Murder in Bel-Air

By Cara Black

Soho Crime         2019

312 pages     Thriller

Murder in Bel-Air is the first Aimée Leduc Private Investigator mystery I have read. This is book #19. How is it possible that I have never met her nor visited the Paris she investigates? I looked back and realized that the publisher had sent me an advanced reader’s copy of the 2016 book, Murder in the Marais, but I hadn’t taken the time to read it. Ah well!

It was fairly easy to get into Murder in Bel-Air; it is not one of those series that the author has to spend several chapters bringing the reader up to speed. Aimée Leduc is the owner of a detective agency in Paris, and the novel is set in 1999, when technology is seeping into the world of crime, as well as the world of private detectives. 

Aimée’s American mother is a thorn in her side. A supposedly retired CIA operative, Sydney doesn’t seem to be changing her ways. She was scheduled to pick up her baby granddaughter, Chloé, from her play group, when she disappeared once again. Aimée is called by the day care, and she must leave a technology meeting, where she is to deliver the keynote address, in order to pick up her daughter. Everything goes downhill from there. Sydney is missing, and is somehow connected with the body of a homeless woman from a nearby soup kitchen. As Aimée searches for her mother, she gets caught up investigating a potential coup in the Ivory Coast, a creepy Legionnaire, and a cadre of international spies.

All this happens as Aimée stylishly swishes her way around Paris—places I knew about, but many places I wish I knew about. She wears her vintage outfits as well as the stylish outfits of her best friend, and always has high heels or classy boots on her feet. Several times a day, she checks in on Chloé, who has a variety of babysitters, all the while keeping in constant contact with Rene and Saq, who run the Leduc Investigations agency.

Although there are some slow spots, as soon as Aimée figures out what is going on, things start to move fairly rapidly, and it becomes a very fun page turner. There is a great final confrontation and a fitting denouement.

I loved all the French phrases and Paris scenes. I knew very little about the history of the Ivory Coast and its fateful relationship to France, which is one of the subplots. I also really enjoyed seeing an extremely skillful author weave all of Paris into the plotline. It was a very enjoyable couple of days.  

Here is an interesting look at Cara Black and the Aimée Leduc franchise over the last 20 years. Murder in Bel-Air was released two weeks ago.