Almost there. In this, the penultimate book in the Aimee Leduc series, Aimee is almost six months pregnant. Melac, her erstwhile lover who has resigned from his post to be at his daughter’s side (she is in a coma since a bus/train accident 4 months ago) doesn’t know. Her partner Rene has take it upon himself to be her helpmate, directing remodeling projects to the office to make it baby-friendly and nagging her about taking her prenatal vitamins and getting plenty of rest. Aimee herself is still suffering from morning sickness and is just trying to keep up with the computer security work that is the bread and butter of Leduc Detective. Unfortunately life has other plans. Zazie, the 12-year-old daughter of the couple who runs the cafe around the corner from the office, asks Aimee to help her with an “investigation”. Her friend Melanie was attacked and raped three days ago. Zaazie thinks that another attack in the 9th arrondissment spells serial rapist. She has even trailed a man she thinks is the culprit. Knowing that Zazie will not let this go (What Would 12-year-old Aimee Do?), Aimee says she will look it over and cautions Zazie from doing any more investigating. Before the day is over, Zazie is missing and another friend of hers has been attacked and killed. Aimee and Rene must do something.
The subject matter was darker than usual but seemed to go with the theme of Aimee trying to figure out how she is going to be a parent and a detective at the same time. I was happy to see Rene on board from the get-go-his Silicon Valley escapade seems to have finally cemented his taste for adventure. Still, Aimee has a lot to figure out about her life and that of her unborn child and I am interested to see where this goes next.