Dead and Buried

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The new 'Benjamin January' novel from the best-selling author - New Orleans, 1836. When free black musician and surgeon Benjamin January attends the funeral of a friend, an accident tips the dead man out of his coffin - only to reveal an unexpected inhabitant. Just one person recognises the corpse of the white man: Hannibal Sefton, fiddle-player and one of January's closest friends. But he seems unwilling to talk about his connection to the dead man . . .From Publishers WeeklyStarred Review. Sorrow, grief, and pain pervade Hambly's outstanding ninth Benjamin January mystery (after 2004's Dead Water), set in New Orleans during the summer of 1836. Trapped by poverty and the color of his skin, January, a free black who trained in France as a physician, goes undercover as a piano player in a high-class bordello to investigate possible embezzlement from the Faubourg Tremé Free Colored Militia and Burial Society. The discovery of a white man's body in a coffin meant for one of the FTFCMBS's members propels the justice-seeking January on a harrowing journey full of disturbing revelations to save a young English aristocrat from the gallows. Hambly's sure hand with historical detail, her convincing characterizations, and her view of the slave trade that debased both blacks and their white masters raise this tale of violence, deceit, and humiliation to a must-read commentary on human frailty and redeeming human friendship. (June) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistWith his first appearance in A Free Man of Color (1997), Benjamin January emerged as one of the most unusual characters in the realm of historical mysteries, with his creator earning kudos for both her originality and her extraordinary attention to historical detail. If living as a free black in nineteenth-century New Orleans wasn’t enough to set January apart, his classical education, years of living in Paris, and knowledge of medicine made him truly unusual. Although January’s past investigations have earned him respect from many in his native city, his endeavors to save the life of an uncooperative young lord accused of murder are still hampered by long-held secrets and by vicious racism that puts January’s life at risk, time and again. Relayed through January’s perspective, the story gives an intimate picture of the intolerance and struggles of the time, but as carefully crafted as these matters are, Hambly is also talented enough to entertain. That’s two successes for the price of one. --Stephanie Zvirin