Meeting Cara Black

I had the pleasure this afternoon to meet and listen to best-selling mystery writer, Cara Black speak to an intimate group of fans at the French Cultural Center. She spoke of her newest book, set in Paris, France, Murder in Passy, the 11th of her series of fictional detective Aimée Leduc.

According to Black, the 16th, her newest Parisian neighborhood muse was taking some convincing, until she heard of the Basque rebel connection and interesting facets to the neighborhood like an above ground reservoir. The publisher's description of the newest release is - "The village-like neighborhood of Passy, home to many wealthy Parisians, is the last place one would expect a murder. But when Aimée Leduc's godfather, Morbier, a police commissaire, asks her to check on his girlfriend at her home there, that's exactly what Aimée finds. Xavierre, a haut bourgeois matron of Basque origin, is strangled in her garden while Aimée waits inside. Circumstantial evidence makes Morbier the prime suspect, and to vindicate him, Aimée must take on the case."

She spoke of her writing process - that she drinks lots of coffee, "I follow Balzac...," she joked as earlier she explained Balzac was know for drinking 50 cups of coffee a day, that she takes about 1 year to 1 year and 3 months to complete a book and sets a daily page goal for writing.

The audience was keen on getting information about upcoming books. Her work-in-progress is the Leduc mystery set in the haut Marais. Questions about Aimée's future and past remained unanswered ... for now.

To follow in the footsteps of Black's main character, visit her publisher's page and download the Paris Companion Guide.