Murder in the Marais

Murder in the Marais by Cara Black (1998)

Reader's Annotation

The past won't stay buried as private investigator Aimee Leduc investigates a murder in the old Jewish quarter of Paris.

Summary

Paris, 1993. Computer forensics expert Aimee Leduc has promised the old Nazi-hunter that she will deliver the decrypted photo only into the hands of Lili Stein. Unfortunately when Aimee finds the elderly Jewish woman, she is dead with a swastika carved into her forehead. Since Aimee can no longer deliver the photo, she determines to solve the mystery of Lili Stein's murder instead. As Aimee's investigations take her from Holocaust survivors to NeoNazis to Nazi collaborators, she solves a fifty-year-old murder, reunites a Holocaust survivor, her ex-Nazi lover, and the child she gave up many years ago, and exposes a Nazi collaborator now high in the French government.

Evaluation

This is a very flawed first novel. First the good: The descriptions of Paris are vividly detailed and give the novel a strong sense of place. You could easily follow Aimee Leduc's movements throughout the city. The historical information about the Marais during World War II is interesting and seems well researched. Now the bad: Aimee is supposed to be a computer forensics expert, yet nearly every scene involving computers contains not just errors but absurdities. It's surprising that an author who clearly went to great lengths to research Paris and its history did not trouble to gain even the most basic understanding of how computers work. Worse than the computer absurdities, however, is that the novel has far too many poorly fleshed out characters. Aimee's partner Rene is a major example. Finally, the author seemed to struggle to settle on a tone, ranging from very serious when the story touched on the Holocaust and Nazi collaborators to completely over the top when Aimee ran about the roofs of Paris in high heals or tromped through the sewers.

People who love Paris may enjoy this book as a way to re-experience and reconnect with that city. Those who enjoy the Stephanie Plumb novels of Janet Evanovich may also enjoy this novel for its over-the-top heroine.

Genres: Mystery/Crime
Subgenres: