Murder in the Bastille

"Cara Black books are good companions, and Murder in the Bastille especially so. Fine characters, good suspense, but, best of all, they are transcendentally, seductively, irresistibly French. If you can't go, these will do fine. Or, better, go and bring them with you."--Alan Furst

"Charming. . . . Aimée is one of those blithe spirits who can walk you through the city's historical streets and byways with their eyes closed."--Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

"Paris is one of my favorite cities in all the world; Black's books are a fine way to revisit it."--New Orleans Times-Picayune

"Black's fourth is her best yet, with complex, appealing characters, a crisp, well-paced mystery, and a setting like no other."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Aimée Leduc is all dressed up in her new Chinese silk jacket, supposedly an "exclusive," for dinner with a difficult client at an elegant restaurant in the Bastille district. She is chagrined to see that the woman seated at the very next table is wearing an identical jacket. When the woman leaves her cell phone on the table, Aimée follows her to return it and is attacked in the shadowy Passage Boule Blanche. When she regains consciousness, Aimée finds that she is blind. Nevertheless, she is told she is lucky; the woman she was following was found in the next passage, murdered.

Aimée is determined to identify her attacker. Was he actually a serial killer targeting showy blondes as the police insist? Was he really after the other woman? Or was Aimée his intended victim?

Cara Black lives in San Francisco with her husband, a bookseller, and her son. She is the author of Murder in Belleville and Murder in the Marais, published by Soho Press. Murder in the Sentier was a San Francisco Chronicle bestseller and has been nominated for an Anthony Award for Best Novel. For more information, visit www.carablack.com