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A review by lazygal
Murder at the Lanterne Rouge by Cara Black
3.0
I seem to be reading this series in reverse... it's an interesting way to discover a character and their backstory.
As with Murder Below Montparnasse this is set in an area of Paris I know but Black brings out odd corners and history that I didn't know; I'm starting to keep notes so on my next trip I can go to this church... that bistro. There's a little bit of Templar madness here, but it doesn't rise to Dan Brownian levels (yay!). The socially relevant parts revolve around Chinese snakeheads and forced labor, but again the messages isn't hammered home.
I'm still annoyed by the name dropping of designers, thought. It doesn't really add to the plot to know that there's a Fendi jacket, or vintage Chanel. Really. And it's a little strange that this is set in the 1990s, for no apparent reason. Aimee and Rene's business is technology - computer security, with some hacking involved - so why not bring the series into the modern day? Perhaps I'll learn the why when I get to Book One.
As with Murder Below Montparnasse this is set in an area of Paris I know but Black brings out odd corners and history that I didn't know; I'm starting to keep notes so on my next trip I can go to this church... that bistro. There's a little bit of Templar madness here, but it doesn't rise to Dan Brownian levels (yay!). The socially relevant parts revolve around Chinese snakeheads and forced labor, but again the messages isn't hammered home.
I'm still annoyed by the name dropping of designers, thought. It doesn't really add to the plot to know that there's a Fendi jacket, or vintage Chanel. Really. And it's a little strange that this is set in the 1990s, for no apparent reason. Aimee and Rene's business is technology - computer security, with some hacking involved - so why not bring the series into the modern day? Perhaps I'll learn the why when I get to Book One.