Mystery
writers these days seem to be required to stake out a geographical
territory – Donna Leon has Venice, Steven Saylor has ancient
Rome, Sara Paretsky has Chicago, etc. – and give it the
status of a character in their novels. American writer Cara Black
has chosen Paris as her private detective’s turf and moves
the action to a different neighborhood in each novel.
After using
the Marais, Belleville, Sentier, Bastille and Clichy quarters
as settings in her previous books, Black’s latest, Murder
in Montmartre (Soho Press, New York), takes us to the hillside
“village” topped by the Sacré Coeur. Her detective,
Aimée Leduc (whose last name is borrowed from a real Paris
detective agency), is a leggy young woman with big eyes, spiky
hair and, often, spike heels that are singularly unsuited for
climbing around on icy rooftops or chasing criminals through cemeteries.
This sexy
detective is the type who would never forget to apply her Stop
Traffic red lipstick, even when she is racing down the marble
stairs of her Ile Saint-Louis apartment building on her way to
follow up on a hot tip.
The author
lives in San Francisco but travels regularly to Paris for hands-on
research, even consulting with contacts on the French police force
to get the details right, which she usually does. She also works
hard to explain references that might be obscure to people unfamiliar
with French language and customs, and adds historical background
along the way. This is usually done fairly seamlessly, although
we are occasionally aware that we are being given a little lesson
on things French.
As mysteries
go, Murder in Montmartre is well-written – with some bumps
along the way – and engrossing, with a more literary style
than most and strong characterization for the main character and
most of the peripheral ones. The very feminine Aimée’s
physical and verbal assertiveness, however, seem much more characteristic
of an American (think “Sex and the City”) than a French
woman.
Black has
created a complicated – often too complicated to follow
– plot that is a bit too easily resolved by newly revealed
information and coincidences at the end, but that seems to be
the case for most mystery novels. All in all, Murder in Montmartre
is a fun read for anyone who loves Paris or a good detective novel.
Heidi
Ellison
©
2006 Paris Update |
|
