by Cara Black
First published 2010
A car bomb nearly kills Aimée Leduc as she hunts terrorists through the working class neighborhood of Belleville. The district simmers with unrest as a hunger strike escalates in response to harsh immigration laws. Leduc finds herself caught between Algerian nationalists and Islamic fundamentalists who operate within an underground North African network spanning Paris. The strike intensifies social tensions while Leduc navigates the dangerous web of political extremists. She must identify the bombers before they strike again, but every lead draws her deeper into a conflict where ideology and violence intersect. The investigation forces Leduc to confront how immigration politics fuel radicalization in the communities she thought she understood. Her survival depends on untangling the motivations driving both the hunger strikers and the terrorists who threaten them.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, political-thriller
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, investigation
Setting: Belleville, Paris
Period: 21st-century
314 pages · Paperback · La Factoria de Ideas
Content warnings: violence