Reviews

Three Hours in Paris

“Black constructs a surprise-filled plot, fueled by breathless pacing, Alan Furst-like atmosphere, and a textured look at Resistance fighters in Paris… Black stretches her wings here, soaring to new heights.”
Booklist (starred review)

“Riveting… Black keeps the suspense high throughout. Fans of The Day of the Jackal won’t want to miss this heart-stopping thriller.”
Publishers Weekly

“Black excels at setting vivid scenes, creating lively characters and maintaining pulse-elevating suspense. Three Hours in Paris, with its timetable structure and its hunt for a covert operative, recalls such comparable works as Frederick Forsyth’s The Day of the Jackal and Ken Follett’s Eye of the Needle.”
—Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal

“The premise is that an American female sharpshooter is parachuted into France to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Of course, she fails. Using wits alone, she must evade the Gestapo and make it back across the English Channel. Chances of success? Slim to none. Chances that you’ll be able to put Black’s thriller down once you’ve picked it up? Also slim to none… This is one of those espionage thrillers for which the word ‘taut’ was invented.”
—Maureen Corrigan, Washington Post

“Beyond Black’s encyclopedic knowledge of Paris, her deft interweaving of WWII history and spycraft with a relatable female protagonist puts Three Hours in Paris on par with other top thrillers about botched missions followed by harrowing escapes—such masterworks as Frederick Forsythe’s The Day of the Jackal, Jack Higgins’ The Eagle Has Landed and Tom Clancy’s Patriot Games.”
—Paula Woods, Los Angeles Times

“As the author of 19 murder mysteries set in Paris, Black knows the city’s hidden squares and winding alleys. The wartime city and its grim undercurrent of fear are evocatively portrayed… Three Hours in Paris is reminiscent of Alan Furst at his best.”
Financial Times

“Both a stunning and brilliant work of imagination, and a tour de force of rigorous research… fraught with tension and suspense… this is an extremely engaging story; that there is an emotional depth to the large cast of characters that is often quite moving; and that with this novel Black has taken an ambitious, and a risky step forward in her career as a writer—and a very successful one.”
Bonjour Paris

“Cara Black is best known for her contemporary Aimée Leduc investigations series, but this stand-alone, with its resourceful, all-American heroine and breathless pace, allows her to flex a different muscle, aided by her deep knowledge of and affinity for all things French… this is a superior thriller with much to offer fans of World War II spy fiction drawn to intriguing what-if scenarios.”
Air Mail

Murder in Bel-Air

“Aimée Leduc’s nineteenth adventure is one of her best… this is a deeply satisfying and entertaining novel.”
Booklist (Starred Review)

“Gripping… Black takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of Paris, both the well- and less-well-known sections, and Aimée never leaves home without oozing style. Longtime fans and newcomers alike will have fun.”
Publishers Weekly

Murder on the Left Bank

Murder on the Left Bank boasts all of Black’s trademark charms, including deft plotting, sharp dialog and colorful sights and sounds… as always, it’s Aimée’s genial, upstart personality that carries the day.”
—Lloyd Sachs, Chicago Tribune

“Aimée Leduc is a gem: a stylish, brave private detective (and new mom) who zips around Paris on a scooter… Black treats us to another of her beguiling tours of some of Paris’ little-known corners.”
—Adam Woog, Seattle Times

“Cara Black’s 18th novel about Aimée Leduc features one of her strongest mysteries… But the real joy of Murder on the Left Bank is in its familiar cast and its thoughtful, witty, occasionally melancholy evocation of Paris, the city where we keep so many of our most beautiful ideas about what life might mean.”
—Charles Finch, USA Today

“Fast-paced… Once again Black combines a twist-filled mystery with a convincing look at the culture and politics of the City of Lights.”
Publishers Weekly

Murder on the Left Bank (is) the latest entry in Cara Black’s long-running series featuring the stylish and capable Parisienne private investigator Aimée Leduc… Even after 17 books, Ms. Black has intriguing corners of Paris to reveal—from an enclave of ateliers once home to the likes of Gauguin and Rodin to a crime-ridden neighborhood where ‘no one wanted to be witnessed witnessing.’ And her heroine remains an unpredictable work in progress herself…”
—Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal

Murder in Saint-Germain

One of Kirkus’ Best Mysteries and Thrillers of 2017! “Black’s detective is hitting her post-pregnancy stride, bringing up bébé while battling the bad guys with the best of them.”
Kirkus

“This is Black’s 17th Leduc novel, each set in a different neighborhood, and the formula still charms… the abiding pleasure of this series is the chance to ride with a cabdriver who wants to discuss Sartre or just tearing around Paris on Aimée’s pink Vespa, making stops at the Jardin du Luxembourg and the Île Saint-Louis, where Aimée has an apartment. Lucky girl.”
—Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

“An atmospheric thriller with a savvy take on international arms dealing.”
—BBC Culture, Best Beach Reads of 2017

“A mystery as sharp as Aimée’s designer stiletto heels… Black juggles numerous plot lines with panache and brings to life the charm and grit of Paris.”
Publishers Weekly

“The pace is, as ever, lickety-split, the sleuthing complex and the small pauses to savour Saint-Germain’s glories delightfully educational.”
Toronto Star

Murder on the Quai

“Who wouldn’t love to catch a glimpse of a favorite sleuth as a blundering amateur? Cara Black lets us do just that in Murder on the Quai, which reveals how Aimée Leduc, her fashionable Parisian private investigator, joined the business founded by her father and grandfather… The case is engrossing, complete with Vichy flashbacks, but the most fun are the scenes where Aimée meets her future partners and acquires Miles Davis, her beloved bichon frisé.”
—Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

“This vivid prequel… alternates between Aimée’s investigation and violent events in November 1942 in a small village in Vichy France that may be at the root of several killings. As Aimée becomes a target and her father’s trip grows complicated, Black reveals why Aimee chooses to pursue the family business.”
—BBC

“Quintessential summer reading… The Berlin wall is crumbling, and in a series prequel Parisian medical student Aimée Leduc finds her métier, detecting.”
—The Boston Globe

“Paris-based investigator (and fashion plate) Aimee Leduc returns in her 16th atmospheric adventure, this one with a twist. Readers flash back in time to learn how former medical student Aimee became a sleuth in the first place.”
—The Sacramento Bee

“Origin stories are almost without exception powerful, and so is this one. It is perhaps one of Black’s best and most memorable efforts.”
—Mystery Scene

Murder on the Champ de Mars

“Aimée’s 15th outing is a killer, with all the suspense, all the surprise and all the Parisian flavor you’d expect from Black.”
Kirkus (starred review)

“Delectable… another smashing and suspenseful tale.”
—BBC Culture, “Ten Books to Read in March”

“Absorbing.”
Publishers Weekly

“Black once again delivers what her readers crave: high-speed Parisian peregrinations, chic suspense, a touch of humor, and the indomitable Aimée, as unstoppable with a baby strapped to her hip as she was with one growing in her belly.”
Booklist

“Sassy, openhearted Aimée Leduc is back for a 15th outing that takes readers to Paris’s elegant, old-gold seventh arrondissement. It’s not all luxe, though; even as ­Aimée balances work-life responsibilities as a new mom with a detective agency to run, she helps a poor Gypsy boy whose dangerously ill mother has a secret to share.”
Library Journal

Murder in Pigalle

“The stylish sleuth in Cara Black’s blithe mysteries set in Paris, is making an odd fashion statement in Murder in Pigalle—ill-fitting frocks and low heels. Almost six months pregnant and showing it… But once the investigation takes a detour into the cavernous sewers of the city, she proves she can still find her way home in the dark.”
—Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

“This latest in the treasured Aimée Leduc series keeps to the high standard of the series while nicely deepening Aimée as a character and leading her in a new direction.”
Library Journal

Murder Below Montparnasse

“Francophiles and mystery-novel lovers alike will devour investigator Aimée Leduc’s latest outing, which takes her through the gorgeous if treacherous world of black-market art in Paris, as she safeguards a long-lost Modigliani painting.”
—Entertainment Weekly

“As always, with airfares so high, Black offers armchair travelers a whirlwind trip through the City of Light. ”
—Carol Memmott, USA Today

“Aimée Leduc, the appealing sleuth in this series…. is always zipping around on her pink Vespa, carrying out some ‘quick and dirty’ computer security job. But she keeps up a running commentary on whatever quartier of the city her work takes her to. Here it’s the unfashionable backside of Montparnasse…. This unassuming neighborhood is a rich one for the purposes of a plot that hangs on a Modigliani canvas and involves Russian émigrés and Surrealist artists, including some who live on in legend. ”
—Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

“[Black’s] tone is lighter than in most other Euro-noir. After all, this is Paris….The spice in this tale, set in 1998, involves a long-hidden, newly stolen Modigliani that Leduc is hired to retrieve. Before she can even begin hunting, her client is killed…. Fortunately, Leduc has a network of loyal friends to aid in her escapades. Pity the knife-wielding villain who offends that infallible sense of style.”
—Tom Nolan, The Wall Street Journal

Murder at the Lanterne Rouge

“Outstanding…. Readers will relish realistic villains and an evocative atmosphere that begs for a trip to the City of Lights.”
Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“The Paris investigator is a perpetual-motion machine, and she’s almost always inappropriately dressed for high-speed galivanting: heels, miniskirts, leopard prints—Aimée never sacrifices style for convenience…. Thickening her plot like a French chef stirring coq au vin, Black throws a murdered scientist, a human-trafficking scandal, the Knights Templar, and revelations about Aimée’s long-presumed-dead mother into the pot, leaving readers nearly as breathless as Aimée, who hurtles her way toward the conclusion. Fans of the series know the formula and don’t mind a bit that it rarely varies. Paris never needs a new look, and neither does Aimée Leduc.”
Booklist

“The pace accelerates as fast as Aimee’s Vespa. The details of the series, Aimee’s love of vintage couture, her love life, and the specter of her mother’s disappearance, all make welcome appearances here. Murder at the Lanterne Rouge is wonderfully plotted, and Cara Black ties together the past and present with élan.”
New York Journal of Books

Murder in Passy

“Addictive…. Leduc is always a reliable and charming guide to the city’s lesser-known corners.”
Seattle Times

“The ideal mix of the personal, the political, the puzzling and the Parisian make Aimée’s latest a perfect pleasure.”
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Aimée is a fantastic guide as she invites the reader along on an excursion of Paris on the back of her scooter, which most tourists traveling to the City of Light never see. Back streets and alleys, smoky bistros and Paris mansions set the backdrop for this mystery.”
New York Journal of Books

Murder in the Palais Royal

“[S]uch fun… a delightfully unbuttoned Audrey Hepburn for the twenty-first century.”
Booklist

“[Aimee’s] two investigations link in a surprising way—there’s a really ripping ending—and make for interestingly different and over­lapping tension. And with Aimée really on the defensive, she’s more appealingly tough yet vulnerable than ever. With its multiple strands, this work has a somewhat different feel from other Aimée Leduc novels. But never fear, it’s still a winner.”
Library Journal

Murder in the Latin Quarter

“The ninth mystery in Cara Black’s irresistible series set in Paris… might well be the book we’ve been waiting for. Aimée Leduc, Black’s adorably punkish sleuth, is in her element.”
—Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

“In Leduc’s ninth outing, Paris, as always, sparkles in all its gargoyled, dusty, cobblestoned glory.”
Entertainment Weekly

Murder in the Rue de Paradis

“Charming…. Aimée is one of those blithe spirits who can walk you through the city’s historical streets and byways with their eyes closed.”
—Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

“Leduc has a thorough grasp of the practicalities of investigation, plus a penchant for undercover work that will have readers on pins and needles.”
San Francisco Chronicle

“Conveys vividly those layers of history that make the stones of Paris sing for so many of us.”
Chicago Tribune

“One of the best writers in the field today.”
Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Murder on the Ile Saint-Louis

“Gripping… A wonderfully complex plot is lent immediacy by environmental activists agitating against a proposed oil agreement…. This Paris has a gritty, edgy feel, and Black’s prose evokes the sound of the Seine rising with the spring thaw. Aimée makes an engaging protagonist.”
Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Another taut, well-observed, and thoroughly entertaining Aimée Leduc mystery, this book continues the series’ blend of suspense and attitude engagé while nicely developing our heroine’s character.”
Library Journal

“Black again makes the most of her setting, drawing on the juicy history of the Ile Saint-Louis…. This series remains must reading for fans of the jauntier side of European crime fiction.”
Booklist

Murder in Montmartre

“Chilling…. The book vividly depicts a gritty, working-class part of Paris…. Black succeeds in making the reader feel the damp, the snow, the fear.”
Publishers Weekly

“As always, Black uses landscape for far more than window dressing, incorporating details of Montmartre history into the fabric of the plot… A common theme running throughout Black’s consistently engaging series is the frustration of various immigrant groups trying to live in and around Paris, a topic of ever more urgent concern.”
Booklist

Murder in Clichy

“Charming…. Aimée is one of those blithe spirits who can walk you through the city’s historical streets and byways with their eyes closed.”
—Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

“Leduc has a thorough grasp of the practicalities of investigation, plus a penchant for undercover work that will have readers on pins and needles.”
San Francisco Chronicle

“Conveys vividly those layers of history that make the stones of Paris sing for so many of us.”
Chicago Tribune

“One of the best writers in the field today.”
Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Murder in the Bastille

“Paris is one of my favorite cities in all the world; Black’s books are a fine way to revisit it.”
New Orleans Times-Picayune

“The ideal mix of the personal, the political, the puzzling and the Parisian make Aimée’s latest a perfect pleasure.”
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Aimée is a fantastic guide as she invites the reader along on an excursion of Paris on the back of her scooter, which most tourists traveling to the City of Light never see. Back streets and alleys, smoky bistros and Paris mansions set the backdrop for this mystery.”
New York Journal of Books

Murder in the Sentier

“A tightly spun web worthy of a classic spy thriller…. Leduc’s City of Light is a stylish, dangerous place.”
The Washington Post

“[S]uch fun…. a delightfully unbuttoned Audrey Hepburn for the twenty-first century.”
Booklist

“No contemporary writer of noir mysteries evokes the spirit of Paris more than Cara Black in her atmospheric series starring P.I. Aimée Leduc…. The fearless, risk-taking Aimée is constantly running, hiding, fighting and risking her life-all while dressed in vintage Chanel and Dior and Louboutin heels.”
USA Today

“If you were weaned on the feminist PIs of the ’70s and ’80s like Sara Paretsky’s V.I. Warshawski and Marcia Muller’s Sharon McCone, you may be looking for successors. Cara Black’s series set in Paris is worthy.”
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Murder in Belleville

“Some of Black’s strongest writing is in her descriptions of Belleville’s heady atmosphere… Aimée, never one to take non for an answer, smartly hones in to pull off a thrilling finale that nicely exhibits the author’s creative skills.”
Publishers Weekly

“Aimée Leduc returns in Black’s atmospheric second look at the City of Light’s dark corners…. blurring the edge between mystery and thriller, Black makes April in Paris more spine-tingling but more beautiful than ever.”
Kirkus Reviews

Murder in the Marais

“Literate prose, intricate plotting, and multifaceted and unusual characters mark this excellent first mystery. Strongly recommended.”
Library Journal

“This standout first novel introduces dauntless private investigator Aimée Leduc…. Black knows Paris well, and in her first-rate debut she deftly combines fascinating anecdotes from the city’s war years with classic images of the City of Lights.”
Publishers Weekly

“An accomplished, absorbing debut.”
Kirkus Reviews