What do you think?
Rate this book
Benjamin January #4
Sold Down the River
Penetrating the murkiest corners of glittering New Orleans society, Benjamin January brought murderers to justice in A Free Man of Color, Fever Season, and Graveyard Dust. Now, in Barbara Hambly's haunting new novel, he risks his life in a violent plantation world darker than anything in the city....
When slave owner Simon Fourchet asks Benjamin January to investigate sabotage, arson, and murder on his plantation, January is reluctant to do any favors for the savage man who owned him until he was seven. But he knows too well that plantation justice means that if the true culprit is not found, every slave on Mon Triomphe will suffer.
Abandoning his Parisian French for the African patois of a field hand, cutting cane until his bones ache and his musician's hands bleed, Benjamin must use all his intelligence and cunning to find the killer ... or find himself sold down the river.
When slave owner Simon Fourchet asks Benjamin January to investigate sabotage, arson, and murder on his plantation, January is reluctant to do any favors for the savage man who owned him until he was seven. But he knows too well that plantation justice means that if the true culprit is not found, every slave on Mon Triomphe will suffer.
Abandoning his Parisian French for the African patois of a field hand, cutting cane until his bones ache and his musician's hands bleed, Benjamin must use all his intelligence and cunning to find the killer ... or find himself sold down the river.
432 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
119 people are currently reading
674 people want to read
About the author
Barbara Hambly
204 books1,580 followersaka Barbara Hamilton
Ranging from fantasy to historical fiction, Barbara Hambly has a masterful way of spinning a story. Her twisty plots involve memorable characters, lavish descriptions, scads of novel words, and interesting devices. Her work spans the Star Wars universe, antebellum New Orleans, and various fantasy worlds, sometimes linked with our own.
"I always wanted to be a writer but everyone kept telling me it was impossible to break into the field or make money. I've proven them wrong on both counts."
-Barbara Hambly
Ranging from fantasy to historical fiction, Barbara Hambly has a masterful way of spinning a story. Her twisty plots involve memorable characters, lavish descriptions, scads of novel words, and interesting devices. Her work spans the Star Wars universe, antebellum New Orleans, and various fantasy worlds, sometimes linked with our own.
"I always wanted to be a writer but everyone kept telling me it was impossible to break into the field or make money. I've proven them wrong on both counts."
-Barbara Hambly
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews
May 2, 2020
Beautiful writing. Wonderful main character—Benjamin January, surgeon, musician, freed slave. More of a tale of slavery than a mystery, but I’m open to trying another of Ben’s adventures.
July 24, 2022
I found this one a bit convoluted but there was a very touching moment at the end when Ben finds out about his father.
September 15, 2014
Slavery shaped Benjamin January’s life; he and his sister Olympe were born slaves, before his mother was purchased as a mistress. It’s been a prominent part of the background of previous books. But it takes center stage here, when the man Ben least wants to meet again— Fourchet, his cruel previous owner— offers to hire him to go undercover as a slave on his plantation, to investigate a murder and possible brewing slave rebellion.
It’s the last thing Ben wants to do. But he needs the money. More importantly, if he doesn’t do it, the slaves may well end up suffering even more. (A major theme of the book is that even people who are living in horrible conditions often still have a lot left to lose, and desperately cling to what little they have.) And so Ben ends up back on the plantation, thirty years after he left. Though his act of (largely) altruism is intended to make sure the status quo doesn’t get even worse rather than to literally rescue anyone, it reminded me of Harriet Tubman returning to the scene of her worst nightmares to take others to freedom.
Hambly doesn’t stint on the physical horror of slavery, but focuses more on the psychological aspects— families ripped apart, human beings treated as non-human, and the pervasive terror coming from the knowledge that one’s master can do absolutely anything to you or your loved ones at any time. It’s also one of the best depictions I’ve come across of how people work to keep their humanity, maintain loving relationships, and find moments of happiness and humor in the absolute worst imaginable circumstances.
While I hesitated to recommend Fever Season, I would definitely recommend this if you can cope with the setting. The overall mood is way less depressing, because the story is more action-based, Ben has more inner strength and hope, and there’s more emphasis on relationships. Not to mention a way more uplifting ending. And a fair amount of secret banter between Ben and Hannibal, who is impersonating his owner. The action climax is a bit incongruous given the relentless realism of the plantation life that makes up most of the book, but as an action climax, it’s spectacular. Abishag Shaw has a smallish but absolutely wonderful part in this; sadly, Rose is barely in it. Hopefully she’ll be more prominent in the next book.
This is a very dark book (due to inherent qualities of the subject matter, not due to cement truck plot twists), but also one where the bright spots shine very brightly by contrast. It has the most moving and happiest ending of any of the books so far. Where many novels are fantasies of empowerment, in some ways this is a fantasy of justice. It’s explicitly stated to be limited to the characters we meet (and not all of them), not to mention being fictional. But it’s satisfying nonetheless. In real life, some slaves did escape, and some masters did meet well-deserved bitter ends. That was the exception rather than the rule, of course. But sometimes it’s nice to read about the exceptions. When you’re dealing with devastating injustice, both now and then, you need hope as well as rage.
It’s the last thing Ben wants to do. But he needs the money. More importantly, if he doesn’t do it, the slaves may well end up suffering even more. (A major theme of the book is that even people who are living in horrible conditions often still have a lot left to lose, and desperately cling to what little they have.) And so Ben ends up back on the plantation, thirty years after he left. Though his act of (largely) altruism is intended to make sure the status quo doesn’t get even worse rather than to literally rescue anyone, it reminded me of Harriet Tubman returning to the scene of her worst nightmares to take others to freedom.
Hambly doesn’t stint on the physical horror of slavery, but focuses more on the psychological aspects— families ripped apart, human beings treated as non-human, and the pervasive terror coming from the knowledge that one’s master can do absolutely anything to you or your loved ones at any time. It’s also one of the best depictions I’ve come across of how people work to keep their humanity, maintain loving relationships, and find moments of happiness and humor in the absolute worst imaginable circumstances.
While I hesitated to recommend Fever Season, I would definitely recommend this if you can cope with the setting. The overall mood is way less depressing, because the story is more action-based, Ben has more inner strength and hope, and there’s more emphasis on relationships. Not to mention a way more uplifting ending. And a fair amount of secret banter between Ben and Hannibal, who is impersonating his owner. The action climax is a bit incongruous given the relentless realism of the plantation life that makes up most of the book, but as an action climax, it’s spectacular. Abishag Shaw has a smallish but absolutely wonderful part in this; sadly, Rose is barely in it. Hopefully she’ll be more prominent in the next book.
This is a very dark book (due to inherent qualities of the subject matter, not due to cement truck plot twists), but also one where the bright spots shine very brightly by contrast. It has the most moving and happiest ending of any of the books so far. Where many novels are fantasies of empowerment, in some ways this is a fantasy of justice. It’s explicitly stated to be limited to the characters we meet (and not all of them), not to mention being fictional. But it’s satisfying nonetheless. In real life, some slaves did escape, and some masters did meet well-deserved bitter ends. That was the exception rather than the rule, of course. But sometimes it’s nice to read about the exceptions. When you’re dealing with devastating injustice, both now and then, you need hope as well as rage.
August 1, 2016
Even though I finished it in a single day (because it was fascinating on many levels), the premise of this book bugged the hell out of me. In this title, free man of color Benjamin January is guilted by his mother into going undercover as a field slave on his former master's plantation in order to find out who is fomenting rebellion among the slaves there.
That Ben doesn't tell Livia to stick it is a puzzle to me, because he has horrific memories of what life was like as a little boy owned by Simon Fourchet ... but he agrees to the plan. Thus, the free surgeon and musician is working as a slave during the roulaison: cane-cutting time. And a lot of stuff is going down, to say the least.
This book gives us a clear look at the life slaves endured: what kind of "master" a person had was entirely up to fate, and Fourchet was of the worst sort. We see beatings, rapes, and yes, murders. Ben starts looking deeper into what's going on at the plantation ... and soon finds himself literally running for his life.
The whodunnit did come as a surprise to me, as did a few other revelations in the tale. I literally stayed up late to finish the book because I wanted to know what happened. But I just couldn't get over my disgust at how Ben was manipulated into the entire situation.
That Ben doesn't tell Livia to stick it is a puzzle to me, because he has horrific memories of what life was like as a little boy owned by Simon Fourchet ... but he agrees to the plan. Thus, the free surgeon and musician is working as a slave during the roulaison: cane-cutting time. And a lot of stuff is going down, to say the least.
This book gives us a clear look at the life slaves endured: what kind of "master" a person had was entirely up to fate, and Fourchet was of the worst sort. We see beatings, rapes, and yes, murders. Ben starts looking deeper into what's going on at the plantation ... and soon finds himself literally running for his life.
The whodunnit did come as a surprise to me, as did a few other revelations in the tale. I literally stayed up late to finish the book because I wanted to know what happened. But I just couldn't get over my disgust at how Ben was manipulated into the entire situation.
April 19, 2011
Out of all of the series so far, this one has to be one of the strongest and darkest of them. Benjamin January has to confront his own past when his former owner, Simon Fourchet, comes to him asking for a favour. Benjamin, naturally, wants nothing to do with him, but the temptation of five hundred dollars is hard to resist, and he enters a nightmare world on the plantation of Mon Triomphe. Not for sensitive or squeamish readers, but this is a heartbreaking story to read. Very much recommended.
For the longer review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/review/Sold_d...
For the longer review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/review/Sold_d...
May 30, 2022
3.5 rounded up to 4 stars, the last part of the book was really engaging. The first half I found myself a little confused with all the players and some of the dialogue. As usual though, a wonderful historical fiction with a strong sense of place.
May 10, 2011
As the January series goes on, the setting for each story changes; in this story, January travels incog to the estate of his old master to discover just who is trying to kill the old man. It's a real treat. An entire series set amidst the cruelty and uncertainty of living as a slave on a sugarcane plantation would be hard to take, but seeing it from the outside is not only bearable, it's hugely interesting. Having met whites and free-coloreds of every stripe, now the series spends serious time with the slaves.
As always, the writing and attention to detail is riveting. The plot hangs together pretty well - in some of these, I get lost in a welter of detail and complexity, not that I mind. And the climax is hugely exciting.
PS. I love Shaw. Hambly's great with secondary characters; she deploys them with a sparing hand, and always leaves me wanting more. Her homegrown Leatherstocking makes a good, if brief, showing in this one.
As always, the writing and attention to detail is riveting. The plot hangs together pretty well - in some of these, I get lost in a welter of detail and complexity, not that I mind. And the climax is hugely exciting.
PS. I love Shaw. Hambly's great with secondary characters; she deploys them with a sparing hand, and always leaves me wanting more. Her homegrown Leatherstocking makes a good, if brief, showing in this one.
June 24, 2010
Like the blurb says, Benjamin Janvier agrees to go undercover on a sugar cane plantation in order to uncover the perpetrator of deadly sabotage and outright murder.
I suppose that once you have accepted that the educated and cosmopolitan Janvier willingly stays in New Orleans, where he is treated as something sub-human, instead of returning to Europe, then it's not too much of a stretch to believe he'd go undercover as a slave on a freaking plantation. I mean, Janvier gives his reasons - he needs the money, and the plantation slaves will suffer even more than usual if the culprit isn't caught - but still, damn. To willingly live out his worst nightmare?
Nevertheless, I like Hambly's writing very much, and it's absolutely fascinating to see this piece of history through Janvier's eyes.
I suppose that once you have accepted that the educated and cosmopolitan Janvier willingly stays in New Orleans, where he is treated as something sub-human, instead of returning to Europe, then it's not too much of a stretch to believe he'd go undercover as a slave on a freaking plantation. I mean, Janvier gives his reasons - he needs the money, and the plantation slaves will suffer even more than usual if the culprit isn't caught - but still, damn. To willingly live out his worst nightmare?
Nevertheless, I like Hambly's writing very much, and it's absolutely fascinating to see this piece of history through Janvier's eyes.
May 8, 2020
Slave revolt, mercury and oleander poisoning, arson, kidnapping, voodoo curses—all sorts of murder most foul are lurking in the bayous of antebellum Louisiana with the Fourchet family, high born Creoles with complicated kinship ties created when Simon Fourchet takes four wives in succession. And that is only the surface layer of this sprawling story. What goes on in the slave quarters is another dimension entirely, all to be sorted out by Benjamin January, an ex-slave who goes undercover on the plantation of Mon Triomphe at the request of his friend, Lt. Shaw, a New Orleans police detective, in order to investigate a string of crimes committed on Fourchet property (houses, sugar cane fields, factory). This is an intriguing murder mystery novel that holds the reader spellbound to the last page. I recommend it to aficionados of that genre.
August 24, 2020
Good Story!
It was an interesting story to tell the tale of a murder mystery that was involved in the time of slavery and all plantations. The storyline was very good. The author used a number of French and Creole words which had no reference. This would’ve been helpful. Also there were a large number of characters the times were difficult to keep track of. Overall however very interesting read.
It was an interesting story to tell the tale of a murder mystery that was involved in the time of slavery and all plantations. The storyline was very good. The author used a number of French and Creole words which had no reference. This would’ve been helpful. Also there were a large number of characters the times were difficult to keep track of. Overall however very interesting read.
August 7, 2015
The best Benjamin January book so far, I think. As with all the books in this series, the mystery is less important than the setting, characterisation, and unflinching consideration of a racist society. To me, this novel is the boldest so far, and the most emotionally compelling.
The initial set up for this idea - that Benjamin would willingly go undercover as a slave - is hard to swallow, even with Benjamin's well-established sense of justice. But if one accepts that, the novel that follows is compelling in its depiction of plantation life: its drudgery and relentless brutality.
Now, I'm a white woman, and so is Hambly. I'm sure there's stuff she gets wrong, both in terms of history (this isn't a period I know outside of fiction) and in terms of talking about race. But I think she's the only white writer I've read who has been able to write about American slavery in a way that fully accepts white complicity at all levels of society in a racist system. None of her sympathetic white characters - Hannibal, Shaw - are exempt from this. No matter how likeable they are, they benefit from racism. It's rare to find a white author who really addresses this.
The initial set up for this idea - that Benjamin would willingly go undercover as a slave - is hard to swallow, even with Benjamin's well-established sense of justice. But if one accepts that, the novel that follows is compelling in its depiction of plantation life: its drudgery and relentless brutality.
Now, I'm a white woman, and so is Hambly. I'm sure there's stuff she gets wrong, both in terms of history (this isn't a period I know outside of fiction) and in terms of talking about race. But I think she's the only white writer I've read who has been able to write about American slavery in a way that fully accepts white complicity at all levels of society in a racist system. None of her sympathetic white characters - Hannibal, Shaw - are exempt from this. No matter how likeable they are, they benefit from racism. It's rare to find a white author who really addresses this.
April 26, 2010
This is the fourth in Hambly's historical mystery series about Benjamin January, free man of color in mid-19th century New Orleans. I really liked the first two and was less enthralled by the third, but Sold Down the River absorbed me utterly from start to finish.
Hambly engages very directly with the life of slaves, as January assumes the disguise of a slave in order to investigate mysterious happenings on the plantation he belonged to until the age of seven. There have been sabotage, arson, and murder, and if January cannot discover the culprit, all the slaves on the plantation will suffer for it, beyond their daily experience of humiliation and hurt. The previous novels, all set in New Orleans, were dark in their depiction of black people's lives in that time and place; this one is even darker, searing yet evoking the courage and fellowship of the slaves as well as the horrors of their lives.
Hambly engages very directly with the life of slaves, as January assumes the disguise of a slave in order to investigate mysterious happenings on the plantation he belonged to until the age of seven. There have been sabotage, arson, and murder, and if January cannot discover the culprit, all the slaves on the plantation will suffer for it, beyond their daily experience of humiliation and hurt. The previous novels, all set in New Orleans, were dark in their depiction of black people's lives in that time and place; this one is even darker, searing yet evoking the courage and fellowship of the slaves as well as the horrors of their lives.
January 14, 2013
Hambly moves the setting from New Orleans to a plantation outside of the city run by Benjamin January’s old master. The man hires January as a spy, to pretend to be a field hand and find out who is sabotaging things on the plantation and if there is going to be a revolt.
January, naturally, has a lot of emotional baggage with this man and the time of his life when he was a slave. He’s forced to face a lot of demons head on while solving a murder and trying, with his hands, sometime literally, tied behind his back, to stop more murders.
Hambly doesn’t sugarcoat a single moment – this is slavery, and it is WRONG. And she details every horrific, bloody, ghastly, unjust minute of it.
The ending felt a little Disney-ish, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t up way too late as I tore through the pages, eyes riveted to the text, anxious to see who would live and who would die, who would die a slave and who would die free…
June 28, 2010
I had a hard time buying into the premise of this book: that Benjamin January willingly goes "undercover" as a slave on a sugar cane plantation to find a murderer/saboteur. He does it for the freedom the money would give him and to keep innocent slaves from being killed for something they didn't do. But I had a hard time believing someone who was a slave as a child and then freed would willingly put himself in such a position, with so little motivation. To save someone he loved, yes, but, I don't know. So I was a bit disconnected from the plot at the beginning. But the depiction of slave life was well done and the suspense gripping towards the end. The vivid characters among the slaves really stood out as well. At the end of the book, I cried, so I guess I didn't remain detached after all. Not a perfect novel, but ultimately a very good one.
February 11, 2016
The tension in Sold Down the River is so effective that I stalled out about chapter 5, I was so worried for Ben. Once I started up again, I couldn't put it down. I even read through a migraine, which is high praise.
Despite the bleak realism of slave life, there's hope and fellowship, and the characters
I also love that the first few chapter can be summed up as:
Ben's mother: Ben, do the thing.
Ben: NO. >:(
(Later)
Ben: My mother tried to make me do the thing!
The other women in Ben's life: BEN. DO THE THING.
Ben: ... (unhappily does the thing)
Despite the bleak realism of slave life, there's hope and fellowship, and the characters
I also love that the first few chapter can be summed up as:
Ben's mother: Ben, do the thing.
Ben: NO. >:(
(Later)
Ben: My mother tried to make me do the thing!
The other women in Ben's life: BEN. DO THE THING.
Ben: ... (unhappily does the thing)
August 6, 2009
I really enjoyed the first book in this series "A Free Man of Color" but the subsequent two that I have read have felt tedious. If you truly love historical fiction, and you are interested in the complexities of Creole society in Louisiana, you might like this book. But I just kept feeling more and more miserable as the tale dragged on.
September 20, 2016
This was my favourite Benjamin January book so far. Placing him in the plantation as a field hand brought out a whole different side to his character. I was definitely on the edge of my seat till the end!!!
June 22, 2018
I had mixed feelings until a bit more than 3/4 of the way from the end. I liked Benjamin and also many of the other characters, but there were so MANY characters to keep up with (and not always very distinctively portrayed) that I started just ignoring the ones who didn't merit more than a mention. I found Benjamin's choice to go undercover as a slave to be relatively credible, given his character as a person who wants to right wrongs, his mother's manipulation, and his need of money to break free from her. What I didn't find too credible was his ability to survive undercover. To me there were far too many hints at his real identity - he didn't always speak like the slave he was pretending to be (did slaves, even those educated in Latin, speak credible phrases in spontaneous conversation with their masters, even kindly ones? Hambly does mention in her endnote that yes, some masters were extremely kind...but even so...). And the notion of putting a different colored bandanna on this extremely obvious tree near the water - well, who on earth wouldn't notice that and wonder why? But never mind. The book's pacing suffers from too many atmospheric adjectives, larded in too frequently. Every time Ben goes into the cane fields, do we need a description of the moon, the light, the soil, the way it feels, etc. etc. etc. Some editing could have helped.
When the real narrative drive begins, it's a bit late - some will have already given up. I was glad I lasted, because this part was clear and spare and really good. I also loved the ending. Poignant and well-handled. So - I was ready to give three stars but upped it at the end.
I knew very little about slavery in Louisiana and what the cane growing and harvesting involved. This was very interesting and well-done, as was the depiction of the differences between town life and country plantation life near the river and the bayous. I also never realized that a real distinction was made at the time (the 1830s) between Creoles of French lineage and "Americans," even free whites. Depictions of voodoo and the way it interacted with Christianity in these early slave times, before the 1840s camp meeting revivals took hold, and the way the ring shouts (to mourn the dead) and the field hollers evolved from remembered snatches of African music were also really good.
So I am hooked enough to investigate the first of the series, A Free Man of Color, which is considered to be the best.
When the real narrative drive begins, it's a bit late - some will have already given up. I was glad I lasted, because this part was clear and spare and really good. I also loved the ending. Poignant and well-handled. So - I was ready to give three stars but upped it at the end.
I knew very little about slavery in Louisiana and what the cane growing and harvesting involved. This was very interesting and well-done, as was the depiction of the differences between town life and country plantation life near the river and the bayous. I also never realized that a real distinction was made at the time (the 1830s) between Creoles of French lineage and "Americans," even free whites. Depictions of voodoo and the way it interacted with Christianity in these early slave times, before the 1840s camp meeting revivals took hold, and the way the ring shouts (to mourn the dead) and the field hollers evolved from remembered snatches of African music were also really good.
So I am hooked enough to investigate the first of the series, A Free Man of Color, which is considered to be the best.
August 2, 2017
A tour-de-force of a mystery that explores the realities of slavery on a cane plantation.
http://nicolewbrown.blogspot.com/2015...
Hell, thought January, stumbling on blistered feet, aching, his mind curiously clear. What window had the ancients looked through, to see that Hell would actually be a Louisiana sugar-mill on a November night?
--Barbara Hambly (Sold Down the River p 67)
January recalled what the Romans has said, that Death was Freedom for a slave.
--Barbara Hambly (Sold Down the River p 101)
Given the Creole system of keeping land and family together and everyone living and working under one roof, I’m a little surprised there aren’t more murders in such households.
--Barbara Hambly (Sold Down the River p 110)
As Cinderella would probably tell you, even a prince who only recognizes your footwear is preferable to a lifetime cleaning out grates.
--Barbara Hambly (Sold Down the River p 111)
You can’t defeat the army, he thought. But if you lie quiet in cover you might save yourself and win a skirmish or two.
--Barbara Hambly (Sold Down the River p 125)
How is it women can sit and talk about men, and they get all prickly and hot when they think men are talking about them?
--Barbara Hambly (Sold Down the River p 136)
In the few moments over the past four days when he wasn’t sound asleep or wishing he could be, he missed Rose desperately, and, though he felt childish for doing so, missed his piano nearly as much. Missed the godlike logic of Bach, and Vivaldi’s wry grace. Missed the peace they brought to his mind and his heart.
--Barbara Hambly (Sold Down the River p 143)
Behind every great fortune there is a great crime, my dear Theo. Surely you know that.
--Barbara Hambly (Sold Down the River p 281-2)
http://nicolewbrown.blogspot.com/2015...
Hell, thought January, stumbling on blistered feet, aching, his mind curiously clear. What window had the ancients looked through, to see that Hell would actually be a Louisiana sugar-mill on a November night?
--Barbara Hambly (Sold Down the River p 67)
January recalled what the Romans has said, that Death was Freedom for a slave.
--Barbara Hambly (Sold Down the River p 101)
Given the Creole system of keeping land and family together and everyone living and working under one roof, I’m a little surprised there aren’t more murders in such households.
--Barbara Hambly (Sold Down the River p 110)
As Cinderella would probably tell you, even a prince who only recognizes your footwear is preferable to a lifetime cleaning out grates.
--Barbara Hambly (Sold Down the River p 111)
You can’t defeat the army, he thought. But if you lie quiet in cover you might save yourself and win a skirmish or two.
--Barbara Hambly (Sold Down the River p 125)
How is it women can sit and talk about men, and they get all prickly and hot when they think men are talking about them?
--Barbara Hambly (Sold Down the River p 136)
In the few moments over the past four days when he wasn’t sound asleep or wishing he could be, he missed Rose desperately, and, though he felt childish for doing so, missed his piano nearly as much. Missed the godlike logic of Bach, and Vivaldi’s wry grace. Missed the peace they brought to his mind and his heart.
--Barbara Hambly (Sold Down the River p 143)
Behind every great fortune there is a great crime, my dear Theo. Surely you know that.
--Barbara Hambly (Sold Down the River p 281-2)
November 1, 2024
Industrial sabotage and murder have been committed at Mon Triomphe, a sugar plantation in antebellum Louisiana. The plantation owner enlists the aid of his former mixed blood mistress in New Orleans to convince her son Benjamin January to go undercover to find the killer. Why would Ben, a free black man educated as a physician, put himself at risk? To save dozens of innocent enslaved people at Mon Triomphe from punishment or even death if the killings continue. Ben enters the plantation and endures an exhausting existence of cutting cane while investigating the crimes, all the while trying to avoid being “sold down the river.” Historical insights address the commercial necessity of the grievous system of forced labor at Mon Triomphe and other antebellum plantations. The writing confidently approaches a tragic and infuriating chapter of US history by focusing on the oppressed. A vast array of characters are portrayed and familial relationships are developed and sometimes gut-wrenchingly split apart by the abhorrent system. The terrifying power wielded by a plantation owner and overseer is movingly portrayed as is the drive of enslaved people to maintain dignity and hope. Ben is a memorable protagonist: courageous, resourceful, strong and dynamic. Settings are drawn with a keen eye to historical detail and sometimes quite colorfully, like when “long windows glowed through the mists in sulfurous lozenges of muzzy light.” This title is one of a series of Benjamin January murder mysteries set in the antebellum South, mostly in and around New Orleans. Highly recommended for readers interested in the period.
Was this review helpful? I am an avid reader of historical fiction, and author. More of my reviews can be found at www.brodiecurtis.com
Was this review helpful? I am an avid reader of historical fiction, and author. More of my reviews can be found at www.brodiecurtis.com
June 10, 2022
I love these books
From the first few pages of A Free Man of Color, I was enamored with Ben January. Hambly’s development of him as a character deepens with each book and he feels like a real person. As do her other characters. Her descriptions of old New Orleans and Louisiana are beautiful and frightening at the same time, which makes me assume that is how those places felt to people back in the 1830s. This book is different from the first three, in that it is set almost entirely outside of New Orleans, on a plantation. It was harder to read than the first three, because of its subject matter. But I can see how it works in the series, and of course, that it was part of the history that simply had to be included. I stay up too late reading these books and when I have a free moment during the day, I read a few pages on my phone, because the stories are so engaging that I miss them when I’m not reading. THAT is the mark of an excellent story teller, and we are fortunate to have that quality in Hambly’s work.
From the first few pages of A Free Man of Color, I was enamored with Ben January. Hambly’s development of him as a character deepens with each book and he feels like a real person. As do her other characters. Her descriptions of old New Orleans and Louisiana are beautiful and frightening at the same time, which makes me assume that is how those places felt to people back in the 1830s. This book is different from the first three, in that it is set almost entirely outside of New Orleans, on a plantation. It was harder to read than the first three, because of its subject matter. But I can see how it works in the series, and of course, that it was part of the history that simply had to be included. I stay up too late reading these books and when I have a free moment during the day, I read a few pages on my phone, because the stories are so engaging that I miss them when I’m not reading. THAT is the mark of an excellent story teller, and we are fortunate to have that quality in Hambly’s work.
March 19, 2023
This whole series is extremely good, but for me - this book stands out. Benjamin is more or less forced to take on the job of trying to discover who is trying to kill his childhood nemesis, Simon Fouchet, with the knowledge that if the murderer succeeds, then probably all the slaves on the plantation will be put to death. This involves going undercover as a slave and working alongside the field hands cutting the sugar can.
The story is a searing indictment of what slavery meant - and what it did to those who endured it. And how it twisted those who were able to carry out their cruelest acts without any restraint. I loved that we got to know a lot more about Benjamin's past and the depth of research Hambly went into to ensure this vivid, savage world leapt to life. The passage about his father had me weeping. A wonderful book, full of drama that gave us the best and worst of what humans do to each other.
10/10
The story is a searing indictment of what slavery meant - and what it did to those who endured it. And how it twisted those who were able to carry out their cruelest acts without any restraint. I loved that we got to know a lot more about Benjamin's past and the depth of research Hambly went into to ensure this vivid, savage world leapt to life. The passage about his father had me weeping. A wonderful book, full of drama that gave us the best and worst of what humans do to each other.
10/10
July 15, 2024
Best book in the series so far since book 2. I found myself engrossed and continually shocked by the conditions of a slave, as our protagonist goes undercover on a plantation in this instalment. You really feel the plight of the black slaves on the plantation and what it was like to be totally at the mercy of a capricious master. It's a very emotional tale and Hambly does a fantastic job of showing the conflict in January's heart as he tries to navigate the path between fulfilling his mission and dealing with the evil he is witness to on the plantation.
There are lots of new characters introduced here, but they're all so well characterised that I never found myself lost in who was who as I sometimes did in earlier books. Further fleshing out January's history as a childhood slave, the family dynamics of the Fourchet family and the various character interminglings of the slaves really added so many different dimensions to the book, making for a thoroughly engaging read.
There are lots of new characters introduced here, but they're all so well characterised that I never found myself lost in who was who as I sometimes did in earlier books. Further fleshing out January's history as a childhood slave, the family dynamics of the Fourchet family and the various character interminglings of the slaves really added so many different dimensions to the book, making for a thoroughly engaging read.
Read
July 24, 2020Simon Fourchet knows that someone is trying to ruining his plantation and his life. Benjamin's mother almost forces Ben to take the job to find out who is after Simon Fourchet. Simon was the owner of Ben, his sister and his mother before his mother caught the interest of a white man who set her up as his mistress. Ben knows that knows Simon is an evil man who starved his slaves and mistreated his family and slaves. Simon has given up drinking and is trying to change his ways. Ben takes the job, but worries though he is a free man, he will be sold as a slave. Ben arrives on Mon Triomphe with Hannibal who says Ben can be used in the cane fields while Hannibal recovers. Ben meets the many slaves, tries to find clues and sees many terrible things happen including beatings, fires and poisonings. Ben does learn a little about his father which makes him happy.
September 30, 2021
I know this book should be given a higher rating; my rating is wholly about my personal preferences. I like Hambly's writing and her deep historical research, and reading about this time period is important to me. However, I simply do not like murder mysteries. So for me, reading this series is about character development and learning about the time period, and I always just have to put up with the murder mystery process, which I do not enjoy. I wish Hambly had written a series of dramas about this time period rather than murder mysteries. (I have already read The Emancipator's Wife, which I found very good.) That said, this one did seem the best of the series so far in my opinion, and I will probably slowly continue through it, whenever I feel I can again tolerate another murder mystery.
January 22, 2018
I love Barbara Hambly's books! Though I don't remember which, I read one or two of her Benjamin January stories years ago, and as usual with my sieve-like memory soon forgot it. Yet shadows of it lingered in my mind until I just had to search until I found the storyline again. I've been delighted in getting reacquainted with January and continuing to share in his adventures. Hambly writes so well, that even knowing that the series continues for many more books, I was still breathless at times during January's escape and capture. I am also enjoying her James Asher series, which is in a totally different vein (pun intended).
May 22, 2020
This was a difficult read in several ways but worth it. There is a lot of slang and lifestyle that goes along with the slave days that can sometimes be hard to follow. This story involves a ton of characters which was hard to keep tract of. The plantation owner was incredibly mean to his slaves making it heart wrenching. Finally, this plantation owner was also from France so there is quite a bit of French terms and slang as well. I finally decided to quit trying to keep it all in order and just enjoy the read...so glad I did.
January 27, 2020
As I read more and more of this series I find the books more and more interesting. I think that for me this was the best I've read so far in the series. Benjamin January reluctantly agrees to go undercover as a slave to try to determine who is trying to kill his hated former owner. The man is as cruel as he once was but someone, perhaps a slave, is out to kill him. Tragedy after tragedy strikes the plantation and people die while Ben tries to discover the trail of the culprit. Unfortunately, the trail leads many directions. Supported by his musical friend and a lawman he trusts, Ben searches for clues. Eventually, he finds himself about to be arrested and jailed, perhaps for the murder of the very man he said he'd help. From this point the novel roars to an exciting ending, It is so very well done that I can't wait to get to the next in the series.
October 30, 2022
An absolutely magnificent novel! It was harrowing, full of suspense and mystery, but wasn’t as bleak as it sounds, as Ben found kindess and goodness on the plantation as well as great suffering.
The mystery was well drawn, and I didn’t see it coming, but probably should have.
Ben’s attempts to come to terms with his past as a slave was particularly well done,and the conversation with Mohammad about his father made me cry. A wonderful book.
The mystery was well drawn, and I didn’t see it coming, but probably should have.
Ben’s attempts to come to terms with his past as a slave was particularly well done,and the conversation with Mohammad about his father made me cry. A wonderful book.
August 22, 2020
I had a hard time with this book. It is probably the closest I’ve read of actual slave life on an abusive plantation. I was often lost by the characters and descriptions. The murder mystery played second fiddle to the descriptions of places, traditions, activities and behaviors. I think it was an ordeal to read for me anyway
Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews