Graveyard Dust (Benjamin January, Book 3) (Hardcover)

by Barbara Hambly (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Benjamin January's life is such a mixture of exotic elements and influences that Barbara Hambly's historical mysteries about him often seem to be in danger of exploding. There's his very black skin in a society that equates lightness to class; his shaky status as a free man in 1830s slave-owning New Orleans; the music that he loves but now has to play at parties to make a living because he can't practice as a doctor in America. Graveyard Dust, the third in Hambly's fine series, adds the murky religion of voodoo to the mixture. Ben's older sister, Olympe, practices that ancient art and winds up being charged with murder by a frightened and suspicious police force. Then there's the yellow fever epidemic that has broken out, threatening not only public health but the financial future of several powerful citizens.

What keeps the book on track across all this colorful terrain is Hambly's uncanny ability to constantly show us the connections to our own place and time. January is always recognizable as our representative of strength and morality, even if he seems at times to be carrying unbearable burdens. Few mysteries have as much humanity and history in their list of ingredients. --Dick Adler

From Publishers Weekly
Voodoo deities and infectious diseases pervade the fetid summer atmosphere of the latest Benjamin January adventure. A musician, surgeon and free man of color in 1834 New Orleans, Ben is also a sleuth. Now he must investigate the recent death of one Isaak Jumon in order to free his own sister, Olympe, a voodoo priestess who has been accused of abetting the murder by supplying a poison to Isaak's young wife. But the woman claims that she did not buy poison from Olympe, rather that she obtained a hex directed at Isaak's avaricious mother, the widow of a wealthy New Orleans plantation owner. Ben's encounters with the city's intricate stratification of wealth, color, religion and nationality give this third in the series (after the acclaimed Fever Season) considerable texture. While he unravels the mystery, Ben also struggles on personal fronts: to recover from the loss of his wife to cholera; to stem the current epidemics of cholera and yellow fever, to endure the injustices of his society; to accept his sister's voodoo practices despite his Catholic beliefs. Hambly's plot, which revolves around evils confined to no race or class, is complex and often hard to track, but its emotional authenticity, varied cast and rich historical trappings give the novel power and depth. (July)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (July 6, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553102591
• ISBN-13: 978-0553102598
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,835,734 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 3 in The Benjamin January Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, August 26, 1999

By A Customer

I have been reading Barbara Hambly's science fiction for years. When I saw that she had written a series of books based on a free man of color, as an African American I was skeptical of what her view would be. I have been pleasantly surprised. I could not put Fever Season down and anxiously waited for Graveyard Dust.

Both books are meals which should be slowly savored, with new tastes and smells to entice the palate on every page. I think the characterizations are on the money, with Benjamin's mother an excellent case in point. I like Rose Vitrac the best, but I have known Dominique's and the rest of the crowd in my life, as well as Olympe's and Benjamin's. I think Olympe's character could be better developed but I'm sure this is something the author will work on.

I suggest readers sit back and read slowly. The reward is great.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book to Read and Read Again, August 19, 2000

By	"grnjade77" (Garden Grove, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Graveyard Dust (Benjamin January, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)

I have read and re-read Graveyard Dust and found it as entralling the second time as it was on the first reading. I was especially happy to see that Barbara Hambly has included all the characters that have become important in Benjamin Janvier's life and that they do not "disappear" with the completion of the previous novel. With each book, Barbara Hambly enriches the fabric of the life of Benjamin Janvier. She maintains the family relationships and a circle of friends that make you want to know more about this fascinating man of her creation.

I was happy to see the relationship between Benjamin and Hannibal grow with the ease of witty remarks passed back and forth and to see the inclusion of Herr and Madame Mayerling, Rose Vitrac and Abishag Shaw. What makes Barbara Hambly's books so much better is her attention to details of the real world. One may look at a map of New Orleans and identify the streets named in the book. One may study history and see the names of real people woven into her story with consummate skill. You may scent the air, hear the clip-clop of horses hooves in the street, feel the humidity and see the afternoon light. You are immersed in the setting and have a sense that you could walk the streets where they once walked.

Here, in Graveyard Dust, Barbara Hambly gives us a detailed view of the practice of voodoo with Hollywood glamourizing. It was, (and still is), much a part of the daily lives of the people of New Orleans. While Benjamin Janvier may not agree with his sister Olympe`'s praticing of voodoo, he will still risk all to clear the charges of conspiracy to murder and to bring his somewhat fragmented family back to a whole. He will look beyond the surface of what things appear to be and fight the contraints of "custom".

While it may not be the focus of the book, I enjoyed the under underlying theme of bringing a family closer together, of getting to know each other again and of honor and loyalty to the diverse group of friends she has stitched together. Benjamin's patient, budding relationship with Rose makes a reader hopeful for them.

Barbara Hambly's goal may be to entertain, but with this series of stories about Benjamin Janvier, I have found my self returned to a slower pace and educated about a landmark time in American history, a place where good manners and grammar were observed in public and the world didn't move at the speed of a telephone cable. Time to move over and retire Anne Rice, Barbara Hambly is the new reigning Queen of New Orleans.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An intelligent, well-researched suspense novel, September 19, 1999

By A Customer

I happened to pick up this third book about Ben January without having read the first two books or knowing the author. Ms. Hambley has a new fan in me! Her charachterizations drew me to the New Orleans of 1834 and kept me there through the last line of the book.