Praise for the Aimée Leduc series: “The buzz . . . is partly about her heroine’s hip, next-generation, cutting-edge investigations and partly about Paris, a setting of unrivaled charm.”—Houston Chronicle “If the cobblestones could talk, they might tell a tale as haunting as the one Cara Black spins.” —The New York Times Book Review “Will have readers on pins and needles.”—San Francisco Chronicle “One of the best new writers in the field today.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Conveys vividly those layers of history that make the stones of Paris sing for so many of us.”—Chicago Tribune “With its sights, sounds, and colorful past, it’s a particularly eventful and involving Paris visit.”—Los Angeles Times Spirited Aimée Leduc, a private investigator based in Paris, has been introduced to the Cao Dai temple by her partner, René, who urges her to learn to meditate as a counterbalance to her frenetic lifestyle. A Vietnamese nun asks her for a favor—to hand over a check and bring a package back to the temple. But this act of kindness ends in a stranger’s death and leaves her with a bullet wound in the arm, a check for 50,000 francs and a trove of ancient jade artifacts whose provenance is a mystery. The French secret service, a group of veterans of the war in Indochina, some wealthy ex-colonials, and contending international oil companies all claim the jade. They will stop at nothing to gain possession of it. And the nun has disappeared. Aimée has promised to avoid danger, but it continues to seek her out

Praise for the Aimée Leduc series: "If you've always wanted to visit Paris, skip the air fare and read Cara Black . . . instead."--Val McDermid "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 "She makes Paris come alive as no one else has since Georges Simenon."--Stuart Kaminsky "If you've never been to Paris, or you'd like to go back soon, let Cara Black transport you there."--Linda Fairstein "Charming. . . . Aimée is one of those blithe spirits who can walk you through the city's historical streets and byways with their eyes closed."--The New York Times Book Review Aimée's childhood friend, Laure, is a policewoman. Her partner, Jacques, has set up a meeting in Montmartre with an informer. When Laure reluctantly goes along as backup, Jacques is lured

Praise for the Aimée Leduc series: "One of the best heroines in crime fiction."--Lee Child "The Parisienne Kinsey Millhone."--Los Angeles Times "One of the best new writers in the field today."--Publishers Weekly(starred review) "Haunting."--The New York Times Book Review Aimée is faced with a tight deadline on a computer security contract when a telephone call from a stranger leads her to an abandoned infant. She brings the baby to her home and names her Stella. She expects the mother to reclaim the child, but days pass as Aimée tries in vain to discover her identity. Her partner, René, urges her to turn the baby over to the authorities, but for Aimée this is too close to her own abandonment by her mother. The search brings her among ecological protesters and oil company tycoons, newspapermen and would-be actresses, as demonstrators near her home on the Ile