Cold Bayou

Cold Bayou is the 16th Benjamin January mystery from author Barbara Hambly. Released 31st May 2018 by Severn House, it's 256 pages and available in hardcover, paperback, and ebook formats.

I've been with this series from the beginning and can't think of many other series in any genre which have maintained strength and, frankly, still have remarkably astute things to say after more than a dozen books. This series hasn't ever disappointed. The characterizations are astute and the dignity, intelligence, and humor of Dr. January are inspiring and (to me, a middle class white woman who is also a medical professional) humbling. I really like these characters and feel invested in them.

Ms. Hambly is a gifted and prolific author with several series in several genres. All of her books which I've read are well plotted and written and Cold Bayou is no exception. It seems to be meticulously and accurately researched and the portrayals of the brutality and casual cruelty and racism are stark.

I was previously unaware of the legal intricacies involved in consolidation and control in farming in the south during that period. There is graphic violence and sexual violence in the book. The language is mild (hell, damn, and such). This is a dark and melancholy book, but so well written and the denouement resonated with me for a long while after turning the last page.

I sincerely hope that the author has many more stories for us.

Five stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes

Barbara Hambly's books are hard for me to review. It's stupid and annoying that bad books are so much easier to blather on about than the good ones, but (as I say probably too often) it's easier to pinpoint why something is not good than why it is. And honestly, all my reviews of Ms Hambly's books start looking pretty much the same - amazing characters, superb settings I feel I could step into (but wouldn't necessarily want to), and the sort of prose I would sacrifice a body part to be able to produce. (Depending on the body part.)

These characters ... As a friend, I want Benjamin January to have an easy, happy life - but if that were the case, then as a reader I would be bereft. Rose is either someone I want as my best friend, or who I want to be (or both). And Hannibal Sefton is one of my favorite characters in fiction. Minou, Olympe and her family, Henri, Mme Janvier, and of course Abishag Shaw are all practically kin by now.

The racial and class dynamics of 1800's New Orleans (and its environs) are an inexhaustible setting for these stories to play out. The intricacies of rank and position and society peculiar to this place and time make even a fairly common trope - infatuated rich gentleman sets out to marry a young woman less than a third his age - fresh and intriguing. No one can wage class warfare like the ladies of New Orleans, wherever they fall in the pecking order. And no one can wend their way through all of that intricacy and intrigue, keeping their heads with an often sardonic air while all those around them are losing theirs, better than Benjamin and his (dare I say) Scooby Gang.

I miss Barbara Hambly's non-vampire fantasies - but as long as there are Ben January books, the world is a better place.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher, from whom I received a copy of this book for review.