Death and Hard Cider is the 19th Benjamin January novel by Barbara Hambly. Released 7th June 2022 by Severn House, it's 256 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats. Paperback due out 1st quarter 2023. It's worth
noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents
as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with
interactive formats.
These books are superbly well written. The author manages to convey the
very real peril of living as a person of color in the southern USA in
the 1840s. Despite being a European trained physician and gifted
musician, Dr. January is continually at risk of being kidnapped and
forced into slavery.
It works well as a standalone, the mystery (less of a murder
mystery and more of a 'how will they get out of this alive') and
parallel plots work very well without previous familiarity with the
series. I do recommend reading the series, however, for the consistently
high quality of the plotting, the depth and realism of the scenery and characterizations as well as the
meticulous historical research. The books are full of the casual racist
violence which was endemic to that part of the world, and they could
have been relentlessly depressing. The author manages to imbue the
characters with nobility, grit, purpose, honesty, and even a touch of
humor and whimsy (especially the relationship between Hannibal and Rose, which is wonderful).
Four and a half stars for this book, and five stars for the series. Highly recommended for fans of historical mystery. I love these books and truly look forward to every installment with anticipation.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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