Murder At The Porte De Versailles

Description

This riveting 20th installment entangles Parisian private investigator Aimee Leduc in a dangerous web of international spycraft and terrorist threats in Paris's 15th arrondissement. November 2001 in the wake of 9/11, Paris is living in a state of fear. For Aimee Leduc, November is bittersweet the anniversary of her father's death and her daughter's third birthday fall on the same day. A gathering for family and friends is disrupted when a bomb goes off at the police laboratory-and Boris Viard, the partner of Aimee's friend Michou, is found unconscious at the scene of the crime with traces of explosives under his fingernails. Aimee doesn't believe Boris set the bomb. In an effort to prove this, she battles the police and his own lab colleagues, collecting conflicting eyewitness reports. When a member of the French secret service drafts Aimee to help investigate possible links to an Iranian Revolutionary guard and fugitive radicals who bombed Interpol in the 1980s, Aimee uncovers ties to a cold case of her father's. As Aimee scours the streets of the 15th arrondissement trying to learn the truth, she has to ask herself if she should succumb to pressure from Chloe's biological father and move them out to his farm in Brittany. But could Aimee Leduc ever leave Paris?

Cara Black is the author of twenty books in the New York Times bestselling Aimee Leduc series as well as the thriller Three Hours in Paris. She has received multiple nominations for the Anthony and Macavity Awards, and her books have been translated into German, Norwegian, Japanese, French, Spanish, Italian, and Hebrew. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and son and visits Paris frequently.

Praise for Murder at the Porte de Versailles A CrimeReads Best Traditional Mystery of 2022 CrimeReads Best New Crime Fiction of March CrimeReads Most Anticipated Books of 2022 "While fans may wonder what's next for the redoubtable Leduc after Paris, it's clear from the intricate plotting and tantalizing loose ends that Black has plenty of stories left to tell." -Paula Woods, Los Angeles Times "The 20th Aimee Leduc novel, Murder in the Porte de Versailles, is taut, vivid, smart, rich in humanity and addictive momentum. It is set in 2001, only a couple of months after 9/11, and police and international authorities are on high alert. A dear friend of Aimee's is found unconscious in an explosion's rubble, with evidence indicating that he may have set the bomb. Black races ahead, in alternating scenes with Leduc and crooked cops and everyday people caught beyond their depth." -The Washington Post "Black's chatty style quickly transports the reader to the banks of the River Seine, and Leduc, as always, is an engaging heroine." -The Financial Times "A Paris-infused mystery with many twists and turns, and just enough of a cliffhanger at the end to make sure we come back for the next book." -Reviewing the Evidence "Everyone's favorite sophisticated sleuth is back . . . When Aimee's friend Boris is accused of setting a bomb off at a police lab, she throws herself into clearing him of the accusation, glad for the distraction, but will her newfound energy lead her into more danger than ever before?" -CrimeReads "This is the twentieth installment in Cara Black's consistently well-researched and entertaining Leduc novels . . . Rife with references to both well-known and hidden Paris locales, the always fashionable Aimee manages to get herself entangled with French secret police as they draft her into using her connections to assist them . . . Aimee's family consists of characters regular readers will be glad to see return, from daughter Chloe to godfather Morbier to lover Melac . . . Come take a tour of La Ville Lumiere with its blue-lit bateaus-mouches, Notre Dame with the inky wash of the Seine, Saint Michel's spot-lit fountain, past the dark expanse of the Jardin du Luxembourg." -Deadly Pleasures Magazine "Fans will appreciate this ride-along with Leduc, which focuses on the tense and fearful world following 9/11." -AudioFile "This deep into the series, Aimee has acquired a complex backstory. Devotees will sail through . . . Black's pithy, pacey style enables her to efficiently sketch in background while moving the story forward and creating that all-important ambience. Hanging over the book is the suggestion from the father of her child that Aimee and Chloe leave Paris to live with him in the country. Better for Chloe, perhaps, but for Aimee? Jamais." -Air Mail News "Black's series is at home on bestseller lists and has long been a particular favorite of librarians and library patrons . . . Set in November 2001, the story unwinds against the backdrop of 9/11 and, more personally, the question of whether Aimee should move to Brittany with her three-year-old daughter, Chloe, and her biological father. Forget it, Aimee: we want you in Paris, not clomping about a farm in Birkenstocks." -Booklist "In bestseller Black's riveting 20th Aimee Leduc investigation, tensions are high in Paris two months after 9/11 . . . Rich with detail about life in Paris, this entry illuminates the complications that friends and family can unwittingly create. Black shows no signs of losing steam." -Publishers Weekly "A bombing at a police lab has all Paris on edge . . . As days pass without an arrest, Aimee moves into action. Will she find the bombers before the police arrest Boris and before Melac decides that Paris is just too dangerous a place for his child? Black delivers again with a combination of political intrigue and tight detective thrills." -Kirkus Reviews Praise for the Aimee Leduc investigations "Wry, complex, sophisticated, intensely Parisian . . . One of the very best heroines in crime fiction today." -Lee Child "The finest PI series now being written." -Mick Herron, author of the Slough House series "As always, with airfares so high, Black offers armchair travelers a whirlwind trip through the City of Light." -USA Today "Marvelous . . . boasts all of Black's trademark charms, including deft plotting, sharp dialog and colorful sights and sounds." -Chicago Tribune "Cara Black's Aimee Leduc is a gem: a stylish, brave private detective (and new mom) who zips around Paris on a scooter . . . Beguiling tours of some of Paris' little-known corners." -The Seattle Times "Black creates rich, plausible characters, giving them individuality and depth." -San Francisco Gate "Whether read as a crime story with roots in international politics or as the latest chapter in a fascinating family drama, this is a deeply satisfying and entertaining novel." -Booklist, Starred Review