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luisaveras's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Ableism
Minor: Sexual assault
geglover's review against another edition
3.0
A perfectly fine, quick mystery that includes a delightful twist (or two) at the end. The main character, Blanche, is funny, likable, and nosy. Just what I like in a mystery novel.
numinousspirit's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
drannieg's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Fun. Enjoyed the earthiness, the racial perspective (and the sad feeling that even if this was written in the 1990s Little had changed then since the 1970s and quite probably still not, judging by the current day news).
cleches's review
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
allyexa's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
I was instantly rooting for Blanche, continued to cheer her on as the plot progressed, and was basically giving her a standing ovation at the end. She’s a great character, and her constant streaming thoughts throughout the day gave the book both a slice of life feel and also dosed out the mystery nicely.
The mystery itself was a bit tropey, but even the tropiest characters were described both frankly and with empathy. The plot lagged a bit in the middle, but once it took off it was hard to put down.
Looking forward to the rest of the series.
3/17/23
The mystery itself was a bit tropey, but even the tropiest characters were described both frankly and with empathy. The plot lagged a bit in the middle, but once it took off it was hard to put down.
Looking forward to the rest of the series.
3/17/23
plindq's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
iffer's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
This was definitely different that I expected. I love Blanche, and the fact that she's a smart, opinionated, hard-working, competent, compassionate (both despite and because of hardship she has experienced), dark-skinned Black woman who works as a domestic worker. I found this book interesting because it takes the well-known English-country-with-servants cozy idea and transplants it to a country estate in North Carolina.
Barbara Neely pulls absolutely no punches with writing Blanche's thoughts, which are stark truths about living as a working class Black woman expressed bluntly (and with understood generalizations) in a way I would generally only expect to hear people of color express with friends and family in "safe spaces." The counterpoint between Blanche's real thoughts/remaining confident in her identity, and the way in which she literally serves members of a moneyed white family is striking. While a large part of me was cheering loudly at this, if I'm honest, it sometimes grated to feel like I was being bludgeoned with important points. After I started reading this book, I found it both interesting and sad that I couldn't necessarily pinpoint what year that the book was taking place, since, in some ways, such little progress has been made in terms of race and class, in the US. I was also pleasantly surprised that such an overtly activist (author describes herself as an activist) was originally published in 1992, and that that the author has won several major awards for her crime fiction.
This book also includes a character who has mosaic Down Syndrome and is "high functioning." Neely draws parallels between the way in which Blanche moves through society as a a domestic worker and the way in which this character does. In my opinion, it was done relatively well, with the characters developing a relationship of mutual affection and understanding; however, I would be interested how this was perceived by people with Down Syndrome and their friends/family.
This was definitely different that I expected. I love Blanche, and the fact that she's a smart, opinionated, hard-working, competent, compassionate (both despite and because of hardship she has experienced), dark-skinned Black woman who works as a domestic worker. I found this book interesting because it takes the well-known English-country-with-servants cozy idea and transplants it to a country estate in North Carolina.
Barbara Neely pulls absolutely no punches with writing Blanche's thoughts, which are stark truths about living as a working class Black woman expressed bluntly (and with understood generalizations) in a way I would generally only expect to hear people of color express with friends and family in "safe spaces." The counterpoint between Blanche's real thoughts/remaining confident in her identity, and the way in which she literally serves members of a moneyed white family is striking. While a large part of me was cheering loudly at this, if I'm honest, it sometimes grated to feel like I was being bludgeoned with important points. After I started reading this book, I found it both interesting and sad that I couldn't necessarily pinpoint what year that the book was taking place, since, in some ways, such little progress has been made in terms of race and class, in the US. I was also pleasantly surprised that such an overtly activist (author describes herself as an activist) was originally published in 1992, and that that the author has won several major awards for her crime fiction.
This book also includes a character who has mosaic Down Syndrome and is "high functioning." Neely draws parallels between the way in which Blanche moves through society as a a domestic worker and the way in which this character does. In my opinion, it was done relatively well, with the characters developing a relationship of mutual affection and understanding; however, I would be interested how this was perceived by people with Down Syndrome and their friends/family.