Barbara Hambly is a reliable author for me. I know that she does her history homework and one of her greatest strengths is her ability to evoke vivid settings that are grounded in detail. Although Benjamin January's story here takes place in 1839 New Orleans and 1830 Paris, her characters feel utterly real and the sights, smells and sounds of the places she describes feel as though I could step right into them.

The mystery in this book is twofold. A man has turned up dead in one of the sewage ridden canals in New Orleans, and the mixed race woman he was staying with has been charged with his murder. She'll almost certainly hang for the murder since no one cares much about a colored woman on her own. Unless Benjamin looks into it. He does this for his sister Olympe, and also because something about the situation reminds him of Paris 9 years ago....

In that time, another young woman went to prison and is in danger of execution for the murder of a man ( this time her husband's lover) and January ends up getting involved because of his friendship with the family.

There's the possibility of a hidden fortune that several unsavory characters are after and who are in competition with January to get information. There is January's fear of getting himself and his family (his wife is just about to give birth to their second child) involved in danger. And there's that instinct towards helping those with no other help receive justice that has gotten January in trouble before.

I didn't know anything about the July days in Paris- really I don't know much about what happened in France after Napoleon's time came to an end. So that was educational for me. The mystery itself- the pieces come to light after the author wants you to see them. I don't really read these for the mysteries any more.

I ended up skimming the last part of the book because I got impatient with waiting for all of the plot threads to come together, and that's why I didn't rate the book higher.

The 15th book in the Benjamin January series of historical murder mysteries. In July 1839, New Orleans, the body of an Englishman is found in the canal. The British Consulate asks Ben to investigate, revealing that the dead man is linked to a theft of money and secret papers. Ben, wisely, wants nothing to do with international spies and the trouble therein, but soon after he refuses his sister Olympe convinces him to get involved after all, since an innocent black woman has been accused of the murder and is certain to hang for it if no better suspect is uncovered. As Ben begins to follow the clues, he suspects that he once knew the dead man under another name: back in July 1830 in Paris. There, during the July Revolution, Ben came across another dead body, one which didn't belong on the barricades with the students and workers. It was the boyfriend of Daniel Ben-Gideon, a good friend of Ben's. When Daniel's wife Anne (who is entirely uninterested sexually in her husband, their marriage being purely political, and who in fact quite liked the boyfriend) is imprisoned for the murder, Ben must again find the real killer to save her from the guillotine. The narrative moves back and forth between the two mysteries, that of 1839 and 1830, until they reach their climaxes simultaneously, revealing that the murders are linked in more ways than one, and are tied not just to Ben's past, but to Hannibal's – who was himself in Paris in July 1830 – as well.

It's a book about the unforeseen consequences of past actions, about the past as a foreign country (sometimes literally), and how regret and hope can mix together into a single emotion. You can't step twice into the same river, Ben repeats to himself many times, and that is the fundamental thread of this story. It's a fantastic depiction of loss and memory and gray, rainy mornings, a mood that lingers even when the mystery is solved, and Hambly's writing is as lovely and evocative as always.

It's a Benjamin January book, so obviously I loved it. It's got all the usual Ben January elements: rich historical detail, attention to underrepresented groups (Murder in July, in addition to the usual suspects, has a great deal about homophobia and anti-semitism), and vivid secondary characters. Among those newly introduced, Anne is just incredible, and I'd love to read so much more about her.

However, the frequent switching between the two time periods made it difficult for me to follow the separate plots. On the other hand, I did love the way their themes paralleled by the end, and I'm not sure how anyone could have told this story except by running through them concurrently, but that didn't make keeping straight the many, many minor characters and red herrings less of a slog.

But, you know, it's still a Benjamin January book, and that means I could never recommend it highly enough.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2654052781

Barbara Hambly who writes historical fiction, science fiction, vampire novels, and historical mysteries is an author to discover and savor. Her series of historical mysteries featuring Benjamin January, of which Murder in July is the latest installment, are historically accurate novels set in the mid 19 th century in and around New Orleans and other locations in the south. What sets these books apart is that January is a mixed race doctor and how he navigates the south and becomes embroiled in mysterious affairs is fascinating. Hambly has an encyclopedic knowledge and writes for readers of intelligence. Highly recommended

This is the first novel of Benjamin January that I have read and I would like to thank the publishers for the advance copy I received. I don't normally read historical fiction set in America, usually sticking to European historical fiction which I know more about. But the writing in this is so good, it hooked me straight away and now I want to read them all. It was definitely a disadvantage not reading any of the previous novels, however, I learned a lot about that period of time, and the way Creole people were treated in Louisiana at that time. I loved the characters, and the novel was fast-paced and engrossing.

Barbara Hambly immerses her mystery solver, Benjamin January, in solving murders in Paris, 1830, at the time of the overthrow of the Bourbons, and in New Orleans in 1839. Murder in July concerns Benjamin with a British spymaster whose courier has been murdered and delicate papers stolen, but the victim also was involved with the Parisian murder. At the time Benjamin failed to save an innocent woman from the guillotine, now he must find the perpetrator and the papers in order to rescue his kidnapped wife and the second woman wrongfully accused of murder. Brilliantly depicts the mixed race community in slave holding New Orleans.

Thanks Severn House and netgalley for this ARC.

A glimpse of New Orleans after the civil war plus back flashes to Paris before the Revolution make this mystery all the more suspenseful and thrilling.

I have not read this series in years so thanks to Netgalley for the ARC which reintroduced us. The thing is, even with that gap, I was quickly able to get into the story and enjoy Hambly's unique characters Benjamin and Rose. He's fascinating and she, well, she's a wonder for her time, This moves back and forth between 1830 Paris and New Orleans in 1839. What was most interesting to me, however, was the portrait of New Orleans in this time frame, complete with the racial issues. The mystery of who killed Sir John's friend is a tool to set off the back story for Benjamin. It's well researched and written and I learned something, not only about New Orleans but also Bourbon France. Try this one, even if you haven't read the others for a very character driven plot rich historical mystery.

Not for me. I just couldn't get into the story, whether it is because this is number 15 in the series or not I am unsure.

I'm a long-time fan of this series, and enjoy Benjamin January's flashbacks to his past in Paris. This particular volume was very much rooted in his Paris life. A dead man found floating in a canal has links to his past, and a murder in Paris during the revolt against the Bourbon monarchy. A free woman of color is accused of the New Orleans murder, and Ben must find the true murderer to protect her and his own family. As always, a totally engrossing, well-written mystery.

Murder in July is the continuing saga of Benjamin January. Ben is the son of slaves, whose mother became the mistress of a wealthy French planter who owned her. He cared for Ben and his sister, Olympe, as well as his own. Hild, Ben's half-sister Dominque. Ben received an education and was sent to Paris to study medicine.

In Murder in July, it is 1838. Ben is married to Rose, a teacher, and they have a son and another baby due any moment. They are getting their home readied for the new school year. An old acquaintance asks Ben to look into the murder of a man found in the Free Black area of New Orleans. From there the story moves between New Orleans in 1838 and Paris in 1830. Ben untangles the mystery of two deaths so many years apart.

Barbara Hambly captures the essence of both New Orleans and Paris during times of great change. Parisians are rebelling against Louis VIII ascending the throne. New Orleans is changing from French to American which poses great danger for Free Blacks. She populates her story with richly developed characters. If you just want a good mystery, you can read it as a stand alone. It deserves the full experience. Start with the first book.

I’ve always been a big fan of Benjamin January (and Barbara Hambly) so I was more than thrilled when this came up in the Net Galley queue to be reminded of the series. The last book I read in the series was Die Upon a Kiss, which is #5, so I have a ton of catching up to do, happily, as Murder in July is #15.

In 1839 New Orleans, Benjamin, as ever, is content, living his life with his wife Rose and their growing family. Both a surgeon and a musician, he and Rose are preparing their home to become a boarding school for girls, the children of well-off white men and their mistresses of color.

But along comes Sir John Oldmixton with an offer Benjamin can’t refuse. Not only is the money much needed, as Rose is also very pregnant, but a friend of Sir John Oldmixton has been found dead, possibly murdered, and his mistress, a free woman of color, has been accused of killing him. Benjamin is often called upon the maneuver between the overlapping of the borders of the whites and people of color. What makes this situation even odder, is that he recognizes the weapon used as to belonging to a woman he knew nine years before in Paris during the second revolution. She, too, was accused of a murder she didn’t commit, and Benjamin is sucked once more into the past as it bleeds into the present.

The mystery and the history blend seamlessly to recreate this world of the antebellum South and 1830s Paris, totally absorbing. The characters and their motives are realistically drawn, and the ending very satisfying.