I'm always ready to read another Cara Black crime novel set in the neighborhoods of Paris. I think this is the 13th book of hers and the tenth in her Aimee Leduc Investigations series that I've read and like all of her novels I got into it right away. There is always something about her plots, her writing style and her descriptions of Paris just grabs me and holds on. I read this book in about ten days and it took me that long because there were a couple of other books I was reading at the same time. I really love how she describes the streets and the buildings of the many Paris neighborhoods and she also always focuses on the history of these sections of the city and the people who inhabit them.
Another aspect of this book I found fascinating was it's plot location in the Latin Quarter. I was familiar with this neighborhood from our trip to Paris and it was very interesting to learn more about it. I especially liked the history of the university and the scholars living in the neighborhood going back to the Middle Ages. The author really does have a way with history and place.
The thing that caught my attention in this novel beyond the regular Cara Black storyline was the Haiti plot that included it's history and current politics. This story takes place in the mid 1990's. Haiti is currently in the news right now for terrible gang activity and it breaks my heart. I loved my experiences in Haiti and Port au Prince in particular during my several times there in the early 1970's with the Navy.
After reading this book I wanted to read more about Haiti in fiction. I downloaded the Haiti Noir e-book collection of short stories that all take place in Haiti. There are some other books I put on my to-read list too.
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