Murder on the Ile Saint-Louis (Aimee Leduc Investigations, No. 7)
Starred Review.At the start of Black's gripping seventh mystery to feature Parisian  computer expert Aimée Leduc (after 2006'sMurder  in Montmartre), a distraught, late-night anonymous phone call  distracts Aimée from her deadline and sends her to the courtyard of her  Ile Saint-Louis building, where she finds an infant girl. After the caller  never shows up for her baby (whom Aimée decides to care for),  Aimée wonders if the woman may have become an "Yvette," a Jane Doe  dragged from the Seine. She follows a tenuous lead to discover the caller's  identity, bringing her Samaritan impulses into direct conflict with her  business sense. A wonderfully complex plot is lent immediacy by environmental  activists agitating against a proposed oil agreement—secondary characters who  play a crucial role in the intrigue. This Paris has a gritty, edgy feel, and  Black's prose evokes the sound of the Seine rising with the spring thaw.  Aimée makes an engaging protagonist, vulnerable beneath her vintage chic  clothing and sharp-witted exterior.(Mar.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.