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  • A Free Man of Color

  • The Benjamin January Mysteries, Book 1
  • Written by: Barbara Hambly
  • Narrated by: Ron Butler
  • Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (7 ratings)

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A Free Man of Color cover art

A Free Man of Color

Written by: Barbara Hambly
Narrated by: Ron Butler
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Publisher's Summary

This lush and haunting novel tells of a city steeped in decadent pleasures and of a man, proud and defiant, caught in a web of murder and betrayal.

It is 1833. In the midst of Mardi Gras, Benjamin January, a Creole physician and music teacher, is playing piano at the Salle d'Orleans when the evening's festivities are interrupted - by murder.

The ravishing Angelique Crozat, a notorious octoroon who travels in the city's finest company, has been strangled to death. With the authorities reluctant to become involved, Ben begins his own inquiry, which will take him through the seamy haunts of riverboatmen and into the huts of voodoo-worshipping slaves.

But soon the eyes of suspicion turn toward Ben - for, black as the slave who fathered him, this free man of color is still seen as the perfect scapegoat.
©1997 Barbara Hambly (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing
Traditional Detectives Historical Suspense
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What listeners say about A Free Man of Color

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Genevieve Paquette

good

I just finished listening to this, and I really liked it. It was a solid read, with a setting that I found very interesting (I knew very little of New Orleans in that time period or the cultures that peopled it). The characters were well-developed with a protagonist I found myself actively rooting for, and the mystery was just really good. I'm going to see if I can find more from the author at my local library.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for Anne

Action-packed profound mystery

great characters, careful reconstruction of a time and place very different from 21st Century American standard. nail-biting denouement!

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