Murder in Pigalle (Aimee Leduc)

Murder in Pigalle is the fourteenth in the series featuring Aimée Leduc as our intrepid Parisienne private investigator. In theory, she and her business partner René Friant specialize in corporate wrongdoing and computer crime, but they are always being diverted into dealing with murder mysteries and other equally dire crimes. This time, we find Aimée five months pregnant (she’s yet to tell the father, so that should tell you something about the strength of their relationship) and caught up in pursuit of a thirteen-year-old girl. As a school project, this girl, and at least one other member of her class at school, have been investigating a man they believe to a serial rapist. Yes, this is not quite what the school expected her to do, but this girl hero-worships Aimée and wants to follow in her footsteps. When she disappears, Aimée believes she’s been kidnapped by the rapist. Now it’s a race against time to find her before the rapist kills her.

Set in 1998 when France was hosting the World Cup, this zips along with plenty of thrills and excitement. It’s not quite the best of the Cara Black novels, but it’s nevertheless very good.