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Loaded with historical references especially artistic ones: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!