Blanche Among the Talented Tenth: A Blanche White Mystery

By Barbara Neely

Book Overview

"Endlessly Entertaining " Publishers Weekly
BLANCHE AND THE TALENTED TENTH The second, ground-breaking mystery featuring African-American maid and amateur sleuth Blanche White by Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity Award winning Author Barbara Neely
When Blanche White moved north to Boston, she believed it would be a better place to raise her kids, especially after she got them into an elite private school. But now her children are becoming elitist and judgmental, acquiring more attitude than education. So when she and her kids are invited to Amber Cove, an exclusive resort in Maine for wealthy blacks, Blanche jumps at the chance to see how the other half lives and maybe stop her kids turning into people she doesn't want to know. When one of the guests kills himself, and another is electrocuted in her bathtub, Blanche becomes an accidental detective once again, using her sharp wit and keen social insight to peel back some disturbing color and class distinctions within the black community that may have driven someone to murder.
"One of the best fictional detectives conjured up in years," Library Journal
"An acerbic portrait of class infighting at its most corrosive," Kirkus Reviews
"The uproarious Blanche White, the southern housekeeper who knows her own mind, opened doors to the nuances of black life for readers and writers alike. Barbara Neely is a trailblazer," Naomi Hirahara, Edgar Award-winning author.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1941298478
• ISBN13: 9781941298473
• Release Date: February 2015
• Publisher: Cutting Edge Publishing
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 0.76 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Blanche is back, and greater than ever

I loved BLANCHE ON THE LAM and have read it many times. I was burnt out when I read BLANCHE AMONG THE TALENTED 10TH and missed so much. Now re reading it, I tell you Barbara Neely is a great writer. Enjoying it so much so sad Ms Neely is gone. Want to read more more from her. Everyone needs to know Blanche. These are great books! Jump in. And start with the first book!!!

blance cleans up...

i met barbara neely when she came to san francisco earlier this month to promote her new novel. she was warm, ebuillient, and was eager to explain the writing process and signed autographs, without a fuss.... i loved this novel. blanche is an uncommon sluth who proves that mother wit can carry you just as well as book learning. and blanche proves her point nicely as she deals with the vacationers at a maine resort. neely also touches on the issues of racism within the black race ( color consciouness ) and dillemmas between the rich and poor. blanche is not another woman fretting about not having a man, but neely shows blanche to be a desirable, witty and charming woman. neely also points out with uncompromising honesty how blacks do what they can to survive in white society. i also admire neely for the references she makes to the goddess religions and african=american culture. she shows black readers there are other alternatives to christianity....

Great Reading

I really love the Blanche mystery series.

Good detective, great setting.

As a reader of three mystery novels a week (average), I know there isn't much new in the plotting of a book--the formula is pretty familiar to me. But this is one novel in which I didn't want the mysteries to be solved, because then the book would end. Blanch would take her adopted children and her all-too-normal middle-aged frustrations and go home from the posh resort--and I would lose a friend. Blanche and I don't share an ethnic or social background, but we sure do share a lot of frustrations with teenaged children, social climbers, middle-aged bodies, and fickle men.And, it's Blanche's quick wit and humanity that enables her to solve the mystery at the same time she provides a valuable insight into her life and values, and into my own.

Good weekend reading.

I read this book after reading "...On the Lamb." Both books are good reading and hold your attention until the end. Neely keeps you coming back for more.

Be prepared, you are about to meeet a new friend

Blanch is savey and savage when it comes to solving crimes and caring for her friends and children. Watch out, you will start to care for her from the first page and by the end of this book you will want to pick up the phone and talk to her for hours but you have to wait for the next book. Lets hope it's soon. In the mean time read "Blanch on the Lam". It's where she began.