Cara Black

Cara Black is the author of twenty-one books in the New York Times bestselling Aimée Leduc series as well as the WWII thrillers Three Hours in Paris and Night Flight to Paris. She has won the Médaille de la Ville de Paris and the Médaille d’Or du Rayonnement Culturel and received multiple nominations for the Anthony and Macavity Awards; her books have been translated into German, Norwegian, Japanese, French, Spanish, Italian, and Hebrew.

Black's new novel is Huguette.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

The title, Huguette, to me, encapsulates the book. This is Huguette's story all the way. We're with her on her journey as a young woman after Liberation in Paris, 1944 through the post war era in France to the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival in 1958.

What's in a name?

Huguette is an old fashioned French name. So many people have told me 'that's my grandmother's name' or 'my great-aunt was called Huguette'. So it's quite time specific to the post WW1 era and the 1920's, 30's when it was a popular name. We know names go in and out of fashion but so far, Huguette's name hasn't come back in style.

I discovered this name from conversations with Denise, who'd lived in Paris during the Occupation, when she talked about her best friend, Huguette. They'd worked together in a restaurant during the war. Denise told me she and Huguette shared so many experiences, confided in their fears and had become best friends. Sadly they lost touch after the war. So in honor of Denise, who has left us, I've 'found' Huguette for her.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

Films definitely have and continue to influence my writing. Black and white films from the 40's are my go to. The Third Man, by Sir Carol Reed, is my favorite film. I watch it every year, and use the film in a writing class I teach to illustrate how place and setting anchor the story in Vienna and using writing techniques to translate the visual to the page.

I love watching newsreels from the time I'm writing about. In Huguette, I discovered a treasure trove in the French film archives documenting daily life in post war France.

Visit Cara Black's website and follow her on Instagram and Threads.

The Page 69 Test: Murder at the Lanterne Rouge.

My Book, the Movie: Murder at the Lanterne Rouge.

The Page 69 Test: Murder below Montparnasse.

The Page 69 Test: Murder in Pigalle.

My Book, The Movie: Murder in Pigalle.

My Book, The Movie: Murder on the Champ de Mars.

The Page 69 Test: Three Hours in Paris.

The Page 69 Test: Night Flight to Paris.

Writers Read: Cara Black (March 2023).

Writers Read: Cara Black (March 2024).

The Page 69 Test: Murder at la Villette.

My Book, The Movie: Huguette.

The Page 69 Test: Huguette.

Writers Read: Cara Black.

--Marshal Zeringue