Murder in the Marais

Cara Black. 1998. (October 2013)

Sadly disappointing. I had heard that this was an atmospheric detective novel set in one of my (everyone’s?) favourite cities, and had hopes for it. But it’s an action genre novel with characters of little depth who exist primarily to push the plot from one improbable point to another. It’s set in the Marais, and refers to many sites and buildings that are fond recollections, but they are used as little more than flat background. They don’t add atmosphere, just setting. The neo-Nazi plot could have been intriguing, but again it’s just a plot device in which some bad guys play, and is no more illuminating than the crime scenes in a gangster novel. There’s no emotional involvement in the characters because they are too limited, and even the attempts to give them a back-story don’t go anywhere. The final confrontation is so absurd, with literally a Deus ex machina resolution, that I had to wonder if the author was having a sly chuckle with us about the conventions of the made-for-tv novel. But I think not – it’s more like the hopeful scenario for a series that the author wants to sell to a movie or television production company. Perhaps I was expecting too much – this isn’t Victor Hugo, although it is set in his city (and home) – but I’m not drawn to try her other novels.