by Cara Black. (Find the Book)She grabbed her leopard-print coat and locked the office door. Twenty minutes later she ran up the Metro steps, perspiring and dodging commuters. Who's doing the running? Aimee Leduc, of course. The Paris investigator is a perpetual-motion machine, and she's almost always inappropriately dressed for high-speed galivanting: heels, miniskirts, leopard prints Aimee never sacrifices style for convenience. This time her destination is the oldest and smallest of Paris' four Chinatowns, nestled in the Marais. Her assignment is to deliver a birthday present intended for her partner Rene's mysterious new girlfriend, Meizi Wu, but soon enough, Meizi has disappeared, and Aimee must find her before the distraught Rene falls apart completely. As always, that's only the beginning. Thickening her plot like a French chef stirring coq au vin, Black throws a murdered scientist, a human-trafficking scandal, the Knights Templar, and revelations about Aimee's long-presumed-dead mother into the pot, leaving readers nearly as breathless as Aimee, who hurtles her way toward the conclusion. Fans of the series know the formula and don't mind a bit that it rarely varies. Paris never needs a new look, and neither does Aimee Leduc. --Booklist
