Review: Murder in the Palais Royal (Cara Black)

So first up, a review of the latest in the Aimee Leduc mystery series. I started reading the series about six months ago, but I tried to take breaks in between books to avoid Aimee fatigue. Of course, once I saw the finish line getting tantalizingly close (and with the books I had left to read in the library just calling out for me) I plowed through the last four books.

Murder in the Palais Royal has few surprises for readers that have followed Aimee's adventures throughout the previous nine books. She's still looking for her mother, still has a tense relationship with her godfather, still has her trusty sidekick helping her get out of trouble, and she still runs around Paris in stiletto heels. (Really? In one scene, she stubs her toe and decides to wear peep-toe heels because those were the only shoes her feet could stand. I've never heard of something like that!)

And this is why I've stuck with the series. It never felt like a chore to read these books. Indeed, I kept going to see what would happen to Aimee next time around. She manages to get away with breaking the law on a regular basis. But it's all for the sake of finding the truth, justice, and... the French way? No? Whatever.

This time around she doesn't have Rene, her partner at Leduc Detective, around to help her directly. He's shot at the beginning of the story by an Aimee lookalike. The cop assigned to the investigation, Melac, will hopefully have a more prominent role in the next book. Cara Black, the author of this fun series, has 10 more neighborhoods in Paris to have people murdered in.  Huzzah!

Again, if you have followed the series from the beginning, the resolution to the mystery will hardly surprise you. The villains practically have big red warning signs flashing over their heads. I don't care about that. It's entertaining and I love to live vicariously through this tough, smart, beautiful, and tall heroine. (I want to be tall!) She gets to kick ass while wearing vintage designer clothes. (Always flee market finds. Madmoiselle Leduc may live on Ile St. Louis, have an office on Rue du Louvre, and wear Chanel #5, but she is a girl on a budget.)

A fun read with plenty of action and plenty of Paris. The descriptions of 1990s Paris make this series totally worthwhile, even if you don't find the stories suspenseful. Black goes into the gritty side of Paris and it's totally worth the trip.

I look forward to seeing what Cara Black has Aimee do next.

Next up: In the Shadow of Gotham, by Stefanie Pintoff