Murder in Passy

Aimee Leduc Investigations #11

by Cara Black

At her godfather’s engagement party at a Basque enclave in the chic 16th arrondissement, Parisian P.I. Aimée Leduc finds his fiancée strangled in her garden. Aimée must work to clear her godfather’s name The village-like neighborhood of Passy, home to many of Paris’s wealthiest residents, is the last place one would expect a murder. But when Aimée Leduc’s godfather, Morbier, a police commissaire, asks her to check on his girlfriend at her home there, that’s exactly what Aimée finds. Xavierre, a haut bourgeois matron of Basque origin, is strangled in her garden while Aimée waits inside. Circumstantial evidence makes Morbier the prime suspect, and to vindicate him, Aimée must identify the real killer. Her investigation leads her to police corruption; the radical Basque terrorist group, ETA; and a kidnapped Spanish princess.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, France, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Detective, Thriller

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Cara Black frequents a Paris little known outside the beaten tourist track. A Paris she discovers on research trips and interviews with French police, private detectives and café owners. She lives in San Francisco with her husband, a bookseller, and their teenage son. She is a San Francisco Library Laureate and a member of the Paris Sociéte Historique in the Marais. Her nationally bestselling and award nominated Aimée Leduc Investigation series has been translated into French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, German and Hebrew. She received the Medaille de la Ville de Paris for services to French culture. She's included in the GREAT WOMEN MYSTERY WRITERS by Elizabeth Lindsay 2nd editon published in the UK. Her first three novels in the series MURDER IN THE MARAIS, MURDER IN BELLEVILLE AN MURDER IN THE SENTIER - nominated for an Anthony Award as Best Novel - were published in the UK in 2008 and MURDER IN THE LATIN QUARTER comes out in the UK in 2010. Several of her books have been chosen as BookSense Picks and INDIE NEXT choice by the Amerian Association of Independent Bookstores. The Washington Post listed MURDER IN THE RUE DE PARADIS in the Best Fiction Choices of 2008. MURDER IN THE LATIN QUARTER is a finalist for Best Novel Award from the NCIBA Northern California Independent Booksellers Association.

She is currently working on the next book in the Aimée Leduc series.

Reviews

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This time out, Aimee Leduc finds herself involved in a case in Passy, one of the many neighborhoods which make up the city of Paris (although arrondissements sounds classier than neighborhoods). Her godfather, Commissaire Morbier, is worried about the new woman in his life, a person who has made him feel young again. Xavierre d’Eslay is a member of the uppermost level of the bourgeoisie although her roots are in the Basque region between Spain and France. Xavierre isn’t taking or returning any of his calls. He knows she is very busy preparing for her daughter’s wedding but Morbier isn’t blessed with self-confidence when dealing with the women in his life. He enlists Aimee’s help, asking her to speak to Xavierre just to make sure all is well between them.

Aimee arrives at the d’Eslay mansion at the tail end of her daughter’s rehearsal dinner. Xavierre doesn’t have time to talk to Aimee; something seems to have upset her and caused an early end to the party. Aimee realizes that whatever is bothering Xavierre has nothing to do with Morbier. She has pulled her partner, Rene Friant, along with her but as they prepare to leave, Aimee hears a noise and senses that she is being watched. A piece of Xavierre’s scarf is on the bushes and the woman herself is on the ground, strangled by the scarf.

Morbier is arrested quickly, case closed but neither Aimee nor Rene are going to leave that miscarriage of justice to determine this decent man’s fate. Morbier gets a message to Aimee, telling her not to trust anyone, especially the police, because there is a “leak”. Aimee doesn’t know to what “leak” refers but she soon learns that Xavierre was a member of the Basque group, ETA, when she was young. The political problem of Basque separatism is somehow involved in her death. French security is involved because ETA doesn’t discriminate between France and Spain – both are the enemy.

As with all the books in the series, MURDER IN PASSY takes off fast as Aimee and Rene try to prove Morbier had nothing to do with murder. French Security and ETA terrorists keep the Leduc Detective Agency always moving only one small step ahead.

There isn’t a book in the eleven book series that isn’t worth reading more than once. MURDER IN PASSY keeps the streak alive.

Cara Black and seven other authors, Timothy Hallinan, Leighton Gage, Yrsa Sigurdardottir, Michael Sears and Stan Trollip (together writing as Michael Stanley), Dan Waddell, and Jeffrey Siger, each contribute a post each week to their blog, Murder Is Everywhere. Cara posted an engrossing and informative piece on the Basque movement that is worth reading and will make the Basque element in MURDER IN PASSY informative and explain the seriousness of the problem Aimee and Rene find themselves in.

The link to Cara’s blog post is http://murderiseverywhere.blogspot.co...

[Elli · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the book in the series that I have liked the least. I just don't like the characters, and Aimee herself acts much more like a dingbat in her decision making (and this isn't her greatest forte anyhow) than is usual. The characters are 3 dimensional, but all have tunnel vision about themselves and the world they live in. They are quite ineffective as people and repeatedly cause real damage to others. They don't give you anything to really like or respect. Possibly the daughter of the ambassador brought forth a few redeeming ideas and actions, but for the most part, they were rather a bunch of unpleasant nothings with only brute force and basic drives to relate to what I've come to think as part of the human status! I was so disappointed. Her detective friend is framed for something, and she does go to bat for him. And her partner who considers him a strong friend tries, too. The Basque terrorist organization comes into play here. Generally I've liked this series, and some of the things that I might not like as well have fit into the story and the picture of the characters that I still generally enjoyed the stories and the visits to the various parts of Paris, all meld well to provide a worthwhile and nice experience for me. I'd say this was actually a 2.5 experience for me, but considering this as part of a whole, I'm going to give it a 3.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series has improved tremendously from its beginning, when it was mostly travelogue and improbable chases over the roofs of Paris. However, I'm not sure a reader unfamiliar with Aimée Leduc and her godfather the police detective Morbier will get into this plot as much as one who has followed the series from the start.
That said, it's a gripping book, clearly written, which resolves satisfactorily (with the usual narrow escapes and nick-of-time rescues, but hey, that's the genre). We learn a lot about Basque separatism and terrorism dating back to the Franco years, and this information is handled pretty well so that we don't get terribly confused.
Plus it's set in an area of Paris that I didn't know much about, so I found that part interesting too.
I do get a bit tired of the fashion details but then many readers follow Aimée because they just love those glimpses, so whatever...
Gotta say that if you check out the Soho Press website, you will find "photos" of the characters and a sort of primer to these books, for what it's worth. I really don't like the one of Aimée...wonder what you think?

[judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know this is a popular series for Francophiles who adore discovering the not so touristy areas of Paris. That definitely would not be me. I do remember reading an earlier book in this series and not reacting quite as negatively. Giving the author the benefit of the doubt, whatever she normally does to keep her fans happy, she didn't do here. The book had an interesting start that almost immediately slowed to one of the most boring bits of detecting I've ever read. Then, possibly one third from the end, the pace speeded up to almost a ridiculous level. I found it to be over the top. Long story short, if this book were a person, I'd suspect manic depression.

[Olivia Holmes · Rating 1 out of 5]

got this book as one of those “blind dates with a book” and boy do I have some questions.

But most importantly: Why would you put the ELEVENTH book in a series as a blind book for purchase??


There were ENTIRELY too many characters and zero depth to any of them. A bunch of random murders really for no apparent reason.

The writing was super boring and in every line of every conversation, the persons name would be constantly repeated.

At the halfway point in the book I considered googling the ending and stopping. Maybe if I would have read the rest of the series, I would better understand. Unfortunately, I won’t be spending any more time on these.

[Patti · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is definitely not the best in her series. I found it slow at times and although she was trying to add some historical information I found it flat. I always am entertained with the main characters antics but this one was same old same old.

[Zella]

I cannot tell a lie; I didn't actually finish this one. It was due back at the library and it just wasn't grabbing me like earlier books in this series with Aimee LeDuc, so I returned it half-read. The murder was tied into the Basque separatist movement in France, and I just didn't care about it.

[May · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book, and have enjoyed the several others of this series that I have read, but I didn’t love it. Thus, my rating is more a 3.5 rounded up to 4 ⭐️. I will read more in this series, as I trip over them.

[KA Jordan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible; couldn't wait to finish! I usually keep my books but this one went directly to the local little library!!

[Marissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I lived in Passy while studying abroad in Paris in 2007, so I had to pick up Murder in Passy when it appeared in the Little Free Library, even though it is the 11th installment in a long-running series.

But I suspected this would be the kind of mystery series that helpfully reintroduces the main characters at the start of every volume, and I was right. Aimée Leduc is a stylish young Parisienne who works as a private investigator. Her father was a flic (cop) and so is her godfather and mentor, Morbier. In this installment, Morbier’s new girlfriend is found strangled outside of her town house in Passy, and Morbier, who lacks a good alibi, is arrested for the crime. Seeking to clear her godfather’s name, Aimée launches her own investigation.

Since Passy is notoriously one of the wealthiest areas of Paris, I assumed that Aimée might go undercover in high society to find the murderer, but the story goes in a different direction: the victim had connections to the Basque separatist movement and there end up being international implications. Even though the cover describes this as a “noir mystery” it ends up trying to be more of a thriller.

I say “trying to be” because I didn’t find it particularly thrilling or accomplished. Sure, there were Passy details that made me smile: department store Franck et Fils! An old lady saying “I’m the only person in this quartier who votes Socialist”—the same thing I used to say about my Passy host family! But at other times the writing seemed disoriented and choppy, especially in the first pages where I was trying to get my bearings. The dialogue is a weird mix of Franglais (“Like tout le monde. You’re no different. I help out, then it’s adieu”) and all-too-American idioms (“We should be able to document the VP’s sticky fingers in the corporate cookie jar”). Also, the narrator keeps insisting that Passy still feels like a “countryside-like” village within the city, and while it certainly is an exclusive neighborhood with its own quirks and secrets, never once during my 4 months living there did I forget that I was in a huge metropolis!

[Dana Clinton · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I paint, Mademoiselle. That's what I do. That's all I do. I'm not political," he said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Except in the sense that all art's political. My father fought in the Freedom Brigade against Franco. That was enough for me." Cara Black's Murder in Passy is the 11th in the series of Aimée Leduc's mystery/thriller series set in Paris. Passy is a very rich suburb of Paris in the 16th arrondissement, not an area most tourists visit unless they trek to the Marmottan museum, a private rather than state-owned museum where Monet's painting "Impression: Sun Rising" which gave the movement its title is located. This installment is challenging in that many of the characters are hard to follow occasionally. Aimée becomes involved because her beloved godfather Morbier is accused of the murder of a woman he loves named Xavierre... from the southern Basque region of France where in the past ETA, an often violent organization seeking independence for the Basques (although mostly active in northern Spain) was located. The past comes back to haunt the present, as is often the case. It involves the victim, of course, but also the painter in the opening quote here, and the stakes are political and therefore high as Aimée tangles with both Basque activists and special branches of the French police. Morbier seems to have been set up, although it is clear he was actually on the scene of the murder when he was supposedly on assignment in Lyon. Cara Black quotes the great 19th century poet Baudelaire before opening the story: "What is irritating about love is that it is a crime that requires an accomplice." Not a simplistic quote at all. This book verged more on the thriller side than some of the others (I think of the series as a cozy+ style, because of course the recurring characters seem so present in the mind and their particular quirks are fascinating and real), and the research Black must have done to discover the hidden nooks and crannies of the neighborhood is impressive. I do love this series.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable read in the Aimee Leduc private detective series! Aimee is true to self acting in much the same pattern as she has in the previous 10 books. I happen to like Cara Black's depiction of her main character and all that it entails -a tutorial if you will on the events, buildings and rituals that make up Parisian culture in the present and the past. This particular episode highlights of role that an oath taken to the Basque in their youth plays out in current times for three (Bayonne trio) when there is a division in the faction between those supporting violence to achieve their goal of an independent state and those who do not. This is not unlike the divisions among the IRA (see Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Island by Patrick Radden Keefe) for an excellent comprehensive view of its history and players.)

[Sharalynne Pasztor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Please correct me if I'm wrong but the author states three times in the story that Robbe' was suffering from diabetic shock and she gave him his insulin to bring him out of it. Actually, diabetic shock, or insulin shock as it's also called is a result of blood sugar being too low as a result of too much insulin. If he was in diabetic shock and she gave him more insulin she could possibly kill him. What she should have said is that he was going into a diabetic coma and needed the insulin. There is a big difference.

[Douglas Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leduc Overcomes Being a Target in Solving Her Latest Challenge in Encounter with Murder

Aimee’s godfather Morbier asks for a favor which lands her in trouble with authorities when she discovers Morbier’s true love murdered and he is their lone suspect. She must find the true murderer to prevent Morbier being setup and sent to prison while the authorities want her to stay out of their case and the mother murderer has her in his sights to be one one more victim.

Good pacing with exciting climax.

[Richard Brand · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again all the same pieces: international event, murder, Aimee's love life, Rene and the computer business, and this time the only surprise is that Morbier is the suspect for killing his newly discovered girl friend. Just not going to let any of them be happy. Rene's girlfriend was killed in the last one I read. I know nothing about Paris so that part of her appeal is not for me. But they are a different style of mystery books.

[Sherry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mystery set in Paris involving Aimee Leduc, a private investigator, her godfather Inspector Morbier. The murder of Morbier's mistress with whom he has only recently reconnected after many years, had Morbier as the prime suspect. Aimee must find out the true killer. Morbier has stepped on a few toes at the Police Dept. over the years, so higher ups are not helpful in finding the truth. This is 13th in a series and perhaps if I'd read earlier ones there would be more insight in this adventure.

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for my mystery book group and even though I own several books in this series, probably won't read the others until I am desperate for something to read. This was very slow going for the first half of the book. I found some problems with historical accuracy regarding the Basques fleeing Franco.
Not recommended

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aimee's godfather, Mourbier, has a new/old girlfriend. Unbeknowst to him, she is involved with the Basque movement. She is killed and he is blamed. While trying to figure out who really did it, Aimee reveals many coverups. As usual, the author reveals a few more details about Aimee's long lost mother.

[Kathryn Burwash · Rating 4 out of 5]

The irrepressable Aimee Leduc continues to be curious, investigate and place herself in danger. This time she is out to save the reputation and freedom of her godfather, Police Inspector Morbier. Grab your espresso, a croissant and head to the Paris district of Passy, home of embassies and the rich elite. Throw in some Basque terrorist involvement and you are all set for dramatic action

[Hope Broadway · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Aimee! I really enjoyed this mystery, although some of the details of Morbier's situation were vague. Hopefully they will get cleared up in future books, as the series does revisit moments and build on them.

[Charlotte mann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this as much as the others I have read of hers. I found the violence to be a bit on the sadistic side, and led me not to care about what happened to the characters, so much that I stopped reading a bit before the end.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aimee wears her heart on her sleeve. When her Godfather Morbier asks for her help. He is desperate for information on his lady friend. Who is then murdered and Morbier stands accused. Aimee investigated but everywhere she turns there are roadblocks. The ending is not what I expected.

[Mary Dent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 11. Aimee is up to her same old tricks, which seem to frequently include rousting terrorists. But this time the terrorists are Basque. And this time, Morbier is being held as a suspect in the murder off his lady love. This one focuses on the 16e.

[Sue Beck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aimée is asked to solve a mystery involving her godfather, Commissaire Morbier. As always she takes us along on the back of her scooter through alleys and back streets of Paris wearing heels and vintage clothing. Got to love her….

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great new murder mystery writer in my life. Female detective. pulled a list of all her books and will now go back and read them in order, with pleasure.

[Bob Burch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very slow to start, a bit far fetched story line, but overall an ok read.

[Eileen Duffy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good mystery, not great. Maybe I've read too many in this series lately...

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best of the series, but I love the character!

[Nick Baam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bailed really late on this. Started well, then just ...

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best of the Aimee Leduc series. Quite boring and repetitive until more than half way through the story. But the ending was exciting and tied up the story nicely.