Bestselling author Barbara Hambly’s A Free Man of Color and Fever Season established Benjamin January as one of mystery’s most exciting heroes. Now he returns in a powerful new novel, a sensual mosaic of old New Orleans, where cultures clash and murder can hover around every darkened corner.
It is St. John’s Eve in the summer of 1834 when Benjamin January—Creole physician and music teacher—is shattered by the news that his sister has been arrested for murder. The Guards have only a shadow of a case against her. But Olympe—mystical and rebellious—is a woman of color, whose chance for justice is slim.
As Benjamin probes the allegation, he is targeted by a new threat: graveyard dust sprinkled at his door, whispering of a voodoo death curse. Now, to save Olympe’s life—and his own—Benjamin knows he must glean information wherever he can find it. For in the heavy darkness of New Orleans, the truth is what you make it, and justice can disappear with the night’s warm breeze as easy as graveyard dust.
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“January proves [to be] the ideal guide…The keenest observer of the custom of the country.”
— New York Times
“Hambly brings to life a culture so different it might be another world…Fascinating.”
— Denver Post“Emotional authenticity…and rich historical trappings give the novel power and depth.”
— Publishers WeeklyBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Barbara Hambly has written novels in many genres, from mysteries to science fiction and fantasy. Four of her science fiction novels made the New York Times bestsellers list, and her historical mystery novels have won awards and consistently earn starred reviews. She holds a degree in medieval history from the University of California and teaches at a local college.
Ron Butler is a Los Angeles–based actor, Earphones Award–winning audiobook narrator, and voice artist with over a hundred film and television credits. Most kids will recognize him from the three seasons he spent on Nickelodeon’s True Jackson, VP. He works regularly as a commercial and animation voice-over artist and has voiced a wide variety of audiobooks. He is a member of the Atlantic Theater Company and an Independent Filmmaker Project Award winner for his work in the HBO film Everyday People.