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Aimee Leduc Investigations #13
Murder Below Montparnasse
A long-lost Modigliani portrait, a grieving brother’s blood vendetta, a Soviet secret that’s been buried for 80 years—Parisian private investigator Aimée Leduc’s current case is her most exciting one yet.
The cobbled streets of Montparnasse might have been boho-chic in the 1920s, when artists, writers, and their muses drank absinthe and danced on cafe tables. But to Parisian private investigator Aimée Leduc, these streets hold darker secrets. When an old Russian man named Yuri hires Aimée to protect a priceless painting that just might be a Modigliani, she learns how deadly art theft can be. Yuri is found tortured to death in his atelier, and the painting is missing. Every time Aimée thinks she's found a new witness, the body count rises. What exactly is so special about this painting that so many people are willing to kill--and die--for it?
From the Hardcover edition.
The cobbled streets of Montparnasse might have been boho-chic in the 1920s, when artists, writers, and their muses drank absinthe and danced on cafe tables. But to Parisian private investigator Aimée Leduc, these streets hold darker secrets. When an old Russian man named Yuri hires Aimée to protect a priceless painting that just might be a Modigliani, she learns how deadly art theft can be. Yuri is found tortured to death in his atelier, and the painting is missing. Every time Aimée thinks she's found a new witness, the body count rises. What exactly is so special about this painting that so many people are willing to kill--and die--for it?
From the Hardcover edition.
319 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2013
225 people are currently reading
1938 people want to read
About the author
Cara Black
44 books1,350 followersCara Black frequents a Paris little known outside the beaten tourist track. A Paris she discovers on research trips and interviews with French police, private detectives and café owners. She lives in San Francisco with her husband, a bookseller, and their teenage son. She is a San Francisco Library Laureate and a member of the Paris Sociéte Historique in the Marais. Her nationally bestselling and award nominated Aimée Leduc Investigation series has been translated into French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, German and Hebrew. She received the Medaille de la Ville de Paris for services to French culture. She's included in the GREAT WOMEN MYSTERY WRITERS by Elizabeth Lindsay 2nd editon published in the UK. Her first three novels in the series MURDER IN THE MARAIS, MURDER IN BELLEVILLE AN MURDER IN THE SENTIER - nominated for an Anthony Award as Best Novel - were published in the UK in 2008 and MURDER IN THE LATIN QUARTER comes out in the UK in 2010. Several of her books have been chosen as BookSense Picks and INDIE NEXT choice by the Amerian Association of Independent Bookstores. The Washington Post listed MURDER IN THE RUE DE PARADIS in the Best Fiction Choices of 2008. MURDER IN THE LATIN QUARTER is a finalist for Best Novel Award from the NCIBA Northern California Independent Booksellers Association.
She is currently working on the next book in the Aimée Leduc series.
She is currently working on the next book in the Aimée Leduc series.
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January 30, 2019This is the Signed Parisian Edition including a sweepstakes ticket to a trip to Paris and is signed by Cara Black.
March 17, 2013
I never thought I'd give one star too an Aimee Leduc book but I guess there is a first time for everything. I found this so deadly dull, I could not even finish it. I tried going ahead and going back and ploughing fast through whole sections but I couldn't stand anymore.
Aimee is missing her partner, the dwarf Rene who has been lured from Paris to Silicon Valley in California to take a lucrative IT job. Things go wrong as soon as he arrives with his room rental and car not ready and then he overhears an odd bit of conversation about "the dwarf has no idea".
In the meantime back in Paris, Aimee is trying to go return money to a Russian who wanted for her to protect a painting and when she and Saj are driving to Yuri's home, suddenly a dead body is hurtled to their windshield causing them to have an accident and damage Yuri's car and for Saj to be hauled off to the hospital and to be questioned. Aimee calls in a favor and finds out at the morgue that the guy was dead before the accident. He was a Serb and some big mean nasty Serb tries to get into the hospital to attack Saj.
The plot felt dull and I just didn't care about any of the characters including Aimee. In many ways it was just a rehash of older stories with some Serbs and Russians thrown in and I found I didn't care what happened to anyone. I waited a year for this to come out and am terribly disapppointed. Maybe I'll try the next one next spring.
Aimee is missing her partner, the dwarf Rene who has been lured from Paris to Silicon Valley in California to take a lucrative IT job. Things go wrong as soon as he arrives with his room rental and car not ready and then he overhears an odd bit of conversation about "the dwarf has no idea".
In the meantime back in Paris, Aimee is trying to go return money to a Russian who wanted for her to protect a painting and when she and Saj are driving to Yuri's home, suddenly a dead body is hurtled to their windshield causing them to have an accident and damage Yuri's car and for Saj to be hauled off to the hospital and to be questioned. Aimee calls in a favor and finds out at the morgue that the guy was dead before the accident. He was a Serb and some big mean nasty Serb tries to get into the hospital to attack Saj.
The plot felt dull and I just didn't care about any of the characters including Aimee. In many ways it was just a rehash of older stories with some Serbs and Russians thrown in and I found I didn't care what happened to anyone. I waited a year for this to come out and am terribly disapppointed. Maybe I'll try the next one next spring.
July 11, 2013
Every time I read one of Cara Black's Aimee Leduc mysteries, I come away feeling the same way I did when I finished this one: Mlle. Leduc is surely one of the most incompetent private investigators to grace the pages of fiction. Every decision she makes is wrong, every choice she makes is a bad one, she always gets caught snooping, she's often injured horrifically and seems to suffer no long-lasting effects from same, she's thoughtless of her friends and nearly autistic in her treatment of those who help her. Really, the only thing that seems to concern her is when one or another of her couture finds from the second-hand stalls gets ruined while she's sleuthing. Her poor dog, Miles Davis, is an afterthought - I'm not even sure what his purpose is in these books -- to humanize his owner? In short, I can't stand Aimee Leduc and I'm just not going to read any more of this series.
March 4, 2013
Her best friend defected to America, her co-worker Saj is injured in a freak car/pedestrian accident, an old man who knew her estranged mother is murdered, a rare Modigliani painting is stolen, she receives death threats from Serbs and is later attacked in her own office and almost drowned in a bucket of water.
All of these events happen within the span of a few days in the life of Private Investigator, Aimee Leduc. The action starts in the Montparnasse section of Paris --- a bohemian area that appears untouched since the 1920’s. Aimee is hired by an elderly Russian named Yuri Volodya. Her mission is to protect a rare and priceless painting in his possession. The painting is allegedly by Modigliani and it depicts the famous Russian leader and revolutionary figure --- Vladimir Lenin.
Making matters more interesting is when Yuri claims to have known Aimee’s estranged mother --- who walked out when she was a young girl. When Yuri’s tortured body is found a day after meeting with Aimee it appears that initial evidence reveals her mother may very well have played a part in Yuri’s murder.
Aimee does not have the luxury of time to dive into this investigation as she immediately receives death threats from Serbian gangsters and is shortly thereafter attacked in her own office and dunked repeatedly in a bucket of water until she reveals what she knows about the painting. Escaping these predicaments only makes Aimee more curious and the connection to her mother pushes her curiosity that much further.
The plot of MURDER BELOW MONTPARNASSE gets more complex with each passing chapter as Aimee is embroiled firmly in the world of international art theft. Serbs, Russians and fellow Parisians all join the mix --- each group seeking the same thing. Aimee is conflicted as she must protect herself from the ‘hit’ that has been put out on her while still trying to locate her mother and the missing painting. Could Modigliani’s depiction of Lenin be enough to rock the foundations of Russian history itself and is it worth killing for?
Any Aimee Leduc novel is a welcome read and with Cara Black as your tour guide the reader is given a glimpse of Paris and all its’ diverse neighborhoods that make you feel like you are actually there. The smell of baguettes seem to waft off the very pages as the rich Parisian atmosphere plays like a living character in a recurring mystery series that is among the best in the genre today. MURDER BELOW MONTPARNASSE is an instant classic and one that reveals the very human and susceptible side of protagonist, Aimee Leduc. The extremely satisfying ending only leaves the reader wanting to spend more time with Aimee and her friends --- a request that Cara Black will certainly fulfill in her next adventure.
All of these events happen within the span of a few days in the life of Private Investigator, Aimee Leduc. The action starts in the Montparnasse section of Paris --- a bohemian area that appears untouched since the 1920’s. Aimee is hired by an elderly Russian named Yuri Volodya. Her mission is to protect a rare and priceless painting in his possession. The painting is allegedly by Modigliani and it depicts the famous Russian leader and revolutionary figure --- Vladimir Lenin.
Making matters more interesting is when Yuri claims to have known Aimee’s estranged mother --- who walked out when she was a young girl. When Yuri’s tortured body is found a day after meeting with Aimee it appears that initial evidence reveals her mother may very well have played a part in Yuri’s murder.
Aimee does not have the luxury of time to dive into this investigation as she immediately receives death threats from Serbian gangsters and is shortly thereafter attacked in her own office and dunked repeatedly in a bucket of water until she reveals what she knows about the painting. Escaping these predicaments only makes Aimee more curious and the connection to her mother pushes her curiosity that much further.
The plot of MURDER BELOW MONTPARNASSE gets more complex with each passing chapter as Aimee is embroiled firmly in the world of international art theft. Serbs, Russians and fellow Parisians all join the mix --- each group seeking the same thing. Aimee is conflicted as she must protect herself from the ‘hit’ that has been put out on her while still trying to locate her mother and the missing painting. Could Modigliani’s depiction of Lenin be enough to rock the foundations of Russian history itself and is it worth killing for?
Any Aimee Leduc novel is a welcome read and with Cara Black as your tour guide the reader is given a glimpse of Paris and all its’ diverse neighborhoods that make you feel like you are actually there. The smell of baguettes seem to waft off the very pages as the rich Parisian atmosphere plays like a living character in a recurring mystery series that is among the best in the genre today. MURDER BELOW MONTPARNASSE is an instant classic and one that reveals the very human and susceptible side of protagonist, Aimee Leduc. The extremely satisfying ending only leaves the reader wanting to spend more time with Aimee and her friends --- a request that Cara Black will certainly fulfill in her next adventure.
August 8, 2020
Okay,I’ll admit that some of my appreciation for this book is because it has a bunch of French language in it. But, in addition, there’s a helluva cool story of a lost Modigliani and a lost mother.
April 3, 2013
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.
January 10, 2013
What an honor to be able to review Cara Black's latest Aimee Leduc book before it is released. This is the thirteenth book in the series and they just keep getting better!
Each book in the series is set in a different neighbourhood in Paris. Murder Below Montparnasse is set of course in the Montparnasse district in southern Paris. Rene has been offered the job of a lifetime and is off to the Silicon Valley. Aimee is contacted by an elderly Russian emigre to protect a Mogdigliani painting. Before she can protect it the painting is stolen and the action begins. Aimee's mother is once again featured as a mysterious figure lurking in the shadows, perhaps protecting her child...or why is she around. There are Russian oligarchs, flics, and suspects galore. Wonderful read. Loved, loved, loved the ending!
Each year when I read the latest Aimee Leduc novel by Cara Black I am reinspired to get on a plane to Paris for a week and explore all the neighbourhoods....maybe this year!
Murder Below Montparnasse is released in March...be sure to pick up a copy...and read the rest of the series if you haven't!
Each book in the series is set in a different neighbourhood in Paris. Murder Below Montparnasse is set of course in the Montparnasse district in southern Paris. Rene has been offered the job of a lifetime and is off to the Silicon Valley. Aimee is contacted by an elderly Russian emigre to protect a Mogdigliani painting. Before she can protect it the painting is stolen and the action begins. Aimee's mother is once again featured as a mysterious figure lurking in the shadows, perhaps protecting her child...or why is she around. There are Russian oligarchs, flics, and suspects galore. Wonderful read. Loved, loved, loved the ending!
Each year when I read the latest Aimee Leduc novel by Cara Black I am reinspired to get on a plane to Paris for a week and explore all the neighbourhoods....maybe this year!
Murder Below Montparnasse is released in March...be sure to pick up a copy...and read the rest of the series if you haven't!
March 12, 2013
I was excited to win a copy of this book on Goodreads. I liked the idea of a mystery novel taking place in Paris. When I started reading it, I had problems getting into it. The plot seemed slow, and I found the characters to be a little confusing. I later found out that this was the thirteenth book in the series, which could be why I thought the characters were a little confusing. I also struggled with the many French words scattered throughout the novel, since I don't speak any French. However, after the first hundred pages or so, I found I was better able to get into to Murder Below Montparnasse. There seemed to be more french words in the beginning of the novel then there was in the rest, and the plot became more interesting once the painting was discovered stolen. I enjoyed the Paris scenery and the beautiful fashion described throughout the novel. Overall, I would say the novel was enjoyable if you are willing to get past the slow plot in the beginning.
March 16, 2013
A really good entry in this series, with as much love for Paris itself as the characters involved. A decent mystery, as usual, but this time, the back issues with Aimee and Rene are almost more of the main story. I guessed the 'twist' toward the end, I think many will, but the reveal is still delicious. Talk about a cliff hanger--really can't wait to read the next one!
June 27, 2014
Convoluted plot and clumsy insertion of clichéd Frenchness at every turn. How many times can they say "zut alors" and "brioche?"
July 16, 2014
Could not get through the first few chapters. Plot moved too slowly for me
January 19, 2018
This kept me reading but was unsatisfactory in the end. I have to remember not to read any more of these mysteries.
August 15, 2018
About the only thing different in this one is that Aimee talks with her mother at the end. It is not a great encounter, but she does see her and talks to her. The rest of the novel is the same format as all the others. Serbs, Russians, Rene, Saj, computer wizardry, and Aimee thinking up amazing lies and pulling them off. Her love life continues in shambles but what did you expect. I stopped reading Aimee for awhile because they are so unbelievably complex and yet so much of the same old, same old. But every once in a while it is okay to read one of these.
January 16, 2013
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.
February 15, 2017
I've gotten hooked on Cara Black's mystery series set in Paris, not so much because of the characters or mystery, but because they're set in Paris, and Black does such a good job describing so many of the locales, especially the lesser-known ones. I also love the nuggets of history thrown in.
March 10, 2013
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.
March 11, 2013
This is the 13th installment of Cara Black’s series featuring Parisian PI Aimee Leduc, but the first that I have read. Although I was unfamiliar with the characters and their background stories, I loved the immersion into the insider background life of Paris. Aimee’s effortless French chic, backstreet alleys opening to surprise gardens, and busy café life bring the reader a true taste of the city. The main characters have an engaging vitality that makes them easy to know and I want to go back and trace their backstories in the earlier books in the series.
Murder Below Montparnasse opens with robbery, murder, and cars crashes and the first quarter of the book is a page turner that is hard to put down. However, the plot becomes muddled with overly quick scene changes that make it difficult to follow the rapidly changing cast of supplemental characters ranging from Serbian assassins, Russian mobsters, and French art dealers. Few of these are developed enough to keep one straight from another, and I had to keep going back to figure out “who is this guy again?” However, the book ends strongly with most of the stray plot lines resolving themselves in a satisfactory manner.
This was a pretty good read, but not a great one. The writing and setting was strong enough that I’ll have to go back and check out the rest of the series.
Murder Below Montparnasse opens with robbery, murder, and cars crashes and the first quarter of the book is a page turner that is hard to put down. However, the plot becomes muddled with overly quick scene changes that make it difficult to follow the rapidly changing cast of supplemental characters ranging from Serbian assassins, Russian mobsters, and French art dealers. Few of these are developed enough to keep one straight from another, and I had to keep going back to figure out “who is this guy again?” However, the book ends strongly with most of the stray plot lines resolving themselves in a satisfactory manner.
This was a pretty good read, but not a great one. The writing and setting was strong enough that I’ll have to go back and check out the rest of the series.
unfinished
February 22, 2013I just couldn’t get into Murder Below Montparnasse. When I got it I didn’t realise it was book #13, and prehaps that is part of the problem. The plot premise could have been really interesting, and I think if I wasn’t wading through far too much backstory I might have enjoyed it. Books in long series’ need to be able to stand mostly by themselves. For example – the In Death series or the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series. (I read books in the middle of both of those series before I ever read the first ones and was able to enjoy the novels anyways.) Enough backstory that you can see the depth to the characters, but the book shouldn’t be relying on that back story entirely either.
Lastly, I found this to be an excruicatingly slow moving plot. I’m on page 50 and all that’s happened is a car accident and Aimee sort of discovering the possible robbery but not really because the old guy didn’t want to report it so it didn't really happen. The first 5 or so pages, with the undercover part was the most interesting. I admit I was vaguely interested about the painting being stolen but by then I was just starting to get frustrated by the book.
See more of the review here:
http://blog.butterflytempest.net/book...
Lastly, I found this to be an excruicatingly slow moving plot. I’m on page 50 and all that’s happened is a car accident and Aimee sort of discovering the possible robbery but not really because the old guy didn’t want to report it so it didn't really happen. The first 5 or so pages, with the undercover part was the most interesting. I admit I was vaguely interested about the painting being stolen but by then I was just starting to get frustrated by the book.
See more of the review here:
http://blog.butterflytempest.net/book...
March 31, 2013
Although I enjoyed it, as always, I probably enjoyed this one the least and found it the least of a "page turner". I kept leaving it and going back to it which is very much unlike me with this series.
For once I was glad on the back story parts with the family of characters I know and love : René, Saj, Morbier, Morlac and even Miles Davis. The main story however, of the Russians and the Serbs and such, lost me early on and I kept forgetting who was who and how they all fit in with each other. I suspect this was because I didn't really care for, or about, them.
SPOILER ALERT:
I am very glad to see René back where he belongs and I didn't particularly enjoy his, very obvious and a bit convoluted, Silicon Valley sub-plot.
Personally I really do not like what Cara's done to Aimée at the end here and feel this is not going to help the future of the series but rather hinder it...
All that said I am sure I will remain loyal and will be reading every future episode as well... I mean... How many other mystery series take place in my back yard?
For once I was glad on the back story parts with the family of characters I know and love : René, Saj, Morbier, Morlac and even Miles Davis. The main story however, of the Russians and the Serbs and such, lost me early on and I kept forgetting who was who and how they all fit in with each other. I suspect this was because I didn't really care for, or about, them.
SPOILER ALERT:
I am very glad to see René back where he belongs and I didn't particularly enjoy his, very obvious and a bit convoluted, Silicon Valley sub-plot.
Personally I really do not like what Cara's done to Aimée at the end here and feel this is not going to help the future of the series but rather hinder it...
All that said I am sure I will remain loyal and will be reading every future episode as well... I mean... How many other mystery series take place in my back yard?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 28, 2013
Last year, my husband asked me if I knew about any modern day French detective stories. Honestly, nothing was coming to mind. So I looked around, and the name of Cara Black came up, with her heroine investigator Aimée Leduc. I thought it was cool that the names of all her mysteries had un arrondissement de Paris in the title. I didn’t have time to read any back then, but kept the name in the back of my mind. When I saw Murder Below Montparnasse, the latest (#13 already, which adds 12 books to my TBR in one shot!!) in the series, offered by Edelweiss, I knew it was time to meet Aimée.
I’m so glad I finally discovered Aimée Leduc. She is a very sharp private detective, and also very...
see my full review, and get a chance to win a trip to Paris with Cara Black!!:
http://wordsandpeace.com/2013/02/28/i...
I’m so glad I finally discovered Aimée Leduc. She is a very sharp private detective, and also very...
see my full review, and get a chance to win a trip to Paris with Cara Black!!:
http://wordsandpeace.com/2013/02/28/i...
March 6, 2013
A reasonable read, French detective Aimee Leduc chasing artwork getting involved with murder. For me the format on my ebook version was off making it a little more difficult to read. The plot however was telegraphed very early on and I kept going hoping there would be a twist. Some sideline stories with no connection to the main story appeared to be there as a filler, omitted it would have made no material difference.
The author whose books are set in Paris ( as per the title) seemed to be trying to give a French flavour by quoting the character in French language but only for isolated words ( "alors", "non" ), this was totally unnecessary as you know it is France but most of all it was irritating. If you could put that aside then it was okay.
This is my first Cara Black story but although I would read her again, it would not be at the top of my list.
The author whose books are set in Paris ( as per the title) seemed to be trying to give a French flavour by quoting the character in French language but only for isolated words ( "alors", "non" ), this was totally unnecessary as you know it is France but most of all it was irritating. If you could put that aside then it was okay.
This is my first Cara Black story but although I would read her again, it would not be at the top of my list.
June 23, 2016
oh well...bought it on the amazon special because I thought I had missed this one but I just had not checked it off in this interface. I am just catching up/ ramping up in preparation to read the latest output by this author. Note to self: this is the one where Aimee finally has encounter with her mother, the one with a Modigliani portrait of Lenin. Poor Renee has a Silicon Valley experience and is lucky to get back to Paris in one piece. As usual, lots of harrowing comic book style heroics on part of Aimee.
February 27, 2013
This is a great read. It is the first of the Aimee Leduc series that I have read. I enjoyed the story lines, and felt brought into the characterizations very quickly.I was slightly disappointed that Maxence's character wasn't developed more.
The author did a very good job of painting descriptions of the locales of the Paris neighborhoods,and cafes. I highly recommend this book, and will most certainly read the other books in the series.
The author did a very good job of painting descriptions of the locales of the Paris neighborhoods,and cafes. I highly recommend this book, and will most certainly read the other books in the series.
March 22, 2013
Lucky 13! Makes me want to visit Paris. more at my blog http://patebooks.wordpress.com Women of Mystery
September 6, 2016
I probably would have enjoyed this book more if I had read previous books in the series.
January 4, 2015
A fascinating idea involving a stolen Modigliani and a Monparnasse setting but the book bogs down.
January 13, 2016
Rich mystery with art and history interwoven, but despite the narrator's talent for accents, her voice made me viscerally unhappy.
June 1, 2019
A delightful intricately woven tale of Aimee Leduc as she investigates the whereabouts of a missing Modigliana painting stolen from an elderly Russian Yuri Volodya. Art theft is normally outside her expertise and area of interest but this becomes a passion because Yuri once associated with Aimee's mother who left her at age 8 and suggests he is currently in contact with "the fixer" as well. Thus the investigation becomes personal very quickly further ignited by a picture she uncovers showing her mom with Yuri in their revolutionary Trotsky days! She is convinced finding the painting will lead to her mom. The painting was commissioned by Lenin who lived in the building with Yuri's father at a time when Russian revolutionaries came to Paris to enhance their studies but refused by him. Yuri's father Piotr became the new owner as indicated by the sign off by Modi on the back of the painting in payment for the care taking he did while the artist was unable to care for himself secondary to drugs and drink imbibed in to dininish the pain of TB. A letter uncovered by Aimee reveals that Piotr was befriended by Lenin as a child and Modi known to both adding to the sentimental value. There are lots of interesting subplots including co worker Renee's attempt at a new IT position far from home, Aimee's encounter with Police department art thief expert Raphael Dombaslele with his own agenda confirming her godfather Morbier's warning about associating with "flecs" and shocking ending revealed in the very last pages which I will not disclose lest I ruin it for the reader to be.
"Connect me to the fixer," she said. "THen we'll talk."
"She did not know if they would talk. But she did know he'd scored right on one thing. She would find the Modigliana. It didn't ride on money or prestige;p it was a way to find her mother. And save her own life."
This the 13th in the Aimee Leduc Investigation series all evolving from her Paris home which once belonged to her grandfather who initiated the detective agency that she is carrying on thanks to her father having done likewise, in addition, to having worked for the local police not unlike Kinsey Milhone (Sara Grafton). I have read two others in the series and intended to read as they were written but opted to jump to Montparnasse because it was available. I can see an improvement in the characterization and plot development. I was engaged throughout and cared about the characters Renee in particular in his new environs. I loved the bits of history and culture that are alluded to throughout making for an educational as well as fun read. I recommend highly to those of similar interests.
Footnotes for an wiser read: desolee translates to "sorry". Badoit is a mineral water from natural source ie Saint-Gailmier France "naturally carbonated."
"Connect me to the fixer," she said. "THen we'll talk."
"She did not know if they would talk. But she did know he'd scored right on one thing. She would find the Modigliana. It didn't ride on money or prestige;p it was a way to find her mother. And save her own life."
This the 13th in the Aimee Leduc Investigation series all evolving from her Paris home which once belonged to her grandfather who initiated the detective agency that she is carrying on thanks to her father having done likewise, in addition, to having worked for the local police not unlike Kinsey Milhone (Sara Grafton). I have read two others in the series and intended to read as they were written but opted to jump to Montparnasse because it was available. I can see an improvement in the characterization and plot development. I was engaged throughout and cared about the characters Renee in particular in his new environs. I loved the bits of history and culture that are alluded to throughout making for an educational as well as fun read. I recommend highly to those of similar interests.
Footnotes for an wiser read: desolee translates to "sorry". Badoit is a mineral water from natural source ie Saint-Gailmier France "naturally carbonated."
February 4, 2022
In Murder Below Montparnasse, Aimee LeDuc has a lot on her plate. Her partner, Rene Friante, has accepted a job in Silicon Valley. LeDuc Detective's other employee, dreadlocked Saj de Rosay, is injured in a car accident that leaves Rene's especially customized Citroen in the repair shop. Some unknown person has left an envelope full of francs and a business card inscribed with a man's address and phone number for Aimee. Accept this retainer the card says on the back.
Worst of all, the car accident involves the body of a man who bounced off the windshield of Rene's car while Saj was driving to the address on the business card. The man was discovered dead, and Saj is taken off to the police hospital where he is incarcerated while the flics investigate the death.
While the police take statements and Saj is swept away to the police hospital, Aimee spots an elderly man who she believes may be the man who gave her the money and the retainer. She follows him into his apartment where he discovers he has been robbed. "My painting," he says plaintively, but refuses to give more details. The man also lets slip that he knows Aimee's mother, who abandoned her and her father when Aimee was eight.
Her father, a Paris police officer, finally admitted that Sydney, Aimee's mother left because she was on the run from the French police who accused her of being involved with a terrorist ring
Aimee is hooked. Even though she has a respectable computer security business to run without Rene, she can't resist following up leads to the identity of the painting. Also, mysteriously, Aimee finds herself unable to fit into her second hand couture outfits. How could she gain weight when she never eats?
Worst of all, the car accident involves the body of a man who bounced off the windshield of Rene's car while Saj was driving to the address on the business card. The man was discovered dead, and Saj is taken off to the police hospital where he is incarcerated while the flics investigate the death.
While the police take statements and Saj is swept away to the police hospital, Aimee spots an elderly man who she believes may be the man who gave her the money and the retainer. She follows him into his apartment where he discovers he has been robbed. "My painting," he says plaintively, but refuses to give more details. The man also lets slip that he knows Aimee's mother, who abandoned her and her father when Aimee was eight.
Her father, a Paris police officer, finally admitted that Sydney, Aimee's mother left because she was on the run from the French police who accused her of being involved with a terrorist ring
Aimee is hooked. Even though she has a respectable computer security business to run without Rene, she can't resist following up leads to the identity of the painting. Also, mysteriously, Aimee finds herself unable to fit into her second hand couture outfits. How could she gain weight when she never eats?
January 22, 2025
I’m being generous.
This is a DNF and I always rate those as one star. However, I want you to know why DNF. It may matter to you.
I read this genre as a palate cleanser. Mindless, fun, and filled with small entertaining details. I came across Cara Black after my last time in Paris when I wanted a book with the background of Paris to keep me busy on the flight home. Relive a small piece of my journey through street and place names. It was perfect for that (the first novel in this series)
So, as I prepare to return, I decided to pick up the book in the series that centers on Montparnasse. But 1/3 the way through the book, I just can’t anymore.
So how is it so different? Maybe it’s because I’m not coming off vacation time? Maybe it’s that this is the 13th one on the series and even the best writers can get stale? Maybe this book simply wasn’t meant for me?
I think it’s the latter.
These books are in the spirit of Janet Evanovich or JD Robb with less sex. For me, I’m realizing these books are really best for a flight or a holiday or even a sick day. So if you also found Black for a taste of Paris, I’d encourage you to match this book to your environment. It’s a mood, and that is a truly wonderful thing when it matches yours.
This is a DNF and I always rate those as one star. However, I want you to know why DNF. It may matter to you.
I read this genre as a palate cleanser. Mindless, fun, and filled with small entertaining details. I came across Cara Black after my last time in Paris when I wanted a book with the background of Paris to keep me busy on the flight home. Relive a small piece of my journey through street and place names. It was perfect for that (the first novel in this series)
So, as I prepare to return, I decided to pick up the book in the series that centers on Montparnasse. But 1/3 the way through the book, I just can’t anymore.
So how is it so different? Maybe it’s because I’m not coming off vacation time? Maybe it’s that this is the 13th one on the series and even the best writers can get stale? Maybe this book simply wasn’t meant for me?
I think it’s the latter.
These books are in the spirit of Janet Evanovich or JD Robb with less sex. For me, I’m realizing these books are really best for a flight or a holiday or even a sick day. So if you also found Black for a taste of Paris, I’d encourage you to match this book to your environment. It’s a mood, and that is a truly wonderful thing when it matches yours.
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