Reviews

• アメリカ版「家政婦は見た！」

  黒人の家政婦であるブランチが、ひょんなことから、派遣先の家庭での殺人事件に巻き込まれるという、ブランチ・シリーズの第１巻！ 犯人が家族の一人であるという確信をもちながら、素知らぬ顔をして掃除をし、食事を作っては給仕をする緊迫感。そして、自分も殺されてしまうかもしれない恐怖．．．日常にある怖さ。 作品のもうひとつの面白みは、ブランチの個性にあります。彼女の発する、的を得たつぶやきがいいです。「私は黒人だし、差別されてるし、たしかに今は貧しい家政婦だけど、人間的にはあなたたち白人とちっとも変わらないのよ。っていうか、マシなくらいよ！」っていうブランチ節がいい！それでいて、すごく肩肘はっているわけでもない。芯は強いけれど、寂しくなる時もあるし、物思いに耽る夜もある。私は、この自然体で、かつ人間くさいブランチの姿に、年齢も、人種（という区別は好きではありませんが）も、社会的立場も、職業も違うのに、なんともいえない親近感を感じてしまいました。 時にはユーモアを交えて描かれる人物像、夜の庭や台所の雰囲気などの風景描写、そして何よりブランチの言葉や行動．．．。簡潔な文章ですが、とても生き生きと描かれています。そして、ヒューマンものかと思いきや、後半は手に汗握らせてくれる．．．是非追いかけて行きたいシリーズです。

• Blanche is an interesting sleuth as Blache on the Lam is an interesting book. Blanche works as a house help and is very cautious and conscious of her class and race and the associations they bring along. She is intelligent, sassy and strong. But when the book opens she is in a fix because her cheques have bounced and the judge has sent her to 30 days in prison. But Blanche is worried about her kids and herself and makes for a run before she can be taken to the prison. As fate would have it, she lands a temporary job in a household which is strange and soon enough, where a murder takes place. Blanche is afraid that she might be easy to implicate in it and therefore needs to solve the murder and find the culprit. An intesresting reading where the issues of race are ever present and which give this novel an edge.

• Although totally different to most, it brought home what a different life for ablack person and she had great character.

• This is the first book in a series of cozy mysteries featuring amateur sleuth Blanche White. Blanche is a terrific character. She is smart, resourceful, perceptive, likable, and hard working. Through her eyes, we see the racism, sexism, and class discrimination that are directed toward Blanche and other Black domestic employees. It is not a heavy diatribe about racism, sexism, or class discrimination, but those issues are realistically portrayed as part of the story. The first book in a series is always difficult because the author must establish the continuing characters, the premise, and the setting, all while telling a story that is entertaining so that the reader will want to continue with the series. This well-written book succeeded in all of that. Through a series of quirky events, Blanche finds herself on the run from the law after a writing a bad check. When she arrives where help was expected, she is hired on the spot and whisked away to a country home with a motley family of characters. Blanche is always aware of her surroundings and underestimated by the family. She quickly sees that things are not copacetic and begins to put pieces of the puzzle together. The story unfolds at a brisk pace, so the pages turn quickly. There are murders, but no gruesome details. There is some adult language, but it is unlikely to be offensive unless you have an exceptionally low tolerance for that. This is not a literary mystery, but it is entertaining, and I will be reading more in the series. Five stars minus, only because it is not series that I would pre-order and anticipate.

• The protagonist is real and believable, not some super sleuth. The story is also believable, warm and human, even with its quirky characters.

• Je peux recommander Blanche on the Lam pour tout le monde qui aime lire des 'detectives' non-conventionels. Le livre, qui raconte l'histoire d'une 'amateur detective' qui essaye de découvrir qui a assassiné un homme de police et un de ses nouveaux amis, est également une critique des stéréotypes sociales, raciales et culturelles.

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