It's been a pleasure to discover Paris through the eyes of Aimee Leduc, the compelling, spike-haired, moped-riding, French-American private detective in Cara Black's compelling mystery series. And Murder in the Sentier, the fourth Aimee adventure, is the best one yet! Aimee's Paris is real. It's often gritty, bringing American readers into contact with a side of the city they never knew, but Black is smart enough to give us the ritzy side of Paris now and again. No matter. Whether Aimee's dressed up, dining à deux in the latest hotspot, or crawling alone through a back-alley slum, she takes us on the best kind of thrill ride possible, one that's a mixture of emotion and intellect. These books define the term "page-turner." I gobble them up and pass them on to friends. Five stars to Cara Black!

This book took me to Paris...the sights, sounds, smells made the story sing. It was like I felt the rough cobblestones under my feet. Aimee's strong but with a vulnerable side and fights for justice...she's rough and tumble and I can't wait for more.
I love exploring offbeat parts of Paris and the author hits it...down to the espresso and smell of Gauloise. The story and memorable characters are literary but full of action!

After reading Murder in the Sentier I felt I'd been to Paris...without the airfare and baggage hassle. I know Paris, but this was an unexplored quartier, one I'd never visited and the sights, sounds and cobblestones enthralled me.
Aimée Leduc, who's pulled from computer forensics when a 70's German ex-radical offers her info about her long-lost mother, for a price is a great character. Not only would I like her dog, I'd like her apartment! Her quirkiness and smarts pulled me in.
There's a lot on many levels in this book and for French afficianodas or anyone who likes a good read I HIGHLY recommend this. I want more.
And now I'm going to find the first two in the series and read them!

I loved Murder in the Marais. That said, while I enjoyed Cara Black's new, second book featuring Aimee Leduc, I didn't love it. Certainly, it rolls along at a good clip. But my primary problem, aside from a too-large cast of characters, was a fair absence of emotion on Aimee's part about the things that happen to some of the characters. Aimee's feelings in this tale seem to be focused primarily on herself, and, as a result, there's an absence of impact on the reader when terrible things happen. There are some fine moments, particularly one scene involving a cellphone conversation with the four-year-old daughter of Aimee's "employer." But this is a story about serious events and the lack of the heroine's feelings for the people involved in these events does a disservice to the overall narrative.

It is none the less an entertaining, if somewhat difficult, book and I would recommend that newcomers to Black's work read Murder In the Marais first. She manages to set the Paris scene wonderfully well; its smells, its sights, the feel of the place. And for that alone I give the author high marks.

I loved this book...offbeat and showing a gritty, intriguing part of Paris that I would never have known about. The historical research by the author amazed me, but it never intruded on the story thanks to the skillful weaving and multiple storylines. The breadth of characters make it a book I want to read again. And again. The author takes the reader to a complex and layered Belleville, the old working class quartier of Paris where Edith Piaf sang on the streets which is now home to North Africans, Islamic fundamentalists and Algerian Nationalists. This was written before 9/11 but how prophetic.
I highly recommend this!

After reading Cara Black's Murder in the Marais, I eagerly awaited the publication of this novel. It did not disappoint. As in her first adventure, the protagonist Aimee Leduc takes the reader on a roller coaster ride through a Paris rich in atmospheric detail. This is a nail-biting tale written by a natural story teller whose research is impeccable. I'm looking forward to the next in the series, Murder in the Sentier.

Aimee Leduc, a private investigator specializing in corporate security, is approached by a rabbi to decipher a fifty year old encrypted photograph and place it in the hands of Lili Stein. When she arrives at Lili's apartment in the Marais, the old Jewish quarter of Paris, she finds a corpse on whose forehead is carved a swastika. Fifty years ago, the probable appointee for Prime Minister was about to sign a treaty with Germany that would severely restrict immigration, reminiscent of the Vicy laws. With the help of her partner, a dwarf with extraordinary computer hacking skills, Aimee is determined to solve this horrendous crime. More murders follow. Her search for the killer leads her to a German war veteran involved in the 1940's with a Jewish girl he was supposed to send to her death. Action is aplenty with Aimee, and the occupation of Paris is detailed in this first of a series. Although the reading of Black's novel is easier than one by Janes on the Paris Occupation, it lacks the realism of the latter's mysteries. However, for those of you who are strong female fans or dwarf fans or WWII aficionados, Murder in the Marais is a must.

"Aimee Leduc felt his presence before she saw him. As if ghosts floated in his wake in the once elegant hall. She paused, pulling her black leather jacket closer against the Parisian winter morning slicing through her building, and reached for her keys." After the first three lines of Murder in the Marais, we know we are in the hands of a gifted story teller, someone we can trust to take us on a roller coaster ride above and below the streets of Paris. Along the way we meet a fascinating cast of characters: Aimee's partner Rene, a computer hacking dwarf, Leah, the button expert, several handsome neo-Nazis, and a wide assortment of men and women who are not what they seem. Aimee is a well-drawn protagonist, bright and tenacious, who will stop at nothing to exorcize the ghosts of a dark Parisian past. Hired to solve a simple encryption problem, Aimee is pulled into a maelstrom of deceit, ambition, and retribution, beginning with the mutilated body of an elderly Jewish woman, her forehead engraved with a swastika. To find the killer, Aimee must search the shadow side of the City of Light, both past and present, acquiring powerful enemies wherever she goes. Themes of love, loss and identity are skillfully woven through the breakneck action of this sensational mystery as Aimee is forced to confront her own ghosts, as well as those of Vichy France. The twists can be dizzying at times, but we are confident that the author will pull all the threads together by the end of the ride. Ms. Black has created a vivid setting, physically and emotionally, with enough sights, sounds and smells to bring the Marais alive. I can't wait to go back

In November 1993 Paris, elderly Nazi Hunter Soli Hecht invokes his friendship with her dead father in appealing to computer forensic expert Aimee Leduc for her help. Reluctantly, she agrees to decipher the encrypted code that gives the appearance of the Cold War and to deliver the results into the hands of Lili Stein only.

After quite a difficult time, Aimee breaks the code revealing an old World War II black and white photograph without any accompanying text. She heads to the Jewish section of Paris, Marais, to deliver her results to Lili. However, placing the photo in Lili's hand makes no sense any longer, as Aimee finds the body of the murdered elderly Jewish woman. Aimee is found at the scene and quickly concludes she might have problems as honor in the name of her father refuses to allow her to reveal her alibi to Inspector Morbier. Outside of her expertise, Aimee begins investigating the homicide on her own to clear her name.

This reviewer actually read the superb MURDER IN BELLEVILLE book (second Leduc novel), which led to reading the debut Leduc tale, MURDER IN THE MARAIS. This novel is excellent, extremely complex, and filled with action and tension. The story line links historical hatred to 1993 prejudices in a frightfully realistic depiction that counterbalances the image of Gay Paree with that of the ethnic bleakness of the World War II era and of the early nineties through a great private sleuth.

Harriet Klausner

I've read the book and enjoyed the different view points expressed within the text, composed of comments from the Forums......I have no idea, what this person is talking about....but being an African American woman myself.....I still experience some forms of racism, and no one can deny the progress made for our country, but I stand by the ideal, that there's more work for all of us to do....and this book opens that forum, for the continuation of meaningful discussions facing not just blacks, but people, and our humanity in general. Thanks for continuing to create a place for discussion, and thought provoking conversation.

Alicia Boss

Black America speaks! This is a insightful, detailed, and honest expose on the African American experience today...the idea of using e-mailed points of view as the centerpiece of a published text was a master stroke of genius by a truly up and coming writer...this book touches on a myriad of subjects relevant to not only the Black community, but the American community as well...it is the voice of the unheard, spokened in refreshing candor, but nonetheless with a sense of urgency..I salute you, Miss Pearson, for giving us another pathway to dialogue, and for checking the vital signs of our collective, conscious...pulse.

I feel that Ms. Pearson's book serves to benefit all people who read it. In fact, I highly recommend it. Her book is a collection of major topics that affect our everyday life as well as the success of America as a peaceful multicultural nation. The key is that it provides a broad spectrum of comments and responses from African Americans and even Whites from around the country and perhaps abroad. In other words, it is the "Voice of America". Therefore, her book is both balanced in its response content and expansive in its subject matter. Again, it is excellent reading for everyone. One caveat, you must keep an open mind!