Book Review - Blanche on the Lam by Barbara Neely
I selected this book because I hadn't read the author's work and I was anxious for a new cozy mystery. I never view the author bio prior to reading the work so that my impression of the author doesn't cloud my reading and subsequent review. As I went through this story, I prayed the author wasn't white. If she had been, I would have been even more appalled at the racist attitude conveyed throughout, by the characters of both colors.
Let me first say that there aren't enough black women cozy mystery writers. I wish this wasn't the case but my experience in the genre indicates it is a sad fact. I love being able to get a different perspective and a new character to read, especially in a series. However, I was disappointed in this work. I think it has some great potential but the author needs to drop some of the very old clichés and stereotypes. Rather than being set in current day, I felt as if the character was pulled from the 1950's - not so much because of the way racism is portrayed but due to the way the characters acted.
It's impossible to ignore how much racism still exists in the U.S. but not everyone from the South is a racist, not everyone who is black has to behave the way this character did. I grew up in a small town in Virginia and more than half of my friends were black and none of them ever acted like this. The women I have known were beautiful, proud, black women with strong characters who worked just as hard as Blanche without sacrificing their self respect or cow-towing to anyone - white or black. That is what I wanted to see from this character.
The main character, Blanche is a housekeeper who we first meet when she is in court for passing bad checks. Not the most auspicious start to make me want to like the character. Despite, her struggles to support herself and her two children, passing bad checks simply makes someone else suffer. The reader is continually told how smart Blanche is but her speech and behavior makes us believe otherwise. In the first chapter, we hear how she uses the restroom and doesn't flush the toilet - can I just say ewwwww!
Here is another example, "She tugged her panties into a more comfortable relationship to her crotch and carried her cup and the teapot to the sink." Why is this sentence necessary to move the story forward?
Blanche has so much potential to make us love her, if only she would live up to her intelligence, lose the stereotypes and give the main character reasons for us to want to read more.
Happy Trails,
Leslie
Visit my website
Let me first say that there aren't enough black women cozy mystery writers. I wish this wasn't the case but my experience in the genre indicates it is a sad fact. I love being able to get a different perspective and a new character to read, especially in a series. However, I was disappointed in this work. I think it has some great potential but the author needs to drop some of the very old clichés and stereotypes. Rather than being set in current day, I felt as if the character was pulled from the 1950's - not so much because of the way racism is portrayed but due to the way the characters acted.
It's impossible to ignore how much racism still exists in the U.S. but not everyone from the South is a racist, not everyone who is black has to behave the way this character did. I grew up in a small town in Virginia and more than half of my friends were black and none of them ever acted like this. The women I have known were beautiful, proud, black women with strong characters who worked just as hard as Blanche without sacrificing their self respect or cow-towing to anyone - white or black. That is what I wanted to see from this character.
The main character, Blanche is a housekeeper who we first meet when she is in court for passing bad checks. Not the most auspicious start to make me want to like the character. Despite, her struggles to support herself and her two children, passing bad checks simply makes someone else suffer. The reader is continually told how smart Blanche is but her speech and behavior makes us believe otherwise. In the first chapter, we hear how she uses the restroom and doesn't flush the toilet - can I just say ewwwww!
Here is another example, "She tugged her panties into a more comfortable relationship to her crotch and carried her cup and the teapot to the sink." Why is this sentence necessary to move the story forward?
Blanche has so much potential to make us love her, if only she would live up to her intelligence, lose the stereotypes and give the main character reasons for us to want to read more.
Happy Trails,
Leslie
Visit my website
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