A Free Man of Color

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Summary: One of the best historical mysteries Around.
Review: This was a very well-written historical mystery. It starts a little slow, and it's difficult keeping all the names of the characters straight since there are so many and the names are quite French and different than what most are used to. But the story is extremely well-researched. It's easy to see that this author is in love with her era and her place of choice (New Orleans in 1833). This is a lush, haunting novel like New Orleans itself. The time of the story is Mardi Gras week and Ms. Hambly deftly describes all the decadent pleasures, glittery ballrooms and the very complicated caste system of old New Orleans. The hero in the book is Benjamin January, a free man of colour who makes his living by playing the piano even though he is a trained surgeon. January was born in New Orleans and had moved to France at the age of 16 where he studied to be a surgeon. He made a life for himself there, but his wife dies of a fever, so he heads back home to be with his family. He gets thrown into a messy murder that happens at one of the dances he is playing at. There are many twists and turns in the plots, and the finale I'm sure will shock you, as it shocked me. The book starts slow but builds up momentum the further along the story goes. It's a stunner!

Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT MYSTERY
Review: What do I want from a mystery? I want an afternoon of pure excape; I want the clues to lead to the end properly, without deus ex machina; I want characters that have some bit of depth. Ms. Hambly aptly fulfills these requirements. I liked the setting of ante bellum New Orleans, though I thought A. Rice did it better in Feast of All Saints. I truly bonded with Ben Janvier, and hope that perhaps this is the beginning of a series...I would certainly buy any that Hambly wrote about Ben. I did, however, think the end was not so satisfying as it could have been. All was forgiven however just because the wonderful story had so much fine historical color to it (no pun intended). The history of the mixed blood caste in New Orleans is very, very interesting and little known. Truly an interesting novel, and worth reading

Rating:
Summary: Historical mystery
Review: Wow! I've had this book on my shelves for awhile now (the 4th was recently acquired), but hadn't gotten around to it. I've been a fan of Hambley's fine fantasy for some time, and was much disconcerted when the last Black Dragon book left us in a very bad place for our intrepid protagonists. I checked out her web page, and much to my horror discovered she'd taken a break and written yet another Benjamin January tale. Annoyed and intrigued, I decided to see just what was delaying the conclusion of the fantasy series. And having read the first one, I intend to read the next ones right away.
This tale works in all directions: the writing is smooth with a fine attention to detail without being obtrusive. As it is a murder mystery, those details are important, not just window dressing.
As a period piece, it's terrific, giving us a view of New Orleans before the Civil War, when the 'white' people were mostly Creole French, and the Americans were just beginning to make their mark (and mostly negative). Benjamin is the free man of color of the title: 3/4 black and could be described "black and beautiful" now. He is in his 40s, widowed, a surgeon who makes his living playing and teaching piano. He has spent the last 20 or so years in France, has just returned to his home and is suffering culture shock.
We learn about this culture as he remembers how to live within the severe caste system among the blacks, free and slave, and the Creole society with its wives and mistresses on display during Mardi Gras. The book is littered (in a good way) with interesting people, none of whom are entirely what they first seem to be, and none of whom are cliches.
And when one particularly manipulative woman is murdered at one of the balls, Benjamin is unwillingly drawn into the puzzle, at first to help an old friend, but later in a desperate attempt to clear his own name.
The mystery works, too. There are twisty paths everywhere, each one of which must be explored, before the final solution becomes clear. We can forgive Benjamin if we're just slightly ahead of him at the end: I'm sure we've read more mysteries than he has tried to solve.
All in all, a highly satisfying mystery, proving again just how good an author Barbara Hambley is.

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Summary: Twisted Chapter in American History
Review: Wow, what a strange book. It made me angry, because it was pretty much fact-based. Pity that busy monster, ManUnkind: we humans can sure talk ourselves into some crazy ways of life. Here we have whites who despise the blacks but will have loads of children by the quarter-blacks, who look down on the full-blooded blacks, who are all looked down on by 'octoroons.' I don't know which group to feel sorrier for, but the whites are certainly swallowing as big a load of bullcrap as they ever fed the slaves. Ben January is a 'colored' man who escaped to Paris, where he learned surgery and music and walked the streets as just another citizen. Returning to New Orleans, he finds he doesn't fit in anymore. He's lost the slave mentality, and as a result he stands out like a big black sore thumb. But he hasn't fallen into hatred, and he solves the mystery he falls into instead with a clear eye. Makes you proud to be a human, of whatever color.