Murder at the Lanterne Rouge

Vendredi 12 Avril Murder at the Lanterne Rouge

'She ran across the boulevard into the medieval quartier, still an ungentrified slice of crumbling hotel particulars, narrow cobbled streets lined by Chinese wholesale luggage and jewelry shops. Red paper lanterns hanging from the storefronts shuddered in the wind. From a half-open door she heard the pebble-like shuffling of mah-Jong tiles. This multi-block warren comprised the oldest and smallest of the four Chinatowns in Paris. Few knew it existed'.

I may be following in Aimee Leduc's footsteps but I definitely do not want to meet her. Too many encounters with dead bodies cross her path plus the multiple attempts on her life have scared me off. In this book a missing blue folder holds the key to the turret...

The clock is ticking...

What did Meizi know?

How to solve Pascale's unfinished 14th century formula that could revolutionize fiber optics as we know it?

A whole slew of puzzles present themselves in each book. Author Cara Black tells gripping tales. I can't leave the house without one in my purse. Fortunately a caste of eclectic characters reappear in each book with the spotlight moving from one to the the other and Aimee ties it all together. The musee Arts et Metiers is the center of this conundrum. You can depend on it. At least one museum will show up in each mystery.

The tower or turret in question at Arts et Metiers, a science museum fromerly a Romanesque church.

Sweatshops pouring out faux branded goods with illegal immigrants at the tredle sewing machine in Lanterne Rouge.

The story opens in restaurant Chez Chun, perhaps a not too distant cousin of Chez Shen on rue Maire 75003

Cara said, The crevette/shrimp dumplings get my stamp of approval.

I got the soup of crevette raviolis with home made noodles. YUM!(5.80)

Aimee checked her Tintin watch. The DST contact was late. She stood at the counter in Cafe des Puys on rue Beaubourg. The cafe was near rue Saint-Martin, the old Roman road, and had been a cafe in some form for several centuries, owned by successive waves of immigrants: Auvergnats,Chinese, and now Serbs, as evidenced by the Serbian national soccer pennants plastering the wall. 

I'm crazy for all the chunks of historic background Cara Black throws in throughout her books.

Poor Aimee is constantly stepping in puddles wearing her designer boots and she trips constantly. Maybe she should wear some sensible shoes like Adidas (like other Parisians) instead of Louboutins for sleuthing?

As the end of the book draws to a close Black knows how to tighten the screws. There's no way you can leave a Cara Black book at home on the reading table. No way. I didn't expect to be enthralled with Murder at the Lanterne Rouge but I was. And I discovered some terrific Chinese restos in the process. You don't know exactly where you'll end up but the ride is always fun. Here's what Soho publishers sent me to tackle. Three down and three to go.

So much more of Paris to discover.

More Montparnasse

Mardi 27 fevrier

I'm thrilled to visit Montparnasse

You experience an area of Paris in a fresh new way. I thought I knew the 14th arrondissement. 

It has tons of little quotidienne details that stop you in your tracks and you say to yourself "of course!"

Loaded with historical references especially artistic ones:

Virtually penniless painters, sculptors, writers, poets and composers came from around the world to thrive in the creative atmosphere and for the cheap rent at artist communes such as La Ruche. Living without running water, in damp, unheated "studios", seldom free of rats, many sold their works for a few francs just to buy food. Jean Cocteau once said that poverty was a luxury in Montparnasse. First promoted by art dealers such as Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, today works by those artists sell for millions of euros. Back then they used them to barter a meal in a cafe.

Black's myTwisty-turny and convoluted as a Parisian balcon. The tension rises to a breaking point in Montparnasse. A hidden Modigliani painting is stolen. Russian oliogarchs are involved. Murder in the Metro. Lots of racing about in Metros and taxis. Plus Aimee is looking for her long lost mother missing since she was eight.

Private detective Aimee is of course hired to find the lost Modigliani.

Black can be nclude museums in the area plus artist references. Whose been to the Antoine Bourdelle musee raise your hands. I hadn't but it reeks of atmosphere and includes his atelier where Giacometti studied among other notable sculpturs.

Aimee dropinto countless cafes drinking countless express and Perroquets...this one on rue Daguerre (known as village Deguerre - a fabulous long and mostly pedestrian rue you could miss in the blink of an eyelash). I love it that Black names names. Sleuth out all her locations and have a mad adventure doing so. Merci Cara!

And I'm a big fan of Black's atmospheric writing. A few examples:

As the taxi sped over Pont Alexanre III, she called Saj. 

She passed a rain-beaded plaque that listed Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp as one-time residents on the painted geranium-fronted hotel. A former one star, the hotel had now jumped to three stars for the remodeled ambience.

I could go on and on quoting Cara

Now to get down to the nitty gritty.

Here's your chance to “Win A Killer Trip to Paris” with Cara Black as your guide for 7 days visiting all the ins and outs of Aimee's adventures in every book. This sounds so terrific, I'd love to try for it. You can enter the sweepstakes by buying Murder Below Montparnasse before the publication date on March 5.

All the details are on the site.

Cara's Coton de tutear is not part of the sweepstakes but he definitely has good taste in reading. Win this prize PBers!

Murder in the Marais

Murder in the Marais Cara Black

Keeping up with private detective Aimee Leduc has become a full time preoccupation and getting to know the Marais and all Paris better is one of the big pluses of reading Cara Black's mysteries arrondissement by arrondissement.

I feel a bit like a stalker following in her footsteps...

Murder in the Marais touches on many issues that go beyond most mystery books. The stories of French Jews in Paris and those left behind by chance or luck are endlessly intriguing.

'Leduc,whose specialty is computer forensics, is confronted with a seemingly mundane task: to decipher an encrypted photograph from the '40s and deliver it to an old woman in the Marais (the historic Jewish quarter of Paris). When Aimee arrives at the home of Lili Stein to present the photo, however, she finds the woman dead, a swastika carved into her forehead. Thus begins a thrilling, quick-paced chase involving neo-Nazis, corrupt government officials and fierce anti-Semitism'.

The scene switches back and forth between the rue des Rosiers and elegant Place des Vosges

While the story twists and turns constantly adding new threads and old tales of how people survived the German occupation. Informers, traitors, and innocent victims of their times...so many backstories keep you enthralled.

At one point Aimee must stay behind in the Maison de Victor Hugo lurking in his bedroom (which I just happened to visit earlier in January) right on Place des Vosges after hours to hack into their computers.

Another scene occurs at the famous Pere Lachaise cemetary, a place I've avoided like the plague...

I thought I'd quickly shoot the entrance and run, yet the romance and poetry was hard to walk away from. Merci Cara for making me go!

One main character could easily have walked out of this photo of French women having their heads publically shaved and being shamed for their relationships with the occupiers. Yet who knows what exactly went on and why. Murder in the Marais gives you some possible alternatives to consider. No story is simply black and white. The shades of gray are infinite.

Still in Place des Vosges at Cafe Bourgogne various meetings do and don't take place, but the cafe looks to be unchanged from it's former days...one of its charms.

I was certain I spotted Aimee on rue des Rosiers sporting a blond wig(she does don one in the book) and Cara agreed it could be her. I'm not done chasing after Aimee. I hope she doesn't take notice of me stalking her. Do get onboard with Murder in the Marais for lots of thrills, chills and some intriguing history of Paris during the occupation. And by the way Cara says the contest for the free trip to Paris has been extended till April 30 so don't miss out!!

Murder in rue de Paradis

On Monday we both took photos of this doorway in the 11th.

Author Cara Black is in town to research and reconnoiter for her next book. I know Cara claims in interviews that she is NOT her main character PI Aimee Laduc but I'm not so sure. Hmmm...

They're both fearless, fierce and determined to get their killer or in Cara's case, the story.

Cara/Aimée doesn't miss a trick either. She spotted this bit of graffiti, 'amour' that I waltzed right by. The entry way above was once the stables for Marie Antoinettes horses.

If there's a sign announcing L'INTERDITE - PRIVEE - PERSONNE/ forbidden, private, no one allowed, Cara's on it like a cat on catnip.

I hung back hesitating...a scaredy cat.

One courtyard was filled with old workshops, some going back to the 17th century and certainly around during the 2nd world war. French craftsmanship has a way of turning up in Aimée Leduc mysteries. We always stopped for a look and a photo at any old workshops in passing. Paris' underbelly is Cara's turf not mine but it's great fun to follow along and discover new hidden places connected to the stories in her books.

We stopped for a coffee in a nondescript cafe.

Cara disguised herself in my new glasses (they look good on her) and my macaron bracelet.

Today I went looking for rue de Paradis in the book and explored the 10th arrondissement a bit. I stayed across from Brasserie Flo in this quiet passages des petites Ecuries mentioned in the book.

The book starts off in rue de Paradis and these china shops play a big role. Some are quite grand and carry Baccarat etc. This area is a mix of old world and Bobo. You'll find new Mexican and Corsican restos, the popular veggie Nanashi next to quite traditional china shops.

There's a Paris map of the quartier in the front of each of Cara's mysteries.

I wish they were more detailed and illustrated like this Gien china pattern I spotted in the Cristallerie boutique on rue de Paradis.

We parted ways at this doorway. Cara was entering another forbidden courtyard. I watched as her khaki trench coat and khaki converse drifted smaller and smaller into the vista.

The next day, like a sleepwalker, straight from the pool I went to Galeries Laffayette and bought myself a khaki scarf (12€), khaki straw hat (10€) and khaki T (Uniglo 9.90€).

You too can try pass yourself off as P.I. Aimée/Cara.

*And don't forget to read Murder in the rue de Paradis while your at it. You won't be able to put it down. These books are addictive. And no way can you skim or read back to front as I usually do.

You'll miss way too Paris secrets!