Cara Black’s biographical information states that she visits Paris frequently. Based on the evidence of her latest Aimée Leduc novel, this is a definite understatement. Black does not “visit” Paris so much as immerses herself in every aspect of it: geographical, architectural and cultural. The mysteries that attract her readers are just the wonderful tip of an extensive travelogue  that create an obsession in her fan base to visit the situs of each of these books --- usually a Parisian street or neighborhood --- and follow in Aimée’s footsteps.

MURDER ON THE CHAMP DE MARS doubles down on that proposition, and then some, focusing not only on the park that is famous from a historical and cultural standpoint, but also on a segment of the Parisian population that might be variously described as “misunderstood” or “invisible.” This would be the Roma, or Gypsies. The negative, or at least vaguely uncomfortable, connotation that the term “Gypsy” creates overshadows the fact that tens of thousands of the Roma were murdered in Nazi concentration camps, having been judged to be racially and socially inferior. Since that time, Gypsies have been, shall we say, vaguely tolerated in Europe and keep to themselves whenever possible.

"While the series is extremely complex, with each new book built upon the shoulders of what has gone before, newcomers will be swept up in Black’s narrative as she follows Aimée through the streets and alleys of one of the world’s most exotic cities and cultures."

Therefore, the last thing that Aimée expects is to be contacted at her private investigation agency by a young gypsy boy with a unique problem. He wants her to come to a hospital where his mother is dying, because she has an important secret to tell Aimée concerning the killing of Aimée’s father a decade before. That murder, which remains unsolved, has haunted Aimée and partly influenced her career choice. Who would not accede to such a request? Going to the hospital and talking to the woman, and possibly solving the mystery of her father’s passing, might seem easy, but it isn’t. Aimée and the boy arrive at the hospital only to find that his mother and her secret have disappeared. Given that she was too gravely ill to have left on her own, it appears she’s been taken.

Aimée has no choice but to follow what little trail there is for the woman, facing indifference and hostility all the while, with almost everyone wondering why she would even bother finding a Roma. She is nothing if not driven, and each step she takes brings her closer, however tentatively, to solving the disappearance of the dying woman as well as the mystery of her father’s murder. Both issues take her places --- geographically and emotionally --- that she never expected. By story’s end, much is revealed, which only leads to more questions that undoubtedly will be answered in future installments.

While the series is extremely complex, with each new book built upon the shoulders of what has gone before, newcomers will be swept up in Black’s narrative as she follows Aimée through the streets and alleys of one of the world’s most exotic cities and cultures. I wouldn’t visit Paris without the entire series in hand as a reference, but the mysteries and Aimée’s own backstory make MURDER ON THE CHAMP DE MARS worth reading in its own right.