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Benjamin January #16
Cold Bayou
Everyone at the family wedding was hoping someone would murder the bride … The intriguing new Benjamin January mystery.
“Don’t go to Cold Bayou, brother … Nuthin’ good waiting for you there.”
New Orleans, 1839. Despite his misgivings, Benjamin January has agreed to play the piano at the wedding of wealthy French Creole landowner Veryl St-Chinian. All is not well, for the marriage of 67-year-old, profoundly infatuated Uncle Veryl to an 18-year-old Irish tavern-slut spells potential disaster for everyone in the inter-married Viellard and St-Chinian clans. But the old man is determined to marry Miss Ellie Trask, and nothing will stand in his way.
On the isolated plantation of Cold Bayou where the ceremony is to take place, tension is rife even before the body is discovered in the woods behind the dower house, its throat cut. A yet more disturbing turn of events sees January himself accused of the crime…
“Don’t go to Cold Bayou, brother … Nuthin’ good waiting for you there.”
New Orleans, 1839. Despite his misgivings, Benjamin January has agreed to play the piano at the wedding of wealthy French Creole landowner Veryl St-Chinian. All is not well, for the marriage of 67-year-old, profoundly infatuated Uncle Veryl to an 18-year-old Irish tavern-slut spells potential disaster for everyone in the inter-married Viellard and St-Chinian clans. But the old man is determined to marry Miss Ellie Trask, and nothing will stand in his way.
On the isolated plantation of Cold Bayou where the ceremony is to take place, tension is rife even before the body is discovered in the woods behind the dower house, its throat cut. A yet more disturbing turn of events sees January himself accused of the crime…
255 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 31, 2018
33 people are currently reading
253 people want to read
About the author
Barbara Hambly
204 books1,582 followersaka Barbara Hamilton
Ranging from fantasy to historical fiction, Barbara Hambly has a masterful way of spinning a story. Her twisty plots involve memorable characters, lavish descriptions, scads of novel words, and interesting devices. Her work spans the Star Wars universe, antebellum New Orleans, and various fantasy worlds, sometimes linked with our own.
"I always wanted to be a writer but everyone kept telling me it was impossible to break into the field or make money. I've proven them wrong on both counts."
-Barbara Hambly
Ranging from fantasy to historical fiction, Barbara Hambly has a masterful way of spinning a story. Her twisty plots involve memorable characters, lavish descriptions, scads of novel words, and interesting devices. Her work spans the Star Wars universe, antebellum New Orleans, and various fantasy worlds, sometimes linked with our own.
"I always wanted to be a writer but everyone kept telling me it was impossible to break into the field or make money. I've proven them wrong on both counts."
-Barbara Hambly
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May 9, 2018
Disclaimer: Arc via Severn Publishers and Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
In part, a book’s popularity determines whether or not it will be adapted to film or television. I get this. But sometimes, I look at all the shows that make into production and wonder why. Then I wonder why, no one has made a mystery series out of the Benjamin January novels. The first one was published in 1997. The series has staying power. So seriously, Hollywood, wake up!
This installment finds Ben, Rose, his mother and sister traveling to a plantation outside of New Orleans to attend the wedding of a rich Veryl St-Chinian to a far less rich and less pure Miss Ellie Trask. Needless to say, the rich man’s family is rather put out about this low case Irish wench weaseling her way into the old rich boy’s heart.
It’s a plot that has been use in one way or another since well, whenever. But Ben isn’t in Martin Chuzzlewit. Before the dead body is discovered, the January family’s freedom is at risk, so Ben finds himself fighting to prove his innocence of murder as well as to keep his family free.
Hambly’s series works because she captures a New Orleans after the purchase but before the Civil War, when American were slowly, perhaps, changing the way the society of New Orleans as well as the laws work. Ben and his family view this though the gaze of freed slaves (his mother, he, and his sister were freed. His second sister is mistress to one of Viellard family, who are related to the St-Chinian family). Everything about Ben’s life is affected by his skin color and status, he is trained as a doctor but cannot work as one, so instead is a musician. One sister is a voodoo priestess who does not speak to their mother, who secured the family’s freedom by drawing the interest of a rich white man. The strain between mother and oldest daughter is tied to sex and behavior among whites. Ben’s wife, Rose, is a mixed race woman who runs a school for mixed race girls. His sister’s relationship with her protector is conducted with the knowledge that they cannot marry and that their daughter will always be viewed as secondary, if that.
Hambly tackles the issue of shade of skin color as well – not only within the January family- but also with those that they know. Power and status are important to not only the whites who inhabit the story but to the blacks and at great cost, for freed slaves have more to lose than respect.
The mystery and its outcome are well done. Hambly, as usual, makes her female characters shine even though the series is centered on a male title character.
It’s just a shame that a series that combines race issues, history, and a homage to Christie doesn’t get enough respect to be made into a film.
In part, a book’s popularity determines whether or not it will be adapted to film or television. I get this. But sometimes, I look at all the shows that make into production and wonder why. Then I wonder why, no one has made a mystery series out of the Benjamin January novels. The first one was published in 1997. The series has staying power. So seriously, Hollywood, wake up!
This installment finds Ben, Rose, his mother and sister traveling to a plantation outside of New Orleans to attend the wedding of a rich Veryl St-Chinian to a far less rich and less pure Miss Ellie Trask. Needless to say, the rich man’s family is rather put out about this low case Irish wench weaseling her way into the old rich boy’s heart.
It’s a plot that has been use in one way or another since well, whenever. But Ben isn’t in Martin Chuzzlewit. Before the dead body is discovered, the January family’s freedom is at risk, so Ben finds himself fighting to prove his innocence of murder as well as to keep his family free.
Hambly’s series works because she captures a New Orleans after the purchase but before the Civil War, when American were slowly, perhaps, changing the way the society of New Orleans as well as the laws work. Ben and his family view this though the gaze of freed slaves (his mother, he, and his sister were freed. His second sister is mistress to one of Viellard family, who are related to the St-Chinian family). Everything about Ben’s life is affected by his skin color and status, he is trained as a doctor but cannot work as one, so instead is a musician. One sister is a voodoo priestess who does not speak to their mother, who secured the family’s freedom by drawing the interest of a rich white man. The strain between mother and oldest daughter is tied to sex and behavior among whites. Ben’s wife, Rose, is a mixed race woman who runs a school for mixed race girls. His sister’s relationship with her protector is conducted with the knowledge that they cannot marry and that their daughter will always be viewed as secondary, if that.
Hambly tackles the issue of shade of skin color as well – not only within the January family- but also with those that they know. Power and status are important to not only the whites who inhabit the story but to the blacks and at great cost, for freed slaves have more to lose than respect.
The mystery and its outcome are well done. Hambly, as usual, makes her female characters shine even though the series is centered on a male title character.
It’s just a shame that a series that combines race issues, history, and a homage to Christie doesn’t get enough respect to be made into a film.
July 16, 2018
The sixteenth book in the Benjamin January series.
I realize it's been a while since I posted about Ben January, so let me take a moment to give an overview of the series. They are some of my favorite books of all time, and I can't recommend them highly enough. Set in New Orleans in the 1830s, they focus on Benjamin January, a free black man trained as a surgeon and classical piano player. Despite the 1830s being pre-Civil War, at the time New Orleans boasted a large population of 'gens de couleur libres ', or free people of color. It was a category of (often but not always) mixed race people, often (but not always) descendants or family members of women who served as mistresses to white men. In Spanish and French colonies, mistresses and children were (often but not always - do y'all get the sense that it's hard to put lines around this kind of thing yet?) freed and given money or employment, whereas in British colonies the color line tended to stay stronger, and mistresses and children were (often but not...) kept in slavery. This resulted in a system where British colonies had two groups of people – black and white – but French and Spanish ones had three – black, white, and "colored" – where the middle group was seen as distinct but containing some qualities of both the others. In New Orleans itself, this became codified in the "placée" system; interracial marriage was illegal, and so women of color in long-term romantic/sexual relationships with white men were described as being "placed" with him.
Anyway, all of this is just background to fun, well-written murder mysteries. Benjamin January was born into slavery, but freed as a young child when his mother became a placee. As a result, he was raised in relative privilege – highly educated (he speaks something like seven languages, including Latin), interested in music theory and scientific advances and Shakespeare, sent to France for schooling in medicine – but has never gotten over the violence and terror of his childhood, particularly his fear of potentially losing anyone he cares about at any time – and indeed, after he was freed he never saw his father (who remained enslaved) again. Ben's in his 40s in the books, when he stands 6'3 with broad shoulders to match and is very dark-skinned; this means everyone who meets him automatically assumes he's a field slave rather than a free man, which doesn't exactly help him get over his fears. Ben is such a fantastic main character; he's smart and cynical but with a deeply good heart (he literally saved puppies as a kid!), he loves meeting people and talking to them, he's snarky and sweet and gentle and also frequently gets to have adventure scenes like punching a giant alligator in the middle of a hurricane. Since the series are mysteries, he's repeatedly called on to investigate unusual deaths. At first this is usually to prove his own innocence – or that of a relative or close friend – who's been accused of murder, but as the books go on he's often asked to help simply because he now has a reputation for it.
The books are remarkable not just for Ben himself, but for his community. My favorites of the other characters are Rose and Hannibal. Rose is a free woman of color, born into that status but who has suffered in her own way, as a woman who more interested in math and microscopes than fashion or flirting. She's determined to open a school for girls of color, despite several setbacks. She's gawky and wears glasses and Ben is head-over-heels in love with her. Hannibal is their best friend, the only white man in New Orleans who isn't insanely racist (though even he makes mistakes sometimes). He works as a musician with Ben, and is clearly from some sort of aristocratic background, but has chosen to change his name and spend his days homeless and addicted to alcohol. He's also dying from TB (well, "dying"; 16 books and counting and he's still around), which means he is the designated woobie of the series, frequently being poisoned or kidnapped so that Ben has someone to rescue.
Ben's family is also fundamental to the series, including his mother (a heartless, awful person, but a stone-cold survivor down to her bones), his sister Olympe (a Voodoo Queen, and voodoo is taken seriously as a religion in these books, not just oooh zombies), and his half-sister Dominique (also a placee, she comes off as flighty and gossip-obsessed, but she's clever and loyal to a fault). Another important character is Abishag Shaw, a white police lieutenant who is sympathetic to Ben's attempts to find real justice and often provides off-the-books assistance.
The series is everything you could ask for in terms of diversity. As is obvious above, most of the characters are black or mixed race, but there are also important Native Americans, Muslims (including Ben's first wife), Latin@s, Jewish people, and gay characters. Hambly also uses the setting to discuss issues of discrimination that fall along the lines of gender, colorism, religion, language, class, disability, nationality, and more. The historical detail of 1830s New Orleans has obviously been incredibly well-researched and is depicted in great detail. But it's also just so much fun! Ben, Rose, and Hannibal in particular are immense nerds who spend a lot of time joking around with one another, there's adventure, there's suspense, there's immense amounts of competence porn, there's hurt/comfort, there's everything you could want. But the series is especially good for Found Family; Ben's efforts to gather and protect a community around himself is the central arc of the series, and breaks my heart every time. I mean, when it's not giving me joy.
In summary: READ THEM PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
Anyway. Back to Cold Bayou.
The sixteenth book in the Benjamin January series, Cold Bayou begins with the engagement of Veryl St-Chinian – sixty-seven, eccentric, and hermit-like – to an eighteen-year-old illiterate Irish former prostitute. The St-Chinian family is, unsurprisingly, extremely upset by this, since everyone assumes Ellie, the bride, is a gold-digger. That would still be Veryl's choice, but due to vagaries of French colonial law, the family holdings are operated more like a shareholder-owned company than individual plantations. As one of the few still-living members of the oldest generation, Veryl holds a one-third vote over any matter relating to the family business, and as his wife – or widow – Ellie will hold an equal vote. Which means she could, theoretically, decide to sell off all the land and waltz away with the money – all the dozens of plantations, townhouses, business operations, and more owned by the St-Chinians – leaving hundreds of family members and their dependents destitute. Which, you know, it' hard to have much sympathy for a slave-owner losing his sugar plantation, but any such abrupt shift in ownership would put the slaves themselves in danger too.
Such is Ellie's ostracism from New Orleans high society that Veryl decides to hold the wedding on Cold Bayou, a small, remote plantation. Benjamin and Hannibal are hired to provide music for the ceremony; Chloe attends as Veryl's beloved niece, which means she brings Henri, which means he brings Dominique; Livia Levesque, Ben's mother, receives an invitation and would never refuse a chance to show off her social connections; Selwyn Singletary (previously appearing in Good Man Friday comes along as a Veryl's fellow old man who's more interested in Plato and calculus than business or family; and Rose is invited as perhaps the only person Veryl actually, simply, likes.
And so they all head off to isolation in Cold Bayou, where there's not enough guest rooms or food and everything immediately goes wrong. The priest doesn't show up on time, suitors of various young women make dramatic arrivals, spoiled young white men challenge one other to duels, Ellie's maid is having an affair with a fieldhand, the overseer is embezzling from the plantation, Ellie's uncle shows up to threaten anyone insulting his niece, and through it all the St-Chinians are doing everything they can to stop the wedding.
Matters escalate when Ellie's maid claims that Ellie holds the papers on a debt long-ago incurred by Simon Fourchet, Ben's former owner. If she's telling the truth, it means that Ben, his mother, his siblings, and all of their children are still legally enslaved. Ben tries to investigate this claim, but he doesn't get far before the maid is killed that night, presumably in a case of mistaken identity for Ellie herself. And as if things weren't bad enough, a storm causes the Mississippi to flood, trapping everyone on the plantation.
I absolutely loved this book. It has a really fun twist on the country-house genre (flooded sugar plantation is about as far as you can get from British country house, but they serve the same purpose!), and it was wonderful to see characters we hadn't gotten to spend time with in the most recent books, particularly Livia. She's so awful, but her scenes are some of my favorites.
I don't want to spoil the mystery, but the resolution is incredibly well-done. It speaks to how we can all be short-sighted, as readers and people; we – and Ben, at least at first - assume we know who's the main character in the story and who's only secondary, but the truth turns out to be very different.
I'm not sure I'd recommend this book as an introduction to the series, there's too many characters fans already know playing important parts. But if you're familiar with Ben January and co. already, you're sure to love this.
I read this as an ARC via NetGalley.
I realize it's been a while since I posted about Ben January, so let me take a moment to give an overview of the series. They are some of my favorite books of all time, and I can't recommend them highly enough. Set in New Orleans in the 1830s, they focus on Benjamin January, a free black man trained as a surgeon and classical piano player. Despite the 1830s being pre-Civil War, at the time New Orleans boasted a large population of 'gens de couleur libres ', or free people of color. It was a category of (often but not always) mixed race people, often (but not always) descendants or family members of women who served as mistresses to white men. In Spanish and French colonies, mistresses and children were (often but not always - do y'all get the sense that it's hard to put lines around this kind of thing yet?) freed and given money or employment, whereas in British colonies the color line tended to stay stronger, and mistresses and children were (often but not...) kept in slavery. This resulted in a system where British colonies had two groups of people – black and white – but French and Spanish ones had three – black, white, and "colored" – where the middle group was seen as distinct but containing some qualities of both the others. In New Orleans itself, this became codified in the "placée" system; interracial marriage was illegal, and so women of color in long-term romantic/sexual relationships with white men were described as being "placed" with him.
Anyway, all of this is just background to fun, well-written murder mysteries. Benjamin January was born into slavery, but freed as a young child when his mother became a placee. As a result, he was raised in relative privilege – highly educated (he speaks something like seven languages, including Latin), interested in music theory and scientific advances and Shakespeare, sent to France for schooling in medicine – but has never gotten over the violence and terror of his childhood, particularly his fear of potentially losing anyone he cares about at any time – and indeed, after he was freed he never saw his father (who remained enslaved) again. Ben's in his 40s in the books, when he stands 6'3 with broad shoulders to match and is very dark-skinned; this means everyone who meets him automatically assumes he's a field slave rather than a free man, which doesn't exactly help him get over his fears. Ben is such a fantastic main character; he's smart and cynical but with a deeply good heart (he literally saved puppies as a kid!), he loves meeting people and talking to them, he's snarky and sweet and gentle and also frequently gets to have adventure scenes like punching a giant alligator in the middle of a hurricane. Since the series are mysteries, he's repeatedly called on to investigate unusual deaths. At first this is usually to prove his own innocence – or that of a relative or close friend – who's been accused of murder, but as the books go on he's often asked to help simply because he now has a reputation for it.
The books are remarkable not just for Ben himself, but for his community. My favorites of the other characters are Rose and Hannibal. Rose is a free woman of color, born into that status but who has suffered in her own way, as a woman who more interested in math and microscopes than fashion or flirting. She's determined to open a school for girls of color, despite several setbacks. She's gawky and wears glasses and Ben is head-over-heels in love with her. Hannibal is their best friend, the only white man in New Orleans who isn't insanely racist (though even he makes mistakes sometimes). He works as a musician with Ben, and is clearly from some sort of aristocratic background, but has chosen to change his name and spend his days homeless and addicted to alcohol. He's also dying from TB (well, "dying"; 16 books and counting and he's still around), which means he is the designated woobie of the series, frequently being poisoned or kidnapped so that Ben has someone to rescue.
Ben's family is also fundamental to the series, including his mother (a heartless, awful person, but a stone-cold survivor down to her bones), his sister Olympe (a Voodoo Queen, and voodoo is taken seriously as a religion in these books, not just oooh zombies), and his half-sister Dominique (also a placee, she comes off as flighty and gossip-obsessed, but she's clever and loyal to a fault). Another important character is Abishag Shaw, a white police lieutenant who is sympathetic to Ben's attempts to find real justice and often provides off-the-books assistance.
The series is everything you could ask for in terms of diversity. As is obvious above, most of the characters are black or mixed race, but there are also important Native Americans, Muslims (including Ben's first wife), Latin@s, Jewish people, and gay characters. Hambly also uses the setting to discuss issues of discrimination that fall along the lines of gender, colorism, religion, language, class, disability, nationality, and more. The historical detail of 1830s New Orleans has obviously been incredibly well-researched and is depicted in great detail. But it's also just so much fun! Ben, Rose, and Hannibal in particular are immense nerds who spend a lot of time joking around with one another, there's adventure, there's suspense, there's immense amounts of competence porn, there's hurt/comfort, there's everything you could want. But the series is especially good for Found Family; Ben's efforts to gather and protect a community around himself is the central arc of the series, and breaks my heart every time. I mean, when it's not giving me joy.
In summary: READ THEM PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
Anyway. Back to Cold Bayou.
The sixteenth book in the Benjamin January series, Cold Bayou begins with the engagement of Veryl St-Chinian – sixty-seven, eccentric, and hermit-like – to an eighteen-year-old illiterate Irish former prostitute. The St-Chinian family is, unsurprisingly, extremely upset by this, since everyone assumes Ellie, the bride, is a gold-digger. That would still be Veryl's choice, but due to vagaries of French colonial law, the family holdings are operated more like a shareholder-owned company than individual plantations. As one of the few still-living members of the oldest generation, Veryl holds a one-third vote over any matter relating to the family business, and as his wife – or widow – Ellie will hold an equal vote. Which means she could, theoretically, decide to sell off all the land and waltz away with the money – all the dozens of plantations, townhouses, business operations, and more owned by the St-Chinians – leaving hundreds of family members and their dependents destitute. Which, you know, it' hard to have much sympathy for a slave-owner losing his sugar plantation, but any such abrupt shift in ownership would put the slaves themselves in danger too.
Such is Ellie's ostracism from New Orleans high society that Veryl decides to hold the wedding on Cold Bayou, a small, remote plantation. Benjamin and Hannibal are hired to provide music for the ceremony; Chloe attends as Veryl's beloved niece, which means she brings Henri, which means he brings Dominique; Livia Levesque, Ben's mother, receives an invitation and would never refuse a chance to show off her social connections; Selwyn Singletary (previously appearing in Good Man Friday comes along as a Veryl's fellow old man who's more interested in Plato and calculus than business or family; and Rose is invited as perhaps the only person Veryl actually, simply, likes.
And so they all head off to isolation in Cold Bayou, where there's not enough guest rooms or food and everything immediately goes wrong. The priest doesn't show up on time, suitors of various young women make dramatic arrivals, spoiled young white men challenge one other to duels, Ellie's maid is having an affair with a fieldhand, the overseer is embezzling from the plantation, Ellie's uncle shows up to threaten anyone insulting his niece, and through it all the St-Chinians are doing everything they can to stop the wedding.
Matters escalate when Ellie's maid claims that Ellie holds the papers on a debt long-ago incurred by Simon Fourchet, Ben's former owner. If she's telling the truth, it means that Ben, his mother, his siblings, and all of their children are still legally enslaved. Ben tries to investigate this claim, but he doesn't get far before the maid is killed that night, presumably in a case of mistaken identity for Ellie herself. And as if things weren't bad enough, a storm causes the Mississippi to flood, trapping everyone on the plantation.
I absolutely loved this book. It has a really fun twist on the country-house genre (flooded sugar plantation is about as far as you can get from British country house, but they serve the same purpose!), and it was wonderful to see characters we hadn't gotten to spend time with in the most recent books, particularly Livia. She's so awful, but her scenes are some of my favorites.
I don't want to spoil the mystery, but the resolution is incredibly well-done. It speaks to how we can all be short-sighted, as readers and people; we – and Ben, at least at first - assume we know who's the main character in the story and who's only secondary, but the truth turns out to be very different.
I'm not sure I'd recommend this book as an introduction to the series, there's too many characters fans already know playing important parts. But if you're familiar with Ben January and co. already, you're sure to love this.
I read this as an ARC via NetGalley.
February 16, 2021
I enjoyed this one, once I got past the opening chapters, which consist of a huge exposition dump full of French names.
Benjamin travels to a controversial wedding taking place at an isolated plantation. and becomes, as usual, embroiled in death and mystery, as his voodooiene sister foretold. There are interesting dynamics between the various factions at the wedding: the great white French Creole family; the “free people of color” who are part of the family “on the shady side of the street”; the bride’s low class Irish relations; and then all of their slaves and servants. Everyone has to be housed and fed and honored with exactly the correct etiquette.
Hambly is still finding new ways to endanger Benjamin and place his freedom in jeopardy; here she stirs up complications concerning the transaction where his mother, himself and his sister were purchased and freed by St-Denis Janvier more than 30 years earlier… which puts the freedom of all of their children in question, too.
Benjamin travels to a controversial wedding taking place at an isolated plantation. and becomes, as usual, embroiled in death and mystery, as his voodooiene sister foretold. There are interesting dynamics between the various factions at the wedding: the great white French Creole family; the “free people of color” who are part of the family “on the shady side of the street”; the bride’s low class Irish relations; and then all of their slaves and servants. Everyone has to be housed and fed and honored with exactly the correct etiquette.
Hambly is still finding new ways to endanger Benjamin and place his freedom in jeopardy; here she stirs up complications concerning the transaction where his mother, himself and his sister were purchased and freed by St-Denis Janvier more than 30 years earlier… which puts the freedom of all of their children in question, too.
August 3, 2021
Another fine historical mystery set in pre-USA New Orleans, a city whose rules in the early 19th century were ...unique.
I did learn about piseogs, pookas and platt-eyed devils; Oh, and “making jass”, in this story. Good to know.
I did learn about piseogs, pookas and platt-eyed devils; Oh, and “making jass”, in this story. Good to know.
January 1, 2020
Excellent addition to the Benjamin January series. Set in Plaquemines Parrish at an isolated plantation amidst the intrigue and convoluted relationships of the old French families of the region, the gens de couleur libres, the "American animals", and the slaves of late antebellum south (1839). As always, Hambly does a fine job of making the reader relate to the various characters, while in no way detracting from the horrors of slavery. Naturally the history is top drawer as well. Complex (but not contrived) plot. Good bit of action at the end.
May 18, 2021
This was clearly not my favorite Benjamin January novel. As much as I adore the series this particular installment left me very disappointed. It took me a while to finish reading this which is not the norm. I m used to devouring BJ novels and being left panting for more but not this time. The storyline was very good but the writing of it seem tired or as if the writer was struggling with it. The novel dragged on with no real excitement or anything that made me want to turn the page and keep reading. If Ms. Hambly didn't struggle writing it, I know I struggled to finish reading it. Sorry to say but if anymore BJ novels come out, I will think twice before buying them.
October 11, 2025
A great entry in the series that finds Ben in a particularly high-stakes situation where his very life and freedom are on the line. My only complaint is that we don’t see much of the excellent Rose in this volume, because Ben sends her away early to keep her safe.
The sweltering atmosphere of the summer Louisiana bayou has never been so visceral. The isolation of the small plantation where Ben and extended family are trapped during a flood felt positively harrowing.
As always, a highly recommended series.
The sweltering atmosphere of the summer Louisiana bayou has never been so visceral. The isolation of the small plantation where Ben and extended family are trapped during a flood felt positively harrowing.
As always, a highly recommended series.
January 26, 2019
I love the way Barbara Hambly writes -- her attention to detail, her careful research, her complex characters, her intricate plotting. I am a fan of everything: her SF homages, her historical novels, historical mysteries, historical horror series and her numerous fantasy series. I have been reading her books for the past 35 years and never have I been disappointed in a single one.
Cold Bayou is no exception. Once again Benjamin January, a “free man of color” in the dangerous turmoil of 1839 New Orleans, accepts what should be a simple job -- play music for a wedding -- and ends up embroiled in a tangled mess of murder that threatens both his freedom and his life. Along with the main storyline, Hambly as always weaves together the reality of slave life, the customs of Creole society and the ruthless dehumanizing practicality of considering people as possessions to illuminate a perilous world where even a free man must be careful of every word and every action to keep his loved ones safe and himself alive.
As with most series, the reading experience is richer if you start at the beginning. Benjamin January’s first adventure is “A Free Man of Color,” set in 1833, and Hambly’s rich historical details of the customs, politics and laws of the time provide such context for the actions and events that history itself becomes a recurring character. And now I’m gushing, but seriously—if you are a fan of historical American fiction, you should try this series.
Cold Bayou is no exception. Once again Benjamin January, a “free man of color” in the dangerous turmoil of 1839 New Orleans, accepts what should be a simple job -- play music for a wedding -- and ends up embroiled in a tangled mess of murder that threatens both his freedom and his life. Along with the main storyline, Hambly as always weaves together the reality of slave life, the customs of Creole society and the ruthless dehumanizing practicality of considering people as possessions to illuminate a perilous world where even a free man must be careful of every word and every action to keep his loved ones safe and himself alive.
As with most series, the reading experience is richer if you start at the beginning. Benjamin January’s first adventure is “A Free Man of Color,” set in 1833, and Hambly’s rich historical details of the customs, politics and laws of the time provide such context for the actions and events that history itself becomes a recurring character. And now I’m gushing, but seriously—if you are a fan of historical American fiction, you should try this series.
May 5, 2018
3 stars
I read the Kindle edition.
It is New Orleans in 1839. Benjamin January who is also a doctor has agreed to play the piano at the Cold Bayou wedding of Veryl St. Chinian – against his family’s wishes and without their support. Veryl is a sixty-seven year old wealthy land owner who is marrying an eighteen-year old woman named Ellie Trask. The wedding guests and the rest of the town consider her a worthless slut.
This book gives a good description of life in 1939 New Orleans - for white, slaves and free people of color. It describes the difficulties of even being a free person of color in those times, the countryside and the culture of the different “classes” of people.
I had a lot of trouble with the jargon in this book. Some of the terms that were used I did not understand. (I needed a dictionary of the local language at that time.) I had a difficult time getting past that. The novel is well written and I had a very hard time trying to assign a number grade to it because I didn’t understand so much of it. I suppose I could say that the author’s use of the local language at that time in history was very good. At least, I believe it was.
I want to thank NetGalley and Severn House for forwarding to me a copy of this interesting, but difficult novel to read and review.
I read the Kindle edition.
It is New Orleans in 1839. Benjamin January who is also a doctor has agreed to play the piano at the Cold Bayou wedding of Veryl St. Chinian – against his family’s wishes and without their support. Veryl is a sixty-seven year old wealthy land owner who is marrying an eighteen-year old woman named Ellie Trask. The wedding guests and the rest of the town consider her a worthless slut.
This book gives a good description of life in 1939 New Orleans - for white, slaves and free people of color. It describes the difficulties of even being a free person of color in those times, the countryside and the culture of the different “classes” of people.
I had a lot of trouble with the jargon in this book. Some of the terms that were used I did not understand. (I needed a dictionary of the local language at that time.) I had a difficult time getting past that. The novel is well written and I had a very hard time trying to assign a number grade to it because I didn’t understand so much of it. I suppose I could say that the author’s use of the local language at that time in history was very good. At least, I believe it was.
I want to thank NetGalley and Severn House for forwarding to me a copy of this interesting, but difficult novel to read and review.
February 15, 2019
The Benjamin January series goes on from strength to strength! This novel is enthralling and thought-provoking in equal measure. I am always amazed at the way Barbara Hambly keeps finding new aspects of the horrors of slavery to show us. This time, one of the most hideous is a legal twist that I hadn’t realized existed.
That aside, the ongoing characters are still wonderful. I was delighted to be given more depth about the internal workings about that ménage at the Viellard household with Henri, Benjamin’s sister Minou, their daughter Charmian, and Henri’s wife, Chloe. It’s a charming and precarious balance with so much potential for future stories.
As always, this is a fine, entertaining , and well-crafted novel, and well worth your time.
That aside, the ongoing characters are still wonderful. I was delighted to be given more depth about the internal workings about that ménage at the Viellard household with Henri, Benjamin’s sister Minou, their daughter Charmian, and Henri’s wife, Chloe. It’s a charming and precarious balance with so much potential for future stories.
As always, this is a fine, entertaining , and well-crafted novel, and well worth your time.
April 16, 2019
I can’t wait for more...
Can anyone be a better hero than Benjamin January? Every mystery gets more complex and more fascinating and every adventure makes me love him more
Unfortunately, though I’ll always love New Orleans, each adventure also makes me feel so relieved that I didn’t have to navigate the society of The United States in the 1800s. I can barely stomach some of my fellow citizens now. Racism remains incomprehensible to me.
Can anyone be a better hero than Benjamin January? Every mystery gets more complex and more fascinating and every adventure makes me love him more
Unfortunately, though I’ll always love New Orleans, each adventure also makes me feel so relieved that I didn’t have to navigate the society of The United States in the 1800s. I can barely stomach some of my fellow citizens now. Racism remains incomprehensible to me.
January 10, 2019
Just amazing
I couldn't put this book down. I read through until I finished. It was wonderful to spend time with the extended Janvier family again. Tightly written and fast moving, a real page turner. Highly recommended.
I couldn't put this book down. I read through until I finished. It was wonderful to spend time with the extended Janvier family again. Tightly written and fast moving, a real page turner. Highly recommended.
August 19, 2018
Still my favorite historical series of all time.
October 8, 2018
Hope this is not the last of Benjamin
Tense & frightening times for all the Janviers. Wonderfully tight story. Pease let there be more of Ben, Rose, Olympe, et al
Tense & frightening times for all the Janviers. Wonderfully tight story. Pease let there be more of Ben, Rose, Olympe, et al
November 20, 2018
Another winner by Barbara Hambly. Complicated plot, mainly because it uses family dynamics and relations and inheritances. A really volatile mix.
November 30, 2018
I couldn't put this one down. The rich tapestry ofcharacters, customs, and history makes the Benjamin January series a solid read.
June 6, 2019
I adore the Benjamin January series. This one did not disappoint. Highly recommend.
November 25, 2020
An excellent addition to this series.
July 10, 2018
Another well-written novel in the Benjamin January series. This time, Benjamin and his fellow musicians are engaged to play at a May-December wedding at an isolated plantation. His mother, wife, and sister are all also attending the wedding. Much drama ensues surrounding the antecedents of the bride and her worthiness (or lack thereof) in the eyes of the groom's family. There is the requisite murder, and much trouble for Benjamin as he must prove his innocence. Hambly does an excellent job of explaining exactly why the family is in such a tizzy over the somewhat elderly groom's choice (very complicated inheritance issues), and why the wedding is not taking place in the city, as well as delineating the social mores of 1839 New Orleans. This is a wonderful series, showing (instead of telling) the issues people of color dealt with in nineteenth century America. As another Good Reads reviewer points out, it's a pity that this series hasn't been picked up by PBS, or some of the novels made into films. However, I think it would be difficult to explain many of the social issues in a visual format, and quite frankly, I doubt that the majority of the viewing public has any real knowledge of the history of New Orleans and gens de couleur libres. I'd like to express my gratitude to Severn House and NetGalley, who provided an eARC in return for an honest review.
January 7, 2019
I am a huge fan of the Benjamin January novels, and the latest entry in the series is no exception to the excellence I've come to expect.
This time, Benjamin and his extended family have been invited to a wedding at Cold Bayou. One of the white family members, elderly Veryl St. Chinian, is getting married ... to 18-year-old Elizabeth Trask. Even the family members of color are invited (Uncle Veryl recognizes that there are family members on both sides of the blanket) because otherwise the affair will be sparsely attended. There is strong disapproval on both sides of the marital aisle, as it turns out.
Benjamin's sister, voodooienne Olympia Snakebones, tells him not to go ... because there will be death in blood, water, and fire. Not one for superstitions, Benjamin disregards her advice ... even though it sticks in his mind.
Soon enough, there is indeed a murder ... and all kinds of additional intrigue to boot.
As always, the book is ripe with historical detail, and peopled with interesting characters. Even the theoretical "good guys" have their flaws, and the theoretical "villains" have their reasons.
Highly recommended.
This time, Benjamin and his extended family have been invited to a wedding at Cold Bayou. One of the white family members, elderly Veryl St. Chinian, is getting married ... to 18-year-old Elizabeth Trask. Even the family members of color are invited (Uncle Veryl recognizes that there are family members on both sides of the blanket) because otherwise the affair will be sparsely attended. There is strong disapproval on both sides of the marital aisle, as it turns out.
Benjamin's sister, voodooienne Olympia Snakebones, tells him not to go ... because there will be death in blood, water, and fire. Not one for superstitions, Benjamin disregards her advice ... even though it sticks in his mind.
Soon enough, there is indeed a murder ... and all kinds of additional intrigue to boot.
As always, the book is ripe with historical detail, and peopled with interesting characters. Even the theoretical "good guys" have their flaws, and the theoretical "villains" have their reasons.
Highly recommended.
October 4, 2021
This was a far much better story than Murder in July that I think I read a year ago. Benjamin January is one of my favorite amateur detectives. His life takes me to a place I would never experience even if I went back in time. The one issue I had with the story was a scene where he and Rose were walking around outside when a storm was coming in. They were out near the bayou at a plantation and had a candle. No where did it mention them protecting the flame from the wind, which seemed unrealistic to me. I also kept thinking that the character, Ellie's maid, Valla dead body was going to turn out to be really Ellie and that Valla was pretending to be Ellie. The reason being was because at one point in the story Ellie was wearing one of Valla's dresses and January's lady relatives disguised her as Valla by covering her hair with the turban thing that ladies of color wore in that culture. Anyway, as it turned out the dead body was really Valla and not Ellie's as I kept thinking.
August 25, 2020
I loved this one - the scheming little tramp that EVERYone can see coming from a mile away, the plantation in the middle of nowhere, the storm, the full cast of characters, so far as Ben's family is concerned. Hambly had me actually worried for Livia and Dominique in the middle, which never happens - Ben is constantly at hazard, Olympe occasionally, but in this one NO one is safe. Hambly nails the atmospheric danger of the wild places of Lousiana.
Great title, too. Nobody should go anywhere near a place called Cold Bayou.
I do miss Shaw. I can see why she moved away from him, he's a bit of a superman in his few appearances as a lawman. But I always enjoy him.
Great title, too. Nobody should go anywhere near a place called Cold Bayou.
I do miss Shaw. I can see why she moved away from him, he's a bit of a superman in his few appearances as a lawman. But I always enjoy him.
October 4, 2021
I agree with others that the Benjamin January stories are deserving of being a mini-series or television movie. Even though parts of Benjamin January's family are FOC (free people of color) they are still considered second class citizens of New Orleans in the 1830s and could easily lose their freedoms. There is also the placee system. White men could have black women placed into a family situation (this gave the women and their families a great many privileges. There are many recurring characters, murders, and a good hurricane and good background of the various class systems in New Orleans at this time. A very interesting book.
September 16, 2018
It's been a while, since the last "Ben January" novel, and once I started it, falling deeply under the influence, I realized that I missed Hambly's evocative prose. The underlying tension of being a "free man of color", in 19th century New Orleans, permeates every page. No matter the current plot, which in this case is exceptional(one of the best of the series!), Hambly makes you feel as if you're right there, in the midst of that time, and place. Though she writes in multiple genres, this is her strongest, in my opinion. I highly recommend this author, and this series.
January 5, 2019
Evidently Hambly decided to just keep amping up Benjamin’s torture in every chapter, which is somewhat annoying. The mystery is quite complicated. There is little of Rose or Hannibal in the novel, which is rather disappointing.
January is hired to play at a wedding at a remote plantation. His voodoo sister tells him NOT to go; the location shows death. However, the pay is good in a depressing summer, and a good friend/patient will be attending.
I do wish they would put family trees at the start of these novels. Keeping track of all the complex relationships is challenging.
January is hired to play at a wedding at a remote plantation. His voodoo sister tells him NOT to go; the location shows death. However, the pay is good in a depressing summer, and a good friend/patient will be attending.
I do wish they would put family trees at the start of these novels. Keeping track of all the complex relationships is challenging.
December 8, 2019
Despite warnings of danger, Benjamin feels obligated to go to Cold Bayou for a wedding gathering — a wedding no one in the groom's family really wants to actually happen. Not merely because of the disparity in age, station, or ancestry, but also because of the effect it may have on future ownership of the family properties. In addition, stormy weather threatens the festivities. But what happens next is a surprise, and puts Benjamin, along with his entire family, in danger. Wonderfully evocative, full of interesting characters, and an unusual plot. Highly recommended.
August 19, 2018
Another exceptional book from Hambly. Benjamin January is one of my favorite characters. I do with Hannibal and Rose had been in the book more. This one takes place on a plantation house called Cold Bayou, during the time leading up to a wedding. There is a storm, flooding, and, of course, a murder. Hambly does meticulous research, which isn't always comfortable to read, as these books are set in the early 1800's, in an area that runs on slavery.
October 27, 2018
I really enjoyed the complexities of this novel. The rich dialogue and use of language really helped to bring the Creole French society in New Orleans to life as well as the changes that were happening in Louisiana with more "Americans" settling and bringing their traditions with them. The mystery itself was interesting and one didn't know for sure the identity of the killer until the very end. There is a lot of tension between the characters and with the plot as well.
March 4, 2021
It's been years since I read a book in this series which features the son of a Placee in New Orleans during slavery who was educated as a Dr in France and moonlights as a detective. They are all good and show how New Orleans at that time was an interesting mix of slaves, freedmen, Creoles, etc. with the "Americans" being contemptible newcomers. Benjamin January solves many mysteries at his own peril!
April 1, 2019
Loved it! Not the strongest plot of the Benjamin January series. It was interesting with some twists and turns. Chloe Veillard plays an unexpected role. Henri and Dominique have the supporting roles. Rose is hardly around having been sent off to keep the kids safe. Hannibal is off running an errand. Abishag Shaw doesn't make an appearance. Benjamin January is my hero.
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