Blanche on the Lam

Rating:
Summary: Different take on the mystery genre, different ideas
Review: As a white woman reading an African American woman's book, there are definitely moments where I am forced to confront hugely different ideas and expectations than those I've been surrounded with throughout my life. I find Blanche White's straightforward honesty refreshing, and, contrary to many other reviewers, I think that we hear "political" mental dialogue from most other mystery characters--we just aren't quite so challenged by the white woman's feminist blurb or some man's thoughts on the military.

As far as the mystery in this novel goes, it was a fun read that kept me interested. I flew through this first book and was left curious to know what would happen to Blanche in her future adventures. Any mystery that conforms to genre has the potential to be a great read for me--I'm in it for the characters and mood the author manages to convey. Having read two later installments in Neely's series, I can say that she keeps up the good work.

BarbaraNeely did an excellent job in crafting Blanche, giving her a three dimensional and believable character that might help other readers appreciate a perspective different from their own.

Rating:
Summary: LOOK OUT
Review: If you don't want Blanche to know you better not do it around her. This book was o.k. if your the type of person who likes everything to be described to you in great detail which is o.k. I think there were ways around all that. But overall it was a good book. I will purchase the other books in these series to see what Blanche will do next. Two thumbs up for Ms. Neely.

Rating:
Summary: A Mystery With a Touch of Humor.
Review: In, Blanche On the Lam, Barbara Neely, writes about an African-American female, Blanche White, domestic worker, who turns into a rather sly sleuth. After writing one too many bad checks, she find herself on the run from the authorities. Blanche becomes a housekeeper in an upscale community. When a murder occurs in the wealthy estate that Blanche is working in at the time, she becomes the prime suspect. I almost fell into a trance and could not keep myself from turning the pages of this book, especially when reading about how Blanche gets herself into these homes. The way Barbara Neely strategically positions Blanches strong sense of humor really helped to keep my interest in reading this novel, and the fast pace helped as well. Blanche on the Lam is a great comedy and mystery that I would recommend to anyone who wants to read a good book. You won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: A Mystery With a Touch of Humor.
Review: In, Blanche On the Lam, Barbara Neely, writes about an African-American female, Blanche White, domestic worker, who turns into a rather sly sleuth. After writing one too many bad checks, she find herself on the run from the authorities. Blanche becomes a housekeeper in an upscale community. When a murder occurs in the wealthy estate that Blanche is working in at the time, she becomes the prime suspect. I almost fell into a trance and could not keep myself from turning the pages of this book, especially when reading about how Blanche gets herself into these homes. The way Barbara Neely strategically positions Blanches strong sense of humor really helped to keep my interest in reading this novel, and the fast pace helped as well. Blanche on the Lam is a great comedy and mystery that I would recommend to anyone who wants to read a good book. You won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: FUNNY
Review: Just as Walter Mosley created intense character portraits with Easy Rawlins and Socrates Fortlow, Barbara Neely has created a wonderful character in Blanche White. Don't be fooled by Blanche's name. She is a strong, proud Black woman with whom I identify because I know people like that in my family. With her down-to-earth attitude and no-nonsense take on life, Blanche is nobody's fool. However, she might sometimes pretend to be one for her own purposes or just to "psyche you out" while she reads you.

Blanche is on the run from the Man for bouncing one too many checks. She hides out with a family of peculiar characters. Thus the mystery begins. Blanche's interactions with the family members provides much of the humor of the story and reveals the motivations behind the family's actions. The reader also learns a lot about Blanche as a mother, daughter, and domestic worker. For those of you who employ domestic workers, Blanche's descriptions of her employer's sloppy habits may be disquieting. Oh well!

Blanche depends on her wits to maintain an equilibrium in the midst of a confusing situation where nothing and no one is quite what they seem. You will never guess who dunnit! NEVER!

Rating:
Summary: The mystery is on the lam as well...
Review: Sometimes, backtracking is of little value. I first encountered Blanche in the third book of the series, one I did not particularly enjoy. I decided to seek the first two books to see if I could garner additional insights into the life experiences that may have played at part in the pre-judgmental personality of the character. No such luck.

We are introduced to Blanche just as she is facing a fine and month's stay in the county jail for her fourth incidence of passing bad checks. Circumstance and opportunity allow her to escape the courthouse and find refuge with a family leaving for a sojourn to their vacation residence. As the surprisingly short book unfolds, and it is indeterminately slow to do so, we are introduced to a number of two dimensional characters who serve the primary purpose of foil for Blanche's pontifications about men, affluence in general, affluent whites in particular, and she doesn't have a lot of positive things to say about any of them. Without question, she is a strong, self-sufficient Black woman with an opinion on just about everything. She makes it perfectly clear she intends to be nobody's victim; yet fails to recognize how victimized she is cast by virtue of her attitudes.

Every author, in my opinion, has license to expound a personal agenda through the concepts represented by the characters they create. The major difficulty I find with the Blanche White series is it misplaced in the mystery category. In a book barely surpassing two hundred pages, the reader should not have to wade through one hundred plus pages of filler before the mystery takes form.

Barbara Neely impresses me as very good writer with a keen eye for social commentary, even though I happen not to agree with a number of her takes on diverse situations. Yet, if I wanted to read bell hooks, I wouldn't have been in the fiction section.

Rating:
Summary: BLANCHE TRIUMPHANT
Review: The two stars belong to Blanche. She is a quirky, vibrant character, very well-developed. I would like to read a non-mystery about Blanche in a non-me-against-them setting.

The book, though short, is slow to develop; it's half over before anything happens. With the exception of a young man suffering from Down's Syndrome, all of the white people in the book are despicable. Though Blanche has phone conversations with her friends and family, the people physically present are caricatures of various degrees of evil ranging from worthless to monstrous. We are stuck with a lot of one-dimensional characters and no action to distract us. I found the plot centering around the rich old aunt quite unbelievable.

Ms. Neely is a very good writer. I think Blanche needs wings to fly out of the constricting mystery-whodunnit category.

Rating:
Summary: Watch Out
Review: You don't want nobody to know, you better not do it around Blanche. Blanche is a woman of courage, strength and wit. She takes you on to a path of problem-solving mystery that's fun and adventreous. I will buy the next book in the series to see what Blanche will do next.