Cara Black, the New York Times bestselling author behind 21 Paris-set mysteries, will discuss and sign her latest novel, “Huguette,” at Vroman’s Bookstore on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
The book marks a departure for Black. Rather than another case for her series protagonist, private investigator Aimée Leduc, “Huguette” reaches back to post-World War II France to tell the story of a 17-year-old survivor navigating the chaos of postwar life — and, along the way, introduces the police officer Claude Leduc, who decades later would inspire his granddaughter Aimée to become a detective. Published in December by Soho Crime, the novel has been nominated for the Lefty Award for Best Historical Mystery Novel and was an Amazon Top 10 Best Books of the Month selection, according to the publisher.
The novel follows Huguette Faure, orphaned and pregnant, as she outruns her father’s enemies, lands a job with a film director, and builds a new life from almost nothing. The Wall Street Journal called the book one that could earn votes as among the best historical thrillers of the year, according to reviewer Tom Nolan. Library Journal gave it a starred review, and Bookreporter described Black as unmatched in her ability to craft humanistic historical crime fiction.
Black, who lives in San Francisco, has written Paris-set fiction for more than two decades. Her Aimée Leduc series, which began with “Murder in the Marais” in 1999, has been translated into seven languages and earned her the Médaille de la Ville de Paris and the Médaille d’Or du Rayonnement Culturel from the French Republic, according to her publisher. She has also received multiple nominations for the Anthony and Macavity Awards.
With “Huguette,” Black moves from the contemporary streets of Paris to the rubble of Liberation-era France, a period she told her publisher she considers the backdrop for her most expansive and emotional work. The character of Claude Leduc — a kindhearted but unproven young officer — provides the connective thread between this historical novel and the detective series that made Black’s name.
The event at Vroman’s is free. The hardcover edition of “Huguette” is available at the store for $29.95. Vroman’s Bookstore is located at 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. For information, call 626-449-5320 or visit vromansbookstore.com.
Black has said she hopes readers who know Aimée Leduc will come to understand the family that shaped her — and that readers new to the series will find in Huguette Faure a character worth meeting on her own terms.
