Murder in July: Historical mystery set in New Orleans (A Benjamin January Mystery) Hardcover – December 1, 2017

This had an interesting plot. I wasn't sure how Ms. Hambly would end the book, but it was satisfying. This is a good mystery, and involves layering of a mystery from a prior time into what is currently going on in Benjamin January's life.Ms. Hambly is one of those few authors that can really bring historical times to life, as if you were really there. Sometimes that is good, and sometimes that is fairly terrible! But, all in the interest of a great story. Her characters are very real, and get more so as her books progress. This is important to me. I would like to care about the characters in the books I read. The best thing about Ms. Hambly's character building, from my point of view, is that her characters have humanity and imperfections in varying degrees as to flesh and blood people. One can see how people can be mixtures of good characteristics and bad, and can see the building up of character or the breakdown of it in each person at issue in her books.I hope Ms. Hambly's writing career continues for many years, so that I can look forward to many more books!

I've read all of the books in this series, and have loved every one but this. I love the characters, the New Orleans of the early 19th century as painted by Hambly, and the intricate plots. This one went back to when Ben was in Paris, alternating between 1830 in Paris and 1839 New Orleans. It took a while to get into the story, and I can honestly say that I wasn't that keen on it until about halfway through. Too much ink was spent on 1830. In fact, Ayasha has a larger role in this book than does Rose. But at least we get to see something of Hannibal (about whom we learn an interesting fact). The reader who knows nothing of French or Latin will miss some of the nuances in the characters' interactions (mainly between Hannibal and Ben), but the writing is still richly rewarding.One of my favorite aspects of the Benjamin January novels is the descriptions of the color-based "caste" system in 1830s New Orleans society. Ben's mother, a light skinned placee, sees herself and her younger daughter as more socially acceptable than Ben or Olympe, the dark skinned siblings. Hambly's knowledge of the social strata of the people of color, French Creoles, and "Americans" is extensive. Her use of language is brilliant and beautiful.If you've never read one of the Benjamin January novels, do not start with this one. Ideally, start with Free Man of Color and read them in order. I give this book 4 stars, but I'd give each one of the previous books in the series a 5 star rating.

Murder in July, set a mere weeks or days after the clunker that was Drinking Gourd is one of the best that Hambly has produced in this series. It is definitely up there with Days of the Dead, The Shirt on his back and Good Man Friday. This particular mystery blends in Ben(and Hannibal's) present life with the events in Paris the summer of 1830. We get another glimpse of Ben's life with Ayasha as well as his friends in Paris, the musician Lucien Imbot, the street gang with Chatoine and Pucet and his homosexual friend, Daniel Ben Gideon, who played a minor role in Ran Away but becomes a central character in Murder in July. I certainly hope Ms. Hambly brings Mr. Ben Gideon to New Orleans in a future novel because I like the character. One minor mistake: Ms. Hambly states in Murder in July that Pucet died in the Parisian riots of 1830. In Ran Away, she states that Pucet died of the same cholera that killed Ayasha while Carnot died in the riots. In Murder in July, Carnot is still walking around so she must have meant him to die of the cholera. Perhaps the paperback edition of Ran Away reflects this change. Otherwise, this was an excellent mystery and another great edition to the series.

Memories of his old life in Paris plague Benjamin as the weather turns in New Orleans. A white man is murdered and, though for once Benjamin is not suspected, another person of color is. A whore, who would have been a placee in an earlier time.Fortunately, Benjamin’s sister Olympe is insistent that Benjamin finds the real killer, which, of course, he will. Abishag Shaw and Hannibal step in to ably assist, which I loved. I’ve missed Shah and his strange belief in Benjamin.The tale unfolds in agonizing slowness, but not only resolves the mystery of who killed the American, Brooke’s, but also who killed his old friend in Paris, a death which caused another friend to be condemned to the guillotine.

One day I might read a book by Hambly that I don't like, but it hasn't happened yet. This mystery was as heart-poundingly tense as her others, with the added benefit of another peek into January's life in Paris with his first wife. Again, this book is filled with the complexity and nuance of emotion that makes Hambly's books so wonderful ... and so painful. Her mysteries are great but her brilliance is in her characterization and the psychological turmoil she has her protagonists feel.

I really like the Benjamin January books and this one did not disappoint. There is a murder at the beginning which reminds Benjamin of something that happened in his earlier life in Paris, and the book flashes back and forth between his memories of the Paris days and his current life. In the current life, Benjamin's wife Rose is about to give birth to their second child when she is kidnapped by someone who has a vested interest in finding out who committed this murder. There is, as it turns out, a definite and surprising connection between the current and the past crime.

Such rich and evocative settings, such real and enduring characters. Story lines that draw you in. The Benjamin January books are a rare and engrossing visit to another time. Read this book. You will not be disappointed.

The Benjamin January series is wonderful, but each book stands alone. This story is special because it knits people and events in Paris with BJ's persons in his current life in New Orleans. This series encouages me to look up historical events at that time. The Americans sure a rough lot even at their best.