by Cara Black
Part of Aimee Leduc Investigations, book 1
First published 1999
Aimée Leduc runs a tech investigation business in Paris and refuses criminal cases. Her police detective father died on duty, and she wants no part of that danger. When an elderly Jewish man offers her a decoding job for a synagogue member, the work seems safe enough. Aimée completes the assignment and delivers her findings to the client's home in the Marais, the city's historic Jewish quarter. She discovers the woman murdered, strangled with a swastika carved into her forehead. The brutal crime forces Aimée into the criminal investigation world she has avoided. Working with her business partner René, she pursues the killer through Paris. The case pulls her deeper into a network of wartime secrets and Nazi-era crimes that someone will kill to keep buried. Aimée must confront both external enemies and her own fears about following her father's deadly path.
Genres: historical-fiction, mystery, crime, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, family-secrets
Setting: Paris, Marais
Period: World War II
354 pages · Hardcover · Soho Crime
Content warnings: violence