here and there in a confusing way. Aimee's connection to Yves ended up being just bizarre in my opinion.
There was also a lot going on in the story. I didn't have a hard time tracking it but the transitions were awkward. I also felt a bit let down by the ending as there were so many issues that felt unresolved. I like the character so I'm committed to reading at least one more book in the series and hope that this first book bore the pains of establishing the foundation for the rest series.
pinars's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to like this book. The plot was promising: a female detective in Paris. Story taking place mainly at La Marais, my favorite neighborhood in Paris, a mystery from WWII, Jewish survivors, collaborators... what's not to like? Apparently, everything, except the synopsis. I won't repeat what many great reviews here have pointed out; none of it works in this book.