Barbara Neely (1941–2020)

I'm sad that this is the last book featuring Blanche, but while there are some unresolved story arc, Blanche Passes Go is otherwise a fairly satisfying conclusion to Barbara Neely's series. As with previous installments, this is technically a murder mystery in that a murder occurs and Blanche is interested in finding out who committed it, but there's no real hunting for clues and not a single cop appears. Neely instead uses Blanche's trip back to her home town in North Carolina as a backdrop show more for her exploration of domestic violence, generational trauma, and racism. At times a tough read, but Blanche's voice is always distinct and clear enough to keep me reading on. show less

Blanche White is a special kind of sassy woman; not your average maid. When we first meet her in Farleigh, North Carolina, she is waiting to go to jail; convicted of writing bad checks. This is her second offense so she knows the judge is going to throw the book at her: thirty days in jail if only to set an example. When she unexpectedly finds an opportunity to slip away from the bailiff, she takes it quiet as you please. Just slips out the back door of the courthouse.
Through a series of show more misunderstandings Blanche ends up working as "the help" for an upper class white family: Everette, Grace, Mumsfield, and Aunt Emmeline. Luckily, Blanche has her wicked humor and uncanny intuition because from the moment she starts working for the family, she can tell something is wrong with all of them except mentally challenged Mumsfield. It wasn't just from eavesdropping on Everett's conversation with the sheriff, despite the sheriff’s death the very next day. It wasn’t from observing the odd behavior of alcoholic and seemingly senile Aunt Emmeline, who never leaves her room. It wasn’t from the gardener who perishes in an “accidental” house fire. It was from watching and talking with Mumsfield. From the moment they met Blanche had a special connection to the boy; he was always on her radar whether she liked it or not.
Blanche on the Lam, while humorous also carries the stark reality of sexism, racism and prejudice. Neely deftly weaves these sobering themes through an otherwise funny plot. show less

This second book in the Blanche White series sees Blanche heading to the small Maine resort community of Amber Cove. Traditionally a retreat for fair-skinned, wealthy African Americans, Blanche anticipates standing out as someone who is both working-class and dark-skinned. Mysterious deaths occur and Blanche gets to the bottom of it all, though honestly the crime-solving aspect of this novel is both secondary to the main action of the book and honestly a bit limp (like a second-rate Murder, show more She Wrote episode). The real interest to Blanche Among the Talented Tenth is Barbara Neely's exploration of classism and colorism among Black people, and how engaging and authentic Blanche's voice is. She's one of those point-of-view characters whom you can really hear speaking in your ear. show less

I always enjoy Neely's Blanche White books and I am a bit sad that there is only one more left. She always does a good job inserting a lot of social commentary into what would otherwise be a typical murder mystery. This books is no exception. Blanche is filling in as a maid at a rich Bostonian politicians home while her cousin is away on vacation. When her cousin's son drowns in a local public pool, Blanche gets to work to figure out how he drowned and who might be responsible. In these show more books the mystery is not always in the forefront of the story, instead Neely through Blanche makes observations on the life in black communities in the 1980s. She tackles the problem of lead poisoning and its effect on black boys, the view of lgbtq people in the black community, how the well known leaders of the community sometimes care about power more than their neighbors, the shaming of sex workers, and of course racism and classism. Addressing these issues makes the characters and the story more real because it tethers them to a deep description of the times and the people. I will definitely be reading the next book in the series. Blanche is a great character and I am glad there is at least one more story in the series. show less