Paris and Murder

I've finished Murder in the Marais and have begun the second in the series, Murder in Belleville. As you might guess, each novel in the series is set in a different Parisian neighborhood. I've only been to Paris twice, very brief trips, but these novels really bring me back there. DH & I visited the Marais, but not Belleville. Maybe another time. (*sigh*) Murder in Belleville starts off literally with a bang, a car bomb which kills a mysterious young woman and almost kills Aimee Leduc. I got a kick out of it when Aimee notices the name "E. Grandet" on a doorbell, and later on finds out that the "E" stands for Eugenie. Eugenie Grandet. Really? Do you think that could be an alias?

My stitching has slowed to a crawl. This happens sometimes, but hopefully it will pass and I'll pull out a project.

I'm still listening to Persuasion in French. Actually, I've started it in English as well. This book is so delightful, so subtle and yet so full of emotions. This time around, I was struck by Anne's thoughts after Louisa hits her head. Of course, Anne is concerned about her, but part of her is thinking about Wentworth and how he said that he wanted a woman who knew her mind and who couldn't be easily persuaded out of something. Anne thinks to herself that here is an instance where being strong minded wasn't so good. It's just a small moment in the novel, easily overlooked, but this time I noticed it.

Happy, Happy

The other day saw me doing a little happy dance. At the library, I found the first two volumes of a mystery series by Cara Black that I've wanted to start reading for a long time. It is set in Paris and is about a computer forensics expert named Aimee Leduc. I've already begun the first novel, Murder in the Marais, which starts out with a search for an encrypted photo and the murder of an old woman. Aimee finds herself investigating neo-nazis and secrets going back fifty years to WWII. (The book begins in 1993.) So far I'm enjoying it very much. Yeah libraries!

My stitching has been a little slow. I'm working on a correspondence course from the EGA, and I have a lifetime's worth of other projects to get started. Sometimes reading takes over from stitching and sometimes it's the reverse.