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A review by amberunmasked
Blanche on the Lam by Barbara Neely
5.0
I did something different than a typical review of BLANCHE ON THE LAM. I used it as a study in writing cozy mysteries and made detailed notes about Neely's structure, character development of her protagonist, and grammar style.
Here are some excerpts, but I hope you check out the full analysis at my blog: http://www.amberunmasked.com/analysis-blanche-on-the-lam/
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
In regards to crafting the main character, Blanche White, Barbara Neely does an exceptional job of making her a regular human being that’s relatable with strengths and weaknesses. Too many mysteries have protagonists with nearly paranormal abilities, whether it’s being too tough to die, perfect martial artists, or Sherlockian super human observation skills. Blanche is a basic woman, adopted mother of two kids she can’t raise because she needs to go make money, and a woman who weighs moral dilemmas like a real live person. Because Blanche is an African-American housekeeper, she has the distinction of being ignored, practically invisible at times, and she’s never quite trusted by her employers. She’s curious/nosy which gives her the information-gathering mind of a sleuth; she has escalating money troubles and keeps her emotional distance from the rich white folks to the point of even considering stealing cash from them they would never miss.
Strengths:
In her own town, she can’t find any black people to employ her which is where she’d be more comfortable. Her role in the pyramid of perceived importance is something that other people try to take advantage of. Blanche’s strong will and bulldog attitude keep her from being anybody’s abused servant.
SENTENCE STRUCTURE/WRITING TECHNIQUE
Neely doesn’t completely avoid adverbs as I’ve heard other well-seasoned authors advise. She doesn’t smother the reader with them either, so they exist, but sparingly.
She also doesn’t force dialog tags of any kind. I generally adhere to the methods of people like Joe Lansdale and Stephen King who I’ve heard in interviews state that “said” is the absolutely only thing you need to explain who is delivering dialog. They say to avoid “asked, yelled, mumbled, whispered” or anything else and use a surrounding sentence to describe how the words are spoken. However, since drafting and revising my own mystery, I’ve scoured several advice columns and have noticed the currently acceptable trend: no tag at all. No “said.” No nothing. Use the surrounding sentences to tell the reader who it is.
Here are some excerpts, but I hope you check out the full analysis at my blog: http://www.amberunmasked.com/analysis-blanche-on-the-lam/
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
In regards to crafting the main character, Blanche White, Barbara Neely does an exceptional job of making her a regular human being that’s relatable with strengths and weaknesses. Too many mysteries have protagonists with nearly paranormal abilities, whether it’s being too tough to die, perfect martial artists, or Sherlockian super human observation skills. Blanche is a basic woman, adopted mother of two kids she can’t raise because she needs to go make money, and a woman who weighs moral dilemmas like a real live person. Because Blanche is an African-American housekeeper, she has the distinction of being ignored, practically invisible at times, and she’s never quite trusted by her employers. She’s curious/nosy which gives her the information-gathering mind of a sleuth; she has escalating money troubles and keeps her emotional distance from the rich white folks to the point of even considering stealing cash from them they would never miss.
Strengths:
In her own town, she can’t find any black people to employ her which is where she’d be more comfortable. Her role in the pyramid of perceived importance is something that other people try to take advantage of. Blanche’s strong will and bulldog attitude keep her from being anybody’s abused servant.
SENTENCE STRUCTURE/WRITING TECHNIQUE
Neely doesn’t completely avoid adverbs as I’ve heard other well-seasoned authors advise. She doesn’t smother the reader with them either, so they exist, but sparingly.
She also doesn’t force dialog tags of any kind. I generally adhere to the methods of people like Joe Lansdale and Stephen King who I’ve heard in interviews state that “said” is the absolutely only thing you need to explain who is delivering dialog. They say to avoid “asked, yelled, mumbled, whispered” or anything else and use a surrounding sentence to describe how the words are spoken. However, since drafting and revising my own mystery, I’ve scoured several advice columns and have noticed the currently acceptable trend: no tag at all. No “said.” No nothing. Use the surrounding sentences to tell the reader who it is.