Graveyard Dust

Benjamin January #3

by Barbara Hambly

Bestselling author Barbara Hambly's A Free Man of Color and Fever Season established Benjamin January as one of mystery's most exciting heroes. Now he returns in a powerful new novel, a sensual mosaic of old New Orleans, where cultures clash and murder can hover around every darkened corner....

It is St. John's Eve in the summer of 1834 when Benjamin January--Creole physician and music teacher--is shattered by the news that his sister has been arrested for murder. The Guards have only a shadow of a case against her. But Olympe--mystical and rebellious--is a woman of color, whose chance for justice is slim.

As Benjamin probes the allegation, he is targeted by a new threat: graveyard dust sprinkled at his door, whispering of a voodoo death curse. Now, to save Olympe's life--and his own--Benjamin knows he must glean information wherever he can find it. For in the heavy darkness of New Orleans, the truth is what you make it, and justice can disappear with the night's warm breeze as easy as graveyard dust....

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Historical Mystery, 19th Century, Mystery Thriller

409 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

aka 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

Reviews

[Rachel Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Benjamin January # 3! This one was way less grim than Fever Season. I realize that's easy to say, so I will give it an independent grimness rating.

Grimness of content: Medium. Racism and other isms, slavery, murder; child abuse is discussed but not shown.

Grimness of tone: Low. The subtitle is "a novel of suspense" and that accurately describes the tone. It's a very atmospheric mystery with some excellent action and really great characters. I loved everyone in this book, except for the villains and racists, obviously. Also, it contains a number of fun tropes, including hurt-comfort, creepy pottery, courtroom drama, spirit possession, and dodging alligators in the bayou. Plus Marie Laveau. The plot is very well-constructed and entertaining. And there's some very funny banter, plus a number of dramatic, alarming, and/or hilarious courtroom scenes.

Benjamin January is a devout Catholic and regularly prays for the soul of his sister Olympe, a voodoo practitioner. When Olympe is railroaded into jail for poisoning a man, mostly due to prejudice against voodoo, Ben gets on the case.

I really enjoyed the portrayal of voodoo. Hambly has an afterword discussing her research (she's a historian) and interviews with current practitioners where she gives a sense of how varied the practice and history is-- as is the case in any religion. From Ben's outsider/insider perspective, it's simultaneously alien and disturbing, familiar and enticing. It was a great way to convey how any religion is sustaining and ordinary for its followers, and exotic and weird to outsiders who don't understand it. Marie Laveau is one of my favorite characters in the series, and she naturally has a big part in this.

For the first time, supernatural forces appear as a (possibly) real force. The vivid scenes of spirit possession can be interpreted as simply the power of belief, but they make more sense if the Loa are objectively real. I liked the delicate balance of deniability at play through the whole book.

Since my favorite thing about this series is the characters, I'll do a check-in. Augustus Mayerling, the sword master who was one of my favorites from the first book, re-appears. Poor Hannibal is so sick with consumption that it was a relief to know while reading that he's still alive ten books later-- he spends most of the book either in bed or helping Ben with various tasks while trying not to pass out. (Rose makes some satisfying appearances, though I wish she was in the story more. Ben's awful mother Livia is still hilariously, deliciously catty. Olympe and her family have nice big roles-- I really like her, her husband, and her son Gabriel. And Ben has a really satisfying character arc.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like Star Wars, you need to read the afterword of this mystery. If Fever Season was a weakfish follow up, this book brings the series back. Loved characters return, and there is a remark about a marriage. It’s nice to see the return of Rose and the slow development of a relationship.
What is particularly enjoyable and outstanding about this book is January’s family. He and his sister Olympe represent what their mother was as opposed to his half sister who represents at least to his mother’s eyes, what she currently is. Tied up into this family are the effects of racism and slavery as well as being what people do not think you should be. January a doctor who really cannot practice and reverts back to piano playing, his sister who is free or is she, his mother who might be more human than she lets on.
Additionally, there is finer detail here, more sure touches than in the second one.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

You wouldn't think a book series that makes my flesh crawl would be as enjoyable as this is, but it is. It makes New Orleans sound like a bug-infested, plague-ridden hellhole filled with murderers, procurers, slavers, and whores, and apparently I like that.

[Jamie Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I continue to enjoy this mystery series, set in New Orleans in the early 1800's. I love Hambly's atmospheric prose, and even her outrageous endings are growing on me. Although to my relief, this ending, while dark, isn't as gruesome as that of the previous book - I was afraid she was going to try to top it.

Benjamin January is a devout Catholic, and so disapproves of his sister's practice of voodoo, but he comes to her aid when she's accused of selling poison to a woman for the purpose of murdering her husband.

I suspect this third entry in the series wouldn't make a good standalone novel, which suits me well enough. I realize that there's a delicate balance between annoying familiar readers and alienating new ones, but I read so many series where the author spends 50 pages of every book rehashing the events of earlier books, so it was a pleasure to have familiar characters and a minimum of repetition. I'm looking forward to the next book.

[ambyr · Rating 3 out of 5]

The sense of place in these is still great, but the mystery in this one was a little too convoluted for me. I stopped caring about who had done what to whom and started just focusing on the descriptions of food and dance and music.

[Geordie · Rating 3 out of 5]

As always, Hambly's prose is intense and amazingly colorful. However, the plot of 'Graveyard Dust' is weaker than the previous books in the series. The direction seems to be meandering, and the glut of characters melt together - there are two (or three?) ruthlessly controlling mothers - they should have been blindingly distinct, one was former French aristocracy, the other was an African-American who had previously been a mistress, but I was frequently confusing them. Benjamin picks up leads seemingly at random, and finds the true villain by a leap of logic that I was unable to follow. Hambly also went over-board on making the tone grim and bleak. There is certainly a lot of serious and tragic subject matter, but sometimes it was so heavy it felt intentional, like words and images were chosen to horrify the reader, instead of natural.
It's still a good book; good writing, good characters. I'm still planning to read book 4, I just hope that it will flow better than this one.

[May · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ This is actually my 4th read in this series. I read #4 first & loved it. Thus, I went back to the beginning. I truly appreciate the author’s research and craft in establishing the time and culture of New Orleans from a free Black man’s perspective.
However, GRAVEYARD DUST was more voodoo than plot, in my opinion. The Author’s Notes at the end helped, but not enough to round up to 4 ⭐️.
Meanwhile, I do look forward to #5.

[elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't enjoy this as much as the previous two, because the mystery got too convoluted in parts for me to keep track, but I loved Gabriel — and Olympe's whole family — and the voodoo elements, and the final resolution with Jumon was chilling, and magnificient writing. The atmosphere is stellar, as usual.

3.5 rounded down because I had higher expectations.

[D. Wickles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good mystery in pre-civil war New Orleans!

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

New Orleans in the 1830s is complicated and nuanced, and Benjamin January lives at the intersections of converging and competing cultures, none of which is as simple as white and black. This 3rd book in the series delves into the world of voodoo, described in the Author's Note as "a complex interlocking of ancestor worship, reverence for the spirits of nature, and an overarching belief in a single deity who works through the various spirits - the loa or lwa - to aid humankind. The thousands of men and women who were kidnapped and enslaved by their tribal enemies, and sold to the white, carried with them only what they had in their minds and in their hearts: skill at their trades, love of family, a rich heritage of music, and stories of animals and spirits." (The Author's Note is as fascinating, if much, much shorter, as the story.)
Hambly's characters are multifaceted and convey the complexity of human nature throughout, and her portrait of Voodooienne Marie Laveau is particularly intriguing. "He understood then how she came to know everything, to fit all things together in a great mosaic of intelligence. She listened, and she remembered, and she cared."
I also particularly appreciated the irony in a courtroom scene where lawyers argue over whether the case will be heard in English or French (the French New Orleans now a part of the United Stated): "'We true citizens of the City of New Orleans,' retorted Vilhardouin, in French, 'were sold to the United States against our will and without being consulted in the matter --' 'Welcome to our ranks,' muttered January dourly."

[Heather D-G · Rating 5 out of 5]

This third entry in the atmospheric series finds free-man-of-color Benjamin January scrambling to clear his voodooienne sister Olympe from a charge of murder. When nineteen-year-old Isaak goes missing, it isn't long before his opium-addict brother turns up with a fantastic tale of kidnapping and poison -- but no body.
The setting is 1830's New Orleans in the summer, and the city is stewing in its own juices; lack of a sewage system and copious mosquitoes (thanks to the city's humid, swampy location)ensure that sicknesses like cholera and yellow fever are ever-present threats.
Benjamin January has been back in New Orleans for less than two years, following the death of his wife in Paris. He's a surgeon by training, a musician by inclination -- and the reluctance of creole society to accept of physician who's skin so closely resembles that of the slaves that work the sugar-cane plantations.
His efforts to clear his sister's name and free her from prison will bring him into close contact with Voodoo and the beliefs and fears of his childhood.
The series seems to hit its stride with this entry, which proceeds seamlessly from start to finish, drawing us along without letting our attention wander. Favorite side-characters from the first two books are present as well, continuing to develop their own stories. Highly recommended.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm working my way through the entire Benjamin January series; this is the third one.

In this book, January's sister, Olympe, stands accused of murder. A free woman of color's husband has disappeared, and the whispers are that Olympe was paid to poison him. Because she's a voodooienne, the populace is willing to believe it despite any evidence to the contrary.

January and his unlikely compatriot, American police lieutenant Abishag Shaw, decide that they are going to look deeper into the matter. In the meanwhile, Olympe waits in the jail at the Cabildo ... and more people are dying or disappearing. When Marie Laveau makes it clear that she can assist in the investigation, January knows there is more to it than meets the eye.

This series of historical mysteries is quite well-researched, giving the readers a look at Jacksonian-era New Orleans that no other fiction writer I've found has provided. The class distinctions are dealt with frankly, and even the fashion notes are spot-on (like Benjamin January, I think the fashion in ladies' sleeves at the time is horrid).

Highly recommended for intelligent, well-developed mysteries and more than a smattering of historical information.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this while on vacation in New Orleans and found that it added a fascinating level of historical detail to the trip. Well written and intense, with lots of interesting cultural detail - best of the Benjamin January novels that I've read to date. I also appreciate the effort that Hambly makes to create an authentic feel to 1830s New Orleans and the tension between the Americans and the French as well as enslaved people of African descent, freedmen and freemen.
Recommended.

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another series I'm hooked on. This is the third, though I haven't read the first two. Set in New Orleans of the mid-1800s, an era and area I know little about, I loved how much I learned. The atmosphere is rather spooky, since the life of the free blacks was a precarious one, plus there's a fair amount of voodoo taking place. This was a very riveting book, that was hard to put down.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 really. I found this one harder to follow than the two previous ones. Still quite good, though. But I need a break from the threat of slavery and death. Not to mention the filth of the 1830's in New Orleans.

[Vickie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was what turned out to be a wonderfully told mystery. It's my first book by this author and in this series and it took me a bit to get into. But once I did, it kept me listening in the parking lot or driving around the block one more time to listen longer.
Historical mysteries can be tricky if the research hasn't been done or the story isn't engaging. That's not the case here. I liken this to my beloved Brother Cadfael mystery series. Atmosphere is an important character in the series. Not even just an aspect, but an actual character that must be included to make the story.
Starting a series in the middle can be problematic in some series, but not here. I was caught up throughout the book of some of what happened in the previous two books [which are now in my Audible library]. And this book can stand on its own, in my opinion. The mystery is intricate and dark.
I liked that Benjamin was compelled to investigate even at the danger to himself. He has many things against him, but he has people in his corner. Somewhat to his dismay but he respects the different spiritual beliefs in New Orleans. Some help and others hinder as do the people who have their selfish and selfless requisites depending on who and how they are.
A highly excellent mystery all the way around.
I can definitely recommend this book, series and author.

[Siobhan J · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this, but I didn't love it like the first two in the series.

This was another great mystery in the Benjamin January series. The crime plot in this one was really interesting, the setting was fantastic as ever and all of the characters are really hitting their stride. I've always loved Ben, but he's particularly wonderful in this one and really well written. I also really loved Hannibal, who is ill for most of the novel but has some absolutely wonderful moments.

As for why I didn't love it... I don't know. I think a large part of it was probably that I was in the wrong mindframe when I read it. These are quite dark books, realistically dark books, and it was probably my own fault for going into this one while my mental health was acting up a bit. I also felt like it was a bit slow at parts, and that the vast majority of the action only happened in the last 25%.

I still really enjoyed this, though, and may reread it later when my mental health is (hopefully!) a bit more stable. A wonderfully interesting book, that does absolutely fascinating things with setting, and a series well worth reading.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Barbara Hambly is an amazing author, excelling in a variety of genres. Her excellence in weaving a twisty plot of mystery and her incredible depth of psychological understanding and presentation of her characters pulls me to listen to this series despite the raw pain I feel in hearing the deeper story she tells of real human degradation and the arrogance and greed that spawned it. Perhaps these books should be required reading for all Americans, especially those in the police force, lawyers, judges, politicians and white supremacists. But sadly, those incapable of empathy would not likely be phased by even these graphic accounts of what it was like to be treated as property and subjected to such debasement. I applaud Hambly for her insightful, compelling and painful presentation of a difficult topic. In this novel she also addresses the issue of religion and shows a wise understanding of how 'god' speaks to each, in ways that we can understand. She gifts Benjamin January with maturing into the deeper spiritual wisdom of inclusiveness.

[Thaydra · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I picked this book up, I did not realize it was part of a series. I gave it an extra star because perhaps if I had read the previous two, I would have enjoyed it more. However, I was pretty much lost during this entire book. While some characters were described enough for me to be able to pick them out and remember who they were, most all blended in with each other and it was difficult for me to remember who was who and what their role was. They seemed like they had an interesting backstory, but were bland here. The mystery was there enough, but almost got lost in Benjamin just wandering around making assumptions.

Again, maybe this would have made more sense if I had read the previous two books. However, I really had to trudge through this one, and the ending did not redeem it in any way.

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some bits of a good book in here. The sections on voodoo, the trippy fever dreams, and the final confrontation with the villain were all very well done.

Unfortunately, they were sort of crowded out by a muddled, repetitive plot. Way too much of this book was a rehash of elements from the previous. Abusive mother figures, people close to Ben being randomly accused of crimes, city officials denying pandemics, and so on. The core mystery relied on minor characters who weren't even brought into the plot for ages and were barely mentioned, while characters the book spent tons of time dwelling on at first never have their storylines wrapped up in the latter half.

Altogether, much of this book felt like Hambly took several ideas percolating in her brain and chucked them at the reader randomly without bothering to turn them into a real book.

[Robynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read 16 or more Barbara Hambly books (Time of the Dark series, The Silent Tower books, the James Asher series, now Benjamin January) and this, as far as I can recall, is the most confusing storyline I've ever read from her. I expected the author's note to tell me it was another "based-on-true-events" kind of thing because I can't understand the need or desire to design so convoluted a tale. I wondered at the genealogy at the beginning, and I was into chapter five before I could stop referring to it regularly to figure out who was who and what was what. I do love the setting, and the characters, so I am glad she continued writing them. I'll reread it at some point in the hopes that knowing the end will make the beginning clearer.

[lyric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful prose as always, and an interesting insight into the racially stratified culture of 1830s New Orleans. But there were so many different characters it was hard to keep straight of who was who and who did what. And there wasn't enough of Rose, Dominique, or Livia, my favorite characters from the other books in the series. I also felt January came off a bit bland and overly agreeable in this one, too. He took the big reveal about Mathurin Jumon at the end of the book way too calmly for my taste. In general I didn't like that the narrative seemed to be trying to make me sympathize with Jumon. I did like the portrayal of the maroons and of Marie Laveau and the voodoo religion, as well as January's relationship with his nephew Gabriel.

[Liliana López · Rating 4 out of 5]

5+ stars for setting, characterization, sociocultural and historical details. 3.5 stars for plot: I found the story itself got bogged down in the lush details, making it hard to follow the unfolding of the mystery. There are simply too many twists, turns, characters and side storylines to keep straight. Maybe I would not have felt this way if I had had all the time in the world to enjoy the book, but as it was I found myself getting impatient and lost at times.

I may wait until I am on vacation and not under a deadline to tackle the next book! These are remarkably well-written and well-researched, and take time and focus to follow.

[Adelais · Rating 3 out of 5]

Третя книга з серії про чорношкірого музиканта і лікаря у Новому Орлеані. Цього разу його старшу сестру Олімпію підозрюють у вбивстві, а все ускладнюється тим, що вона жриця вуду, і тюрма під час літньої епідемії - не найсанітарніше місце у світі. Тому Дженьюарі з командою мусить розплутати загадку дуже швидко, поки Олімпія ще жива (вона, до речі, не дуже переймається і взагалі найвпевненіша в цій книзі). Нетрі так само нетристі, є прекрасні дами пів світу, які можуть однією рукою зацідити, а іншою вилікувати, і повертається мій улюблений герой з першої книги. Тому атмосферно дуже добре, а от з сюжетом недокрутили, тому знімаю зірочку.

[Diana Sandberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first two in this series quite some time ago. I recently remembered liking them so got this on my Kindle. I found it engaging, although quite grim. I like Benjamin immensely, and I appreciated the author's treatment of his slow and painful process of recovery, both from his grief and his physical injuries. So often in series, terrible things happen in one book, and in the next they are barely a distant memory. I did get a little confused among what seemed a plethora of nasty old ladies, but overall I enjoyed the book.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Benjamin is recovering for the injuries from the last book and struggling to make a living as a musician. When his sister, Olympe, a voodoo queen is arrested for suppling a wife with a poison to kill her husband, Benjamin is determined to prove her innocent. He is helped by Shaw, a police man. The voodoo women say the husband is not dead, but he can't be found. Benjamin must deal with some evil white men while avoiding men who were hired to kill him.

[Ms M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Racism—our heritage

What a complicated and horrific legacy slavery has left us. An interesting perspective on voodoo presented in this book also. I have had a problem in this and the previous Benjamin January books with characters and who is related to whom or where they fit in the scheme of the story. Still, I have learned much from all three books.

[Sage · Rating 2 out of 5]

5 stars for atmosphere, 1 star for plot. Which is to say the five or seven wandering subplots that are supposed to link up don't. Disability tag for "Hollywood" disability, wherein characters with major conditions manage the physically impossible in return for narrative payoff.

[Trudy Ackerblade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Graveyard Dust is not an easy book to read. It is atmospheric, troubling, intricate and ultimately satisfying. There is a riveting theme of voodoo in 1830's New Orleans, white, freed men, and slaves, all boiling over each other in a nuanced mystery.

[Mary A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another amazing book in this series.
The characters are all wonderfully drawn and there are lovely appearances from Rose, Hannibal, Marie Leveau and the enigmatic Abishag Shaw.
Benjamin’s conflicting emotions about his catholicism and voodoo heriitage are a constant and interesting theme.