Huguette

In this vivid standalone from Black (Murder at La Villette), a traumatized teenager reinvents herself in post-WWII Paris. Huguette endures a string of heartrending betrayals, beginning with her father pimping her out to a Nazi officer in exchange for protection for his shop during the war. Then, at 17, the orphaned young woman has become pregnant after being assaulted by a Nazi officer and is forced by cruel nuns to give her child up for adoption. Devastated, starving, and homeless, Huguette lands in prison for stealing money in 1945, where she's helped by the kind but unproven young policeman Claude Leduc (grandfather to Aimée Leduc, the heroine of Black's long-running detective series). After fleeing and changing her identity, Huguette works for strong-willed film director Louis de Jouvenal, who hires her to help trade supplies on the black market. After outwitting American GIs, corrupt French police, and vicious gang members, Huguette finally finds legitimate employment and tracks down the German officer who raped her. At times, Black's plot tilts into melodrama, but her pacing is fleet and she renders the textures and social mores of postwar Paris with aplomb. Historical mystery fans will root for Huguette all the way to the novel's bittersweet end. (Dec.)

France in the immediate aftermath of its liberation at the end of World War II is a lawless place full of informants, criminals, and ghosts of the past. A 17-year-old who lost her parents and her childhood home in Paris during the war, Huguette Faure is pregnant and on the run from her late father's enemies. She embarks on a journey through the French countryside before circling back to Paris in Black's (Murder at la Villette) riveting historical thriller, set against a backdrop of corruption, danger, and the ruins of war. Black is a consummate storyteller, and this fast-paced, enthralling novel features many of the elements her readers have come to expect: expertly drawn characters, a twisty plot, and richly detailed settings (here, a side of Paris seldom seen by tourists). The cast of characters includes brutish Nazis and their sympathizers, slippery black marketeers and profiteers, trusted friends, and a sympathetic French detective named Claude Leduc (grandfather of Black's beloved private-eye character Aimée Leduc). VERDICT Readers of Black's historical mysteries will savor this satisfying thriller, while newcomers will surely join the ranks of her fans.--Carolyn Mulac