Complex in plotting, rich in atmosphere and written in powerful, lucid prose, this compelling mystery holds its secrets until a horrifying, compelling finale. January's queries are further complicated by the disappearance of his friend Cora, who may be implicated in theft and murder. He even forms an unlikely alliance with a coarse, yet astute, white police lieutenant. Are they dying? Are they being abducted to be resold as slaves? Although chronically fatigued from his multiple occupations (he gives piano lessons to eke out his income) and the demands of his eccentric family, he nonetheless manages to begin a discreet investigation that will involve some unique and idiosyncratic individuals including street people, con men and aristocrats. Now, even in the chaotic mayhem of an epidemic, January becomes aware of a disturbing fact: free people of color are disappearing. Now he returns in another novel of greed, madness, and murder amid the dark shadows and dazzling society of old New Orleans, named a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times. But his position at Charity Hospital is precarious-accepted in his own mixed-race society, he is scorned by most whites. Benjamin January made his debut in bestselling author Barbara Hambly’s A Free Man of Color, a haunting mélange of history and mystery. The Paris-trained physician, still grieving for his recently deceased wife, is back in New Orleans after a 16-year absence and his now treating the victims of a raging cholera epidemic. But if she does it to me one more time, that will be the end.Learned black surgeon Benjamin January returns from his debut as protagonist in A Free Man of Color (1997) to utilize his considerable skills in a graphic and compelling story based on events that transpired in 1834. I can't imagine she wrote 8 more books that all have that bloat in the middle. This author has a lot of potential, and I will probably return to this series after giving it a good rest.

Perhaps if I hadn't had my reading time fractured of late, I would have sailed over the sloggy bits and not minded them so much. There's a good story in there, and it's based in part on an actual event. This historical mystery novel of cruelty, madness and murder conjures up the deadly, suffocating atmosphere of 19th century New Orleans during an outbreak of. As it was, I nearly gave up entirely around the 200th page and the 30th iteration of the main character's need to watch his tongue when speaking to whites. If it had been sharply edited and cut by about 50 pages, it would have made a truly suspenseful read. This sophomore outing has a better plot line than the first, but it's almost smothered to death by the author's repetitive style and unnecessary incidents illustrating points that no longer need to be made.

Fever Season by Barbara Hambly