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  <id>176263</id>
  <title><![CDATA[A Free Man of Color (Benjamin January, Book 1)]]></title>
  <isbn><![CDATA[0553575260]]></isbn>
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  <description><![CDATA[A lush and haunting novel of a city steeped in decadent pleasures...and of a man, proud and defiant, caught in a web of murder and betrayal.<p>It is 1833.  In the midst of Mardi Gras, Benjamin January, a Creole physician and music teacher, is playing piano at the Salle d'Orleans when the evenings festivities are interrupted--by murder.<p>Ravishing Angelique Crozat, a notorious octoroon who travels in the city's finest company, has been strangled to death.  With the authorities reluctant to become involved, Ben begins his own inquiry, which will take him through the seamy haunts of riverboatmen and into the huts of voodoo-worshipping slaves.<p>But soon the eyes of suspicion turn toward Ben--for, black as the slave who fathered him, this free man of color is still the perfect scapegoat....<p></p></p></p></p>]]></description>
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  <original_title>A Free Man of Color (Benjamin January, Book 1)</original_title>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[A Free Man of Color (Benjamin January, Book 1)]]>
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  <average_rating>4.02</average_rating>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[A lush and haunting novel of a city steeped in decadent pleasures...and of a man, proud and defiant, caught in a web of murder and betrayal.<p>It is 1833.  In the midst of Mardi Gras, Benjamin January, a Creole physician and music teacher, is playing piano at the Salle d'Orleans when the evenings festivities are interrupted--by murder.<p>Ravishing Angelique Crozat, a notorious octoroon who travels in the city's finest company, has been strangled to death.  With the authorities reluctant to become involved, Ben begins his own inquiry, which will take him through the seamy haunts of riverboatmen and into the huts of voodoo-worshipping slaves.<p>But soon the eyes of suspicion turn toward Ben--for, black as the slave who fathered him, this free man of color is still the perfect scapegoat....<p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1997</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[Fans of period peices.  And its a decent mystery.]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Aug 11 21:31:46 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Jun 02 19:27:41 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Aug 11 21:31:46 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This is one of many books for which I wish there was some greater degree of granularity by which I could rate them.  Some comprimise position would be welcome.<br/><br/>I spent the better part of this book thinking that I would give it two stars, and a portion nearer the end it sank nearly to one ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/23566895">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/23566895]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/23566895]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[A Free Man of Color (Benjamin January, Book 1)]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.02</average_rating>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[A lush and haunting novel of a city steeped in decadent pleasures...and of a man, proud and defiant, caught in a web of murder and betrayal.<p>It is 1833.  In the midst of Mardi Gras, Benjamin January, a Creole physician and music teacher, is playing piano at the Salle d'Orleans when the evenings festivities are interrupted--by murder.<p>Ravishing Angelique Crozat, a notorious octoroon who travels in the city's finest company, has been strangled to death.  With the authorities reluctant to become involved, Ben begins his own inquiry, which will take him through the seamy haunts of riverboatmen and into the huts of voodoo-worshipping slaves.<p>But soon the eyes of suspicion turn toward Ben--for, black as the slave who fathered him, this free man of color is still the perfect scapegoat....<p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1997</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Apr 17 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Apr 08 17:15:31 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Apr 17 15:34:34 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This book was a chore to read, which is especially strange since I really liked the main character.  The writing, however, was overly descriptive and distracting.  The mystery was well-plotted, too.  However, it was such a slow read that although I would like to hear the further adventures of Benjam...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/19753560">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/19753560]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/19753560]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>15187970</id>
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    <name><![CDATA[Crystal]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[New Baltimore, MI]]></location>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[A Free Man of Color (Benjamin January, Book 1)]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.02</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>278</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[A lush and haunting novel of a city steeped in decadent pleasures...and of a man, proud and defiant, caught in a web of murder and betrayal.<p>It is 1833.  In the midst of Mardi Gras, Benjamin January, a Creole physician and music teacher, is playing piano at the Salle d'Orleans when the evenings festivities are interrupted--by murder.<p>Ravishing Angelique Crozat, a notorious octoroon who travels in the city's finest company, has been strangled to death.  With the authorities reluctant to become involved, Ben begins his own inquiry, which will take him through the seamy haunts of riverboatmen and into the huts of voodoo-worshipping slaves.<p>But soon the eyes of suspicion turn toward Ben--for, black as the slave who fathered him, this free man of color is still the perfect scapegoat....<p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1997</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Feb 11 16:54:33 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Feb 11 16:56:39 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This is a well written mystery set in New Orleans, LA right when the U.S. has taken over from France.  It focuses on Benjamin January, a free man of color.  He solves a mystery, but must walk a fine line because of his status.  A great start to a great series.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/15187970]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/15187970]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>77552574</id>
    <user>
    <id>712733</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Hope]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Raleigh, NC]]></location>
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  <isbn>0553575260</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780553575262</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">41</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[A Free Man of Color (Benjamin January, Book 1)]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.02</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>278</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[A lush and haunting novel of a city steeped in decadent pleasures...and of a man, proud and defiant, caught in a web of murder and betrayal.<p>It is 1833.  In the midst of Mardi Gras, Benjamin January, a Creole physician and music teacher, is playing piano at the Salle d'Orleans when the evenings festivities are interrupted--by murder.<p>Ravishing Angelique Crozat, a notorious octoroon who travels in the city's finest company, has been strangled to death.  With the authorities reluctant to become involved, Ben begins his own inquiry, which will take him through the seamy haunts of riverboatmen and into the huts of voodoo-worshipping slaves.<p>But soon the eyes of suspicion turn toward Ben--for, black as the slave who fathered him, this free man of color is still the perfect scapegoat....<p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1997</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri Nov 13 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Nov 12 09:47:18 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Nov 18 08:41:22 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This is an outstanding historical novel, and an outstanding mystery story.  The writing is as rich as the 1800's New Orleans setting.  Benjamin January is a free man of color, back in New Orleans after years in Paris.  He's an outstanding musician, and a good surgeon, but called &quot;boy&quot; on t...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77552574">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77552574]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77552574]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>56697537</id>
    <user>
    <id>2157688</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Rebalioness]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Santa Clara, CA]]></location>
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    <book>
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  <isbn>0553575260</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780553575262</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">41</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[A Free Man of Color (Benjamin January, Book 1)]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255843254m/176263.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255843254s/176263.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/176263.A_Free_Man_of_Color</link>
  <average_rating>4.02</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>278</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[A lush and haunting novel of a city steeped in decadent pleasures...and of a man, proud and defiant, caught in a web of murder and betrayal.<p>It is 1833.  In the midst of Mardi Gras, Benjamin January, a Creole physician and music teacher, is playing piano at the Salle d'Orleans when the evenings festivities are interrupted--by murder.<p>Ravishing Angelique Crozat, a notorious octoroon who travels in the city's finest company, has been strangled to death.  With the authorities reluctant to become involved, Ben begins his own inquiry, which will take him through the seamy haunts of riverboatmen and into the huts of voodoo-worshipping slaves.<p>But soon the eyes of suspicion turn toward Ben--for, black as the slave who fathered him, this free man of color is still the perfect scapegoat....<p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1997</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue May 19 20:46:01 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue May 19 20:57:19 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This is a murder mystery set in 1830's New Orleans.  You will learn about an entire social system regarding colored mistresses, the french vs the 'new americans', etc. That itself is a whole book's worth of info.  If you have problems with the constant social references, you will not enjoy this book...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/56697537">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/56697537]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/56697537]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>29245266</id>
    <user>
    <id>1329083</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Haywardpoolpj]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[A Free Man of Color (Benjamin January, Book 1)]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255843254m/176263.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255843254s/176263.jpg</small_image_url>
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  <average_rating>4.02</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>278</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[A lush and haunting novel of a city steeped in decadent pleasures...and of a man, proud and defiant, caught in a web of murder and betrayal.<p>It is 1833.  In the midst of Mardi Gras, Benjamin January, a Creole physician and music teacher, is playing piano at the Salle d'Orleans when the evenings festivities are interrupted--by murder.<p>Ravishing Angelique Crozat, a notorious octoroon who travels in the city's finest company, has been strangled to death.  With the authorities reluctant to become involved, Ben begins his own inquiry, which will take him through the seamy haunts of riverboatmen and into the huts of voodoo-worshipping slaves.<p>But soon the eyes of suspicion turn toward Ben--for, black as the slave who fathered him, this free man of color is still the perfect scapegoat....<p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1997</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Aug 23 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Aug 04 15:09:21 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Aug 23 14:20:24 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I really enjoyed this book but I also found it difficult to read. My husband always says that I absorb the mood of the book I'm reading, I found this to be especially true with this story. First of all, the narrator is a black man living in 1830's New Orleans. Although he is free and not a slave, hi...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/29245266">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/29245266]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/29245266]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>44399876</id>
    <user>
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    <name><![CDATA[Lualncol]]></name>
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  <isbn>0553575260</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780553575262</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">41</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[A Free Man of Color (Benjamin January, Book 1)]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255843254m/176263.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255843254s/176263.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/176263.A_Free_Man_of_Color</link>
  <average_rating>4.02</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>278</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[A lush and haunting novel of a city steeped in decadent pleasures...and of a man, proud and defiant, caught in a web of murder and betrayal.<p>It is 1833.  In the midst of Mardi Gras, Benjamin January, a Creole physician and music teacher, is playing piano at the Salle d'Orleans when the evenings festivities are interrupted--by murder.<p>Ravishing Angelique Crozat, a notorious octoroon who travels in the city's finest company, has been strangled to death.  With the authorities reluctant to become involved, Ben begins his own inquiry, which will take him through the seamy haunts of riverboatmen and into the huts of voodoo-worshipping slaves.<p>But soon the eyes of suspicion turn toward Ben--for, black as the slave who fathered him, this free man of color is still the perfect scapegoat....<p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1997</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Jan 26 09:48:49 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Jan 26 09:54:12 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This book mixes a terrific story and fleshed-out characters with  historically accurate settings and surrounding events.  I did not know much about New Orleans during this time period.  After finishing &quot;A Free Man Of Color&quot; I spent a great deal of time researching and found Hambly had done...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44399876">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44399876]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44399876]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>46778893</id>
    <user>
    <id>2031270</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Murvin]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Keedysville, MD]]></location>
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  <isbn>0553575260</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780553575262</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">41</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[A Free Man of Color (Benjamin January, Book 1)]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255843254m/176263.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255843254s/176263.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/176263.A_Free_Man_of_Color</link>
  <average_rating>4.02</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>278</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[A lush and haunting novel of a city steeped in decadent pleasures...and of a man, proud and defiant, caught in a web of murder and betrayal.<p>It is 1833.  In the midst of Mardi Gras, Benjamin January, a Creole physician and music teacher, is playing piano at the Salle d'Orleans when the evenings festivities are interrupted--by murder.<p>Ravishing Angelique Crozat, a notorious octoroon who travels in the city's finest company, has been strangled to death.  With the authorities reluctant to become involved, Ben begins his own inquiry, which will take him through the seamy haunts of riverboatmen and into the huts of voodoo-worshipping slaves.<p>But soon the eyes of suspicion turn toward Ben--for, black as the slave who fathered him, this free man of color is still the perfect scapegoat....<p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1997</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Jan 05 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Feb 18 13:17:53 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Feb 18 17:56:24 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Every book I've read in this series reveals more clearly the bestial and inhuman conditions that African people were forced to endure. She doesn't romanticize but instead as she weaves her story, she pulls the covers off of this American institution called slavery in a way I've yet to see done.    ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/46778893]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/46778893]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>62548467</id>
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    <name><![CDATA[Kristen]]></name>
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  <isbn>0553575260</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780553575262</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">41</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[A Free Man of Color (Benjamin January, Book 1)]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255843254m/176263.jpg</image_url>
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  <average_rating>4.02</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>278</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[A lush and haunting novel of a city steeped in decadent pleasures...and of a man, proud and defiant, caught in a web of murder and betrayal.<p>It is 1833.  In the midst of Mardi Gras, Benjamin January, a Creole physician and music teacher, is playing piano at the Salle d'Orleans when the evenings festivities are interrupted--by murder.<p>Ravishing Angelique Crozat, a notorious octoroon who travels in the city's finest company, has been strangled to death.  With the authorities reluctant to become involved, Ben begins his own inquiry, which will take him through the seamy haunts of riverboatmen and into the huts of voodoo-worshipping slaves.<p>But soon the eyes of suspicion turn toward Ben--for, black as the slave who fathered him, this free man of color is still the perfect scapegoat....<p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1997</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Jul 28 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Jul 07 17:48:25 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Jul 28 05:12:14 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Set in New Orleans after the Battle of Chalmette, Hambly did a good job of exploring a rich city and its complex social system.  I would compare Benjamin January with Jason Goodwin's Yashim character.  Both have a unique perch just on the edge of society and provide the reader with a believable fly ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/62548467">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/62548467]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[A Free Man of Color (Benjamin January, Book 1)]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.02</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>278</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[A lush and haunting novel of a city steeped in decadent pleasures...and of a man, proud and defiant, caught in a web of murder and betrayal.<p>It is 1833.  In the midst of Mardi Gras, Benjamin January, a Creole physician and music teacher, is playing piano at the Salle d'Orleans when the evenings festivities are interrupted--by murder.<p>Ravishing Angelique Crozat, a notorious octoroon who travels in the city's finest company, has been strangled to death.  With the authorities reluctant to become involved, Ben begins his own inquiry, which will take him through the seamy haunts of riverboatmen and into the huts of voodoo-worshipping slaves.<p>But soon the eyes of suspicion turn toward Ben--for, black as the slave who fathered him, this free man of color is still the perfect scapegoat....<p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1997</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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            <shelf name="unfinished" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jan 30 11:36:05 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Jul 09 14:12:21 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I go through cycles of reading voraciously and then not really wanting to read much at all.  I think I transitioned to the latter phase in the middle of this book, unfortunately.  It just isn't holding my attention anymore.  I think the exact moment I got fed up was when January found out the police...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/14067920">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/14067920]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/14067920]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>37235210</id>
    <user>
    <id>1683508</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Carol]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
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  <id type="integer">176263</id>
  <isbn>0553575260</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780553575262</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">41</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[A Free Man of Color (Benjamin January, Book 1)]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255843254m/176263.jpg</image_url>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/176263.A_Free_Man_of_Color</link>
  <average_rating>4.02</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>278</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[A lush and haunting novel of a city steeped in decadent pleasures...and of a man, proud and defiant, caught in a web of murder and betrayal.<p>It is 1833.  In the midst of Mardi Gras, Benjamin January, a Creole physician and music teacher, is playing piano at the Salle d'Orleans when the evenings festivities are interrupted--by murder.<p>Ravishing Angelique Crozat, a notorious octoroon who travels in the city's finest company, has been strangled to death.  With the authorities reluctant to become involved, Ben begins his own inquiry, which will take him through the seamy haunts of riverboatmen and into the huts of voodoo-worshipping slaves.<p>But soon the eyes of suspicion turn toward Ben--for, black as the slave who fathered him, this free man of color is still the perfect scapegoat....<p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1997</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Nov 09 00:38:16 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Nov 09 00:38:16 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Barbara Hambly is a very uneven writer.  I strongly recommend Dragonsbane and The Ladies of Madrigyn as outstanding fantasy adventures, and Search the Seven Hills and A Free Man of Color as mysteries set in memorable settings.  <br/><br/>But I don't recommend their sequels, which drift into sadism...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37235210">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37235210]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37235210]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>38643838</id>
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    <id>1738004</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Tami]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Manchester, MA]]></location>
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  <isbn>0553575260</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780553575262</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">41</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[A Free Man of Color (Benjamin January, Book 1)]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255843254m/176263.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255843254s/176263.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/176263.A_Free_Man_of_Color</link>
  <average_rating>4.02</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>278</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[A lush and haunting novel of a city steeped in decadent pleasures...and of a man, proud and defiant, caught in a web of murder and betrayal.<p>It is 1833.  In the midst of Mardi Gras, Benjamin January, a Creole physician and music teacher, is playing piano at the Salle d'Orleans when the evenings festivities are interrupted--by murder.<p>Ravishing Angelique Crozat, a notorious octoroon who travels in the city's finest company, has been strangled to death.  With the authorities reluctant to become involved, Ben begins his own inquiry, which will take him through the seamy haunts of riverboatmen and into the huts of voodoo-worshipping slaves.<p>But soon the eyes of suspicion turn toward Ben--for, black as the slave who fathered him, this free man of color is still the perfect scapegoat....<p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1997</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="challenge-october-2008-2009" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Feb 11 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Nov 25 13:59:51 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Feb 11 21:12:08 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I'm half asleep, but I'll say this:  On the cover of this book under the title there's a subtitle that reads &quot;A Novel of Suspense.&quot;  This is pretty laughable, to the point of taunting me every time I paused in reading to put the book down.  All I could think the entire time I read was how ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/38643838">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/38643838]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/38643838]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>59002130</id>
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    <name><![CDATA[Samira]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Atlanta, GA]]></location>
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  <isbn>0553575260</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780553575262</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">41</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[A Free Man of Color (Benjamin January, Book 1)]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255843254m/176263.jpg</image_url>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/176263.A_Free_Man_of_Color</link>
  <average_rating>4.02</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>278</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[A lush and haunting novel of a city steeped in decadent pleasures...and of a man, proud and defiant, caught in a web of murder and betrayal.<p>It is 1833.  In the midst of Mardi Gras, Benjamin January, a Creole physician and music teacher, is playing piano at the Salle d'Orleans when the evenings festivities are interrupted--by murder.<p>Ravishing Angelique Crozat, a notorious octoroon who travels in the city's finest company, has been strangled to death.  With the authorities reluctant to become involved, Ben begins his own inquiry, which will take him through the seamy haunts of riverboatmen and into the huts of voodoo-worshipping slaves.<p>But soon the eyes of suspicion turn toward Ben--for, black as the slave who fathered him, this free man of color is still the perfect scapegoat....<p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1997</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="mystery" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Jun 09 10:04:37 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Jun 09 10:05:32 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This was very fun historical fiction as well as a mystery--detailed look (for a mass market bit of genre fiction) look at like in Creole New Orleans.  Quite liked the main character.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/59002130]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/59002130]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>31232386</id>
    <user>
    <id>1156512</id>
    <name><![CDATA[CathyD]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Hyattsville, MD]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1156512-cathyd]]></link>
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  <id type="integer">176263</id>
  <isbn>0553575260</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780553575262</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">41</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[A Free Man of Color (Benjamin January, Book 1)]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255843254m/176263.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255843254s/176263.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/176263.A_Free_Man_of_Color</link>
  <average_rating>4.02</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>278</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[A lush and haunting novel of a city steeped in decadent pleasures...and of a man, proud and defiant, caught in a web of murder and betrayal.<p>It is 1833.  In the midst of Mardi Gras, Benjamin January, a Creole physician and music teacher, is playing piano at the Salle d'Orleans when the evenings festivities are interrupted--by murder.<p>Ravishing Angelique Crozat, a notorious octoroon who travels in the city's finest company, has been strangled to death.  With the authorities reluctant to become involved, Ben begins his own inquiry, which will take him through the seamy haunts of riverboatmen and into the huts of voodoo-worshipping slaves.<p>But soon the eyes of suspicion turn toward Ben--for, black as the slave who fathered him, this free man of color is still the perfect scapegoat....<p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1997</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>true</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[People who actually like mysteries.]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Sep 02 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Aug 26 10:29:53 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Sep 02 09:44:17 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[It started out really good.  The first half of the book was excellent.  I loved the descriptions of  New Orleans and especially of the cortezians.  The man character was without flaw.  I kind of felt like the author went over the top in the seond half of the book.  No more mysteries for me, book clu...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/31232386">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/31232386]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/31232386]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
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    <user>
    <id>113627</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Joyce]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Sunnyvale, CA]]></location>
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  <isbn>0553575260</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780553575262</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">41</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[A Free Man of Color (Benjamin January, Book 1)]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255843254m/176263.jpg</image_url>
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  <average_rating>4.02</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>278</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[A lush and haunting novel of a city steeped in decadent pleasures...and of a man, proud and defiant, caught in a web of murder and betrayal.<p>It is 1833.  In the midst of Mardi Gras, Benjamin January, a Creole physician and music teacher, is playing piano at the Salle d'Orleans when the evenings festivities are interrupted--by murder.<p>Ravishing Angelique Crozat, a notorious octoroon who travels in the city's finest company, has been strangled to death.  With the authorities reluctant to become involved, Ben begins his own inquiry, which will take him through the seamy haunts of riverboatmen and into the huts of voodoo-worshipping slaves.<p>But soon the eyes of suspicion turn toward Ben--for, black as the slave who fathered him, this free man of color is still the perfect scapegoat....<p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1997</published>
</book>

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  <read_at>Sun Feb 22 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Aug 06 21:25:25 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Feb 22 13:43:46 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Miraculous evocation of New Orleans in 1833, with the mystery plot carefully assembled from the historical details.  I admired the fact that the author didn't fall in love with the mythology of New Orleans to the point of neglecting to show us the shallow, thoughtless, constricted, and unimaginative...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/29484691">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/29484691]]></url>
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      <review>
  <id>80579802</id>
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    <name><![CDATA[Christine]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Metairie, LA]]></location>
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  <isbn>0553575260</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780553575262</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">41</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[A Free Man of Color (Benjamin January, Book 1)]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.02</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>278</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[A lush and haunting novel of a city steeped in decadent pleasures...and of a man, proud and defiant, caught in a web of murder and betrayal.<p>It is 1833.  In the midst of Mardi Gras, Benjamin January, a Creole physician and music teacher, is playing piano at the Salle d'Orleans when the evenings festivities are interrupted--by murder.<p>Ravishing Angelique Crozat, a notorious octoroon who travels in the city's finest company, has been strangled to death.  With the authorities reluctant to become involved, Ben begins his own inquiry, which will take him through the seamy haunts of riverboatmen and into the huts of voodoo-worshipping slaves.<p>But soon the eyes of suspicion turn toward Ben--for, black as the slave who fathered him, this free man of color is still the perfect scapegoat....<p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1997</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
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  <read_at>Thu Dec 10 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Dec 10 14:29:40 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Dec 10 14:31:45 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Historical fiction with insight into life as a free man of color, and views of Creoles and Americans in the 1830s in New Orleans.  Very interesting read.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80579802]]></url>
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      <review>
  <id>69508060</id>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[A Free Man of Color (Benjamin January, Book 1)]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.02</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>278</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[A lush and haunting novel of a city steeped in decadent pleasures...and of a man, proud and defiant, caught in a web of murder and betrayal.<p>It is 1833.  In the midst of Mardi Gras, Benjamin January, a Creole physician and music teacher, is playing piano at the Salle d'Orleans when the evenings festivities are interrupted--by murder.<p>Ravishing Angelique Crozat, a notorious octoroon who travels in the city's finest company, has been strangled to death.  With the authorities reluctant to become involved, Ben begins his own inquiry, which will take him through the seamy haunts of riverboatmen and into the huts of voodoo-worshipping slaves.<p>But soon the eyes of suspicion turn toward Ben--for, black as the slave who fathered him, this free man of color is still the perfect scapegoat....<p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1997</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
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  <read_at>Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
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  <date_updated>Sun Aug 30 19:40:15 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Set in New Orleans in the 1830's, I learned more about a colorful period of history ~ as well as reflecting on how race has shaped our nation. ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69508060]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>46640944</id>
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    <id>281296</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Scott]]></name>
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  <isbn13>9780553575262</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">41</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[A Free Man of Color (Benjamin January, Book 1)]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.02</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>278</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[A lush and haunting novel of a city steeped in decadent pleasures...and of a man, proud and defiant, caught in a web of murder and betrayal.<p>It is 1833.  In the midst of Mardi Gras, Benjamin January, a Creole physician and music teacher, is playing piano at the Salle d'Orleans when the evenings festivities are interrupted--by murder.<p>Ravishing Angelique Crozat, a notorious octoroon who travels in the city's finest company, has been strangled to death.  With the authorities reluctant to become involved, Ben begins his own inquiry, which will take him through the seamy haunts of riverboatmen and into the huts of voodoo-worshipping slaves.<p>But soon the eyes of suspicion turn toward Ben--for, black as the slave who fathered him, this free man of color is still the perfect scapegoat....<p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1997</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
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  <read_at>Sun Feb 15 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Feb 17 10:01:30 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Feb 17 10:02:44 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[A little too bodicy for me, but still a good mystery and an interesting character at an interesting time, the 1830s in New Orleans.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/46640944]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>48242884</id>
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    <id>1778292</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Jennifer]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Austin, TX]]></location>
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  <id type="integer">1064015</id>
  <isbn>0553102583</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780553102581</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">1</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[A Free Man of Color (Benjamin January, Book 1)]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.17</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>6</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In Barbara Hambly's rich and poignant thriller, it's 1833 and Ben January--a man of mixed blood making his living as a musician because he's not allowed to practice surgery--is back home in New Orleans after years of freedom in Paris. Trying to walk a caste line more complicated than India's, January risks his precarious position to investigate the killing of a young woman who--like his own younger, lighter half-sister--is the mistress of a wealthy white man. What has changed most in New Orleans while Ben was away is the influence of the white Americans: rough, ignorant, instinctively racist. Only one of these--a policeman named Abishag Shaw--seems to understand that January is at least as smart and valuable as he is, and even he at times appears to be ready to side with the white majority and pin the crime on Ben.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1997</published>
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  <date_added>Wed Mar 04 13:45:27 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Mar 04 13:45:27 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[A Free Man of Color (Benjamin January, Book 1) by Barbara Hambly (1997)]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/48242884]]></url>
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      <review>
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    <name><![CDATA[Margaret]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[A Free Man of Color (Benjamin January, Book 1)]]>
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  <average_rating>4.02</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>278</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[A lush and haunting novel of a city steeped in decadent pleasures...and of a man, proud and defiant, caught in a web of murder and betrayal.<p>It is 1833.  In the midst of Mardi Gras, Benjamin January, a Creole physician and music teacher, is playing piano at the Salle d'Orleans when the evenings festivities are interrupted--by murder.<p>Ravishing Angelique Crozat, a notorious octoroon who travels in the city's finest company, has been strangled to death.  With the authorities reluctant to become involved, Ben begins his own inquiry, which will take him through the seamy haunts of riverboatmen and into the huts of voodoo-worshipping slaves.<p>But soon the eyes of suspicion turn toward Ben--for, black as the slave who fathered him, this free man of color is still the perfect scapegoat....<p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1997</published>
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  <date_updated>Wed Jul 29 06:23:58 -0700 2009</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[The time period was interesting as were some of the characters.  I just didn't feel enough of a connection to the protagonist to want to read another.]]></body>
    
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