Blanche White, Barbara Neely's smart, queen-sized, middle-aged African American sleuth, is a no-nonsense dame who's carrying some old baggage when she takes the summer off from cleaning houses for rich Boston matrons and returns to her North Carolina hometown. Almost a decade ago, Blanche was raped by David Palmer, scion of the town's leading family. Although she never brought charges against him, Blanche hasn't forgiven or forgotten. Now Palmer's sister is engaged to a sweet, mildly retarded young man for whom Blanche has a deep affection. When asked by his guardian to investigate the girl by using her connections with the domestics who know everything about the private lives of the town's most prominent families, Blanche sees an opportunity to bring the man who raped her to justice. The fact that he's been implicated in the murder of another woman makes revenge an even sweeter prospect.

What's most interesting about this lively series is the point of view of its heroine, a woman with a strong and clearly depicted perspective on the uneasy truce between blacks and whites in American society. Neely has created a true original in Blanche. With every new outing in this snappy series(Blanche Cleans Up, Blanche Among the Talented Tenth, Blanche on the Lam), she peels back more layers to reveal her heroine's emotional depths, her hard-earned wisdom, and her difficult but ultimately rewarding connection with the people she loves. Add love, hate, race, and homicide to Neely's expert characterizations, and you get a great read from a terrific, award-winning writer. --Jane Adams


From Publishers Weekly
Blanche White, an African-American maid-cum-sleuth, returns for a fourth outing (following Blanche Cleans Up) that takes her back home to Farleigh, N.C., from Boston. It's a trip freighted with racial bitterness and gender rage as 50-year-old Blanche faces up to old truths about the new South and confronts the rapist, David Palmer, who drove her from Farleigh eight years before. Agatha Award-winner Neely is at her best when Blanche seeks to define or redefine relationships with the people she cares most about: her aged mother, Cora; her best friend, Ardell; and the wonderful railroad porter, Thelvin, whom she meets on the train to Farleigh. The author also movingly describes Blanche's efforts to overcome her fear and hatred of the man who raped her. After Blanche is hired to get the dirt on David's sister, Karen, she sees an opportunity to get the goods on David as well. When it appears that David may be involved in the recent murder of a young white girl, Blanche is determined that he won't go unpunished this time, and Blanche's quest, both for vengeance and to reclaim her life, drives a compelling plot. Neely is a fine phrase-maker, and her black characters are vibrantly alive. Unfortunately, with the exception of an adult male with Down's syndrome, the white characters here are all stereotypically venal, racist, stupid and mean. Such reverse discrimination mars an otherwise admirable tale. 6-city author tour. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
When Blanche White (Blanche on the Lam)"big, middle-aged, and black"returns to her North Carolina hometown to join her best friend!s catering business, an old pain confronts her. Facing the rich white man who raped her and got away with it incapacitates her until she decides upon a suitable revenge. Asked to investigate the man!s sister, she investigates him as well, hoping to connect him to other rapes"or perhaps to the recent murder of a young black woman. This lively, energetic, and sexy narrative showcases a unique, ancestor-worshiping protagonist, wonderful plotting, and a South haunted by racism. Strongly urged. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Kirkus Reviews
Fed up with housecleaning and her employers' genteel condescension in Boston (Blanche Cleans Up, 1998, etc.), Blanche White takes her attitude and hard-won independence back home to Farleigh, North Carolina, where she joins her best buddy Ardell in her catering business, tentatively enters a relationship with Thelvin, a widowed train conductor, and tries to come to terms with David Palmer, the man who raped her years ago, though she had been too terrified to report it. She's barely unpacked this excess baggage when an abused woman dies, perhaps at Palmer's hands, and his racist, money-grubbing sister gets engaged to the rich but mentally retarded Mumsfield, whose kin want Blanche to dig up dirt that will unring the threatened wedding bells. Praying to her ancestors that the Palmers are guilty of every misdeed committed in Farleigh, Blanche is so avid for success that she misinterprets clues, leading to more deaths, including Palmer's on a sharply curved road. Even after his gratifying departure, ingrained southern racism, persistent sexism, and a long-overdue mother-daughter confrontation almost get the better of her before this sad tale of female suffering comes to an end.A trenchantly written feminist manifesto for women of color, women who've survived abuse, and men who don't mind having their hackles raised. -- Copyright © 2000 Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Book Description
In Blanche Passes Go, Barbara Neely once again displays the talent Essence calls "a force to be reckoned with." Blanche White, her maid-cum-snoop extraordinaire, has had enough of Boston and housecleaning for an uppity Brahmin clientele. Time to check things out back home in Farleigh, North Carolina. But Farleigh holds old demons for Blanche, including the man who once raped her, now implicated in the murder of a young girl. A second corpse, a zigzag trail of clues, a brace of good old boys, and Blanche's mother, Miz Cora--who taught her everything she knows about attitude--soon have Blanche busy unraveling all the mysteries of love, hate, and homicide.

"You have never met a mystery protagonist like Blanche White. Middle-aged, queen-sized, and feisty, she redefines the black sleuth . . . Strong, principled, and resolute. . . ."-- Cleveland Plain Dealer

"One is tempted to describe Blanche White as a combination of Miss Marple and Easy Rawlins . . . but it would be a crime to suggest that she is anything less than a truly original creation."-- Los Angeles Times


About the Author
BarbaraNeely is also the author of Blanche Cleans Up, Blanche on the Lam, and Blanche Among the Talented Tenth, for which she won awards that include the Agatha, the Anthony, and the Macavity.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Praise the Ancestors! After three years of housekeeping for Boston's haughty elite, Blanche White is finally coming home to North Carolina for an entire summer. And like a sign from above that she's headed in the right direction, Blanche has already lined up a date with the handsome train conductor she met somewhere between Boston and Baltimore. The summer holds lots of promise, including helping her best friend, Ardell, with her new catering business. Then, on her first night back, Blanche runs into David Palmer, the man who raped her eight years ago. The time has now come for Blanche to exact her revenge. So when a young girl is murdered and it looks as if Palmer may be involved, Blanche pursues every possible lead to help put an end to his legacy once and for all.

Author Biography: Barbara Neely is also the author of Blanche Cleans Up, Blanche Among the Talented Tenth, and Blanche on the Lam, for which she won awards that include the Agatha, the Anthony, and the Macavity.

SYNOPSIS

Maid-cum-sleuth Blanche White returns home for a future full of promise-and to end a vicious criminal's violent legacy.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Blanche White, an African-American maid-cum-sleuth, returns for a fourth outing (following Blanche Cleans Up) that takes her back home to Farleigh, N.C., from Boston. It's a trip freighted with racial bitterness and gender rage as 50-year-old Blanche faces up to old truths about the new South and confronts the rapist, David Palmer, who drove her from Farleigh eight years before. Agatha Award-winner Neely is at her best when Blanche seeks to define or redefine relationships with the people she cares most about: her aged mother, Cora; her best friend, Ardell; and the wonderful railroad porter, Thelvin, whom she meets on the train to Farleigh. The author also movingly describes Blanche's efforts to overcome her fear and hatred of the man who raped her. After Blanche is hired to get the dirt on David's sister, Karen, she sees an opportunity to get the goods on David as well. When it appears that David may be involved in the recent murder of a young white girl, Blanche is determined that he won't go unpunished this time, and Blanche's quest, both for vengeance and to reclaim her life, drives a compelling plot. Neely is a fine phrase-maker, and her black characters are vibrantly alive. Unfortunately, with the exception of an adult male with Down's syndrome, the white characters here are all stereotypically venal, racist, stupid and mean. Such reverse discrimination mars an otherwise admirable tale. 6-city author tour. (July) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Library Journal

When Blanche White (Blanche on the Lam) big, middle-aged, and black returns to her North Carolina hometown to join her best friend s catering business, an old pain confronts her. Facing the rich white man who raped her and got away with it incapacitates her until she decides upon a suitable revenge. Asked to investigate the man s sister, she investigates him as well, hoping to connect him to other rapes or perhaps to the recent murder of a young black woman. This lively, energetic, and sexy narrative showcases a unique, ancestor-worshiping protagonist, wonderful plotting, and a South haunted by racism. Strongly urged. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Fed up with housecleaning and her employers' genteel condescension in Boston (Blanche Cleans Up, 1998, etc.), Blanche White takes her attitude and hard-won independence back home to Farleigh, North Carolina, where she joins her best buddy Ardell in her catering business, tentatively enters a relationship with Thelvin, a widowed train conductor, and tries to come to terms with David Palmer, the man who raped her years ago, though she had been too terrified to report it. She's barely unpacked this excess baggage when an abused woman dies, perhaps at Palmer's hands, and his racist, money-grubbing sister gets engaged to the rich but mentally retarded Mumsfield, whose kin want Blanche to dig up dirt that will unring the threatened wedding bells. Praying to her ancestors that the Palmers are guilty of every misdeed committed in Farleigh, Blanche is so avid for success that she misinterprets clues, leading to more deaths, including Palmer's on a sharply curved road. Even after his gratifying departure, ingrained southern racism, persistent sexism, and a long-overdue mother-daughter confrontation almost get the better of her before this sad tale of female suffering comes to an end. A trenchantly written feminist manifesto for women of color, women who've survived abuse, and men who don't mind having their hackles raised.