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jamelchior's review
Don’t think I ever read a detective story where a baby is such an active and constantly surprising presence. It’s a good story too, and as usual for Cara Black there are fascinating Parisian locations including around, in and under the Seine. Heartwarming ending.
littletaiko's review
2.0
This one ended up not quite being my cup of tea. A stranger has left a newborn for Aimee to look after. As Aimee tries to track down the baby's mother, take care of the baby, and work her day job life gets complicated. I just couldn't get into the plot of some environmental protest gone wrong.
mary412's review
2.0
I'm not much of a mystery lover, but I enjoyed reading about the Ile Saint-Louis.
siria's review against another edition
1.0
Pretty weak stuff. The plot never really coheres, which is a big flaw in a murder mystery. Black's prose isn't strong enough to convey the kind of atmosphere which one would expect from something set largely on the Île Saint-Louis. Peppering sentences with Parisian streetnames doesn't do much by itself to help the reader conjure up an image of the setting. Moreover, Black indulges in one of my pet peeves—a reader suspends disbelief when reading an English-language novel set in a non-Anglophone novel, understanding that all the characters are really 'speaking' French or Latin or Xhosa or what have you when their dialogue is presented in English. To do as Black does here, and have characters say 'Bonjour' or talk about 'watching something on the télé' before continuing the conversation in English breaks that suspension of disbelief. And honestly, if sprinkling your dialogue with such basic French is the best technique your novel has for creating atmosphere, you need to go back to the drawing board.
henrismum's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Audiobook (All of my entries on The Story Graph are audiobooks.)
#7 in series
Will I read other installments?Probably Not Maybe Likely Most LIkely Definitely (This is a series I have committed to.)
Comparison to others in series: BetterAbout the same Not as good This has been the best one in the series so far. I struggle with this series and I'm not sure why I committed to it, but this installment was good.
#7 in series
Will I read other installments?
Comparison to others in series: Better
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Car accident, Grief, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Blood, Murder, and Violence
bobf2d33's review against another edition
3.0
A series about female private detective in Paris. Okay but not great.
cindywho's review against another edition
2.0
It was a loaner that I took on a flight. I am a fan of Paris, but not of the flat cliched tone of the book. The endless label dropping was a little weird. (Her fuchsia agent provocateur bra got wet!)
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