Helpful Score: 3
Blanche, a street-smart black domestic on the run from the sheriff for passing a bad check (again), winds up cooking and caring for edgy Miz Grace, her husband Everett, her wealthy, reclusive Aunt Emmeline, and her somewhat retarded Cousin Mumsfield at their summer home in Hokeysville, North Carolina--in a quirky mystery debut that pits Blanche against a Faulknerian cast of oddballs who may be trying to kill each other off to claim a southern fortune. Did Everett murder his first wife for her money, and does he have similar plans for his second? Is Grace trying to con her feeble auntie into signing a new will discounting Mumsfield and exalting her? Does auntie have a drinking problem, or is she the sweet, old woman Mumsfield remembers? Is the sheriff blackmailing Everett or vice versa? As Blanche wrestles with these problems, including what's in the cellar of the family's winter home, she communes telepathically with Mumsfield, phones home regularly to make sure her Mama and her two kids are all right, and ties in several other murders before heading off for the peace (she hopes) of Boston.
Helpful Score: 2
What a charming book! And a fresh perspective, too.
Blanche is a black single mother who works as a domestic in the South. Her adventures are interesting, mainly because Barbara Neely is a wonderful writer -- This is one of those stories where the plot proceeds slowly, and it's not really clear you're in a murder mystery per se, because there's not much murdering and sleuthing -- but you don't care because the writing is so good, Blanche is such an interesting person, the life she lives and her views as a black domestic in a white world is so different from my own, that I could not put this book down, and didn't want to.
I have got to see if I can get my hands on what else Ms Neely has written. I want to enjoy her writing again.
mac mccarthy
Blanche is a black single mother who works as a domestic in the South. Her adventures are interesting, mainly because Barbara Neely is a wonderful writer -- This is one of those stories where the plot proceeds slowly, and it's not really clear you're in a murder mystery per se, because there's not much murdering and sleuthing -- but you don't care because the writing is so good, Blanche is such an interesting person, the life she lives and her views as a black domestic in a white world is so different from my own, that I could not put this book down, and didn't want to.
I have got to see if I can get my hands on what else Ms Neely has written. I want to enjoy her writing again.
mac mccarthy
Helpful Score: 2
Blanche is a one-of-a-kind character. I read this after reading "The Help"--puts that book in a different and funny perspective.
Helpful Score: 1
First of the Blanche White series. Great fun! A feisty and wise woman discovers a terribly messed up and criminal family.
Helpful Score: 1
This 1992 novel is the first full-length mystery with a black woman as the main character. Highly recommended as a unique mystery. When this novel was released in 1992, it won the Agatha Award and the Anthony Award for Best First Novel, and the Macavity Award for Best First Mystery.
Helpful Score: 1
Blanche is an African-American domestic worker who is forced into the role of detective in a murder in a house where she's working temporarily. She's intelligent and compassionate but not perfect--not a superhero, just an excellent character to choose as a detective in a mystery story. The friend who recommended this book highly to me was absolutely right.
Helpful Score: 1
We used this book as a text in an African American Detective in Fiction class. Most of the students loved it, it was not my style, I prefer hardboiled fiction.
It\'s hard enough making ends meet on the pittance Blanche White earns doing day work for the genteel Southern families of North Carolina. But when her fourth bad check lands her a jail sentence, Blanche goes on the lam. She finds work at the summer home of a wealthy family, the members of which have plenty of their own secrets. And when a dead body is discovered, Blanche finds herself the prime suspect. Using her wit and intelligence, she gets to work uncovering the real killer before she lands in more hot water.
I love mysteries. I am posting two additional books in the series by Barbara Neely; \"Blanche Among the Talented Tenth\" and \"Blanche Cleans Up.\" The author\'s books are full of intrigue and humor.
I love mysteries. I am posting two additional books in the series by Barbara Neely; \"Blanche Among the Talented Tenth\" and \"Blanche Cleans Up.\" The author\'s books are full of intrigue and humor.
Blanche cleans houses for a living, and she's smart enough to know when something's not quite right. Of course, since she's holding her latest position purely by accident, and trying to keep out of the clutches of the law, she's on shaky ground, but when a body turns up, she gets busy. This fast-paced story will keep you turning pages!
Penny T. (iluvmysteries) reviewed Blanche on the Lam (Blanche White, Bk 1) on + 431 more book reviews
I had read the rest of the books in this series when they came out and enjoyed them very much. I found this one to be equally entertaining.
I had read later "Blanche" books and really enjoyed reading the first in the series.
This book is good because it shows the detective skills of an African-American housekeeper. A refreshing take on the mystery genre!
I love the Blanche series!!! She's a no-nonsense sister with common sense and a knack for figuring things out. Grown kids and good friends enliven her life as well. The kind of woman you'd want to have lunch with regularly -- to commiserate and celebrate with!
Classic detective novel where African-American Blanche goes on the lam to avoid a jail sentence and winds up solving a murder at her next job at the summer home of a wealthy family.
Blanche is invigorating, never gets nothing for nothing, and always triumphs. Damn, BarbaraNeely can write. Read and feel exhilarated.
Blanch White makes ends meet doing day work for genteel Southern families in NC. When her 4th bad check lands her a jail sentence, she goes on the lam, discovering death, secrets, etc along the way. The book is funny, and a delight to read.
