If you like your mysteries set in European locales, here’s a Parisian detective series that is sure to please. Aimée Leduc is a private eye, born of a French career detective and an absentee American mother (brief hints of angst over this in this installment). She’s appeared in about ten adventures, always set in iconic Parisian neighborhoods : Murder in the Marais, Murder in the Bastille, Murder in Montmartre, and Murder in the Latin Quarter , to name a few. In Murder in Passy (Paris’s tony XVIe arrondissement), Aimée finds herself mixed up in a murderous intrigue involving the French arm of the Basque nationalist movement. The final chase involves the kidnapping of a Spanish princess, a secret torture chamber used by the Gestapo in WWII, and a rooftop escape. The author sprinkles enough French words into the dialogue to either annoy you or make you feel your French 101 was not for nothing— Zut alors! très chic, c’est parfait, désolé, c’est tout! Oh, and Aimée’s frequent stop...
Jack and his Ma live within the confines of a room 11-feet square. Their existence is quite extraordinary since this small windowless room and all its contents (Rug, Duvet, meltedy spoon, Remote, the egg snake...) is the only world Jack has ever known. Gradually the true circumstances of their confinement are revealed to the reader as Ma and Jack plan a daring escape. Their lives in the outside world present far more problems than they could have predicated and Jack somewhat disturbingly yearns for the comfort and familiarity of Room and the exclusive relationship he had with his mother. The story, told through Jack's 5-year-old voice, is thought-provoking and gripping. Of course it's fiction, but one can't help making comparisons to real-life stories such as Austrian Natascha Kampusch or another horrifying Austrian case that made headlines not so long ago. An unusual but rewarding read.
Just found your blog - enjoying the reviews!
ReplyDeleteThis is on my to-read list - need to get round to it!
Beth :)