Arab Jazz

Ahmed Taroudant, the hero of Miské’s marvelous debut, is a dreamer, mystery reader, and occasional marijuana smoker. He also holds the house key to his upstairs neighbor Laura Vignola’s apartment in Paris’s 19th arrondissement, which should make him the prime suspect when she’s murdered. Intellectual police lieutenants Rachel Kupferstein and Jean Hamelot readily dismiss him as a suspect, though, sensing his inherent gentleness. Ahmed willingly assists Rachel and Jean as well as pursuing his own lines of investigation. The three start to see connections to neighborhood Hasidic Jews and Salafist Muslims as well as Laura’s own estranged Jehovah’s Witness family. The crime may also be linked to a powerful new drug that has hit the streets and the potentially crooked cops who work an adjacent arrondissement. Separately and together, Miské’s leads sip coffee, have cordial chats, and muse their way toward the solution. Memories, erotic fantasies, and assorted reveries drift through the pages, but Rachel and Jean are no less rigorous in their investigation than more traditional detectives. [em](Mar.) [/em]