Blanche on the Lam

Winner of the Agatha, Macavity and Anthony Awards. Neely's deftly written first novel pays tribute to the community and culture of a working-class African American woman who becomes both a sleuth and a fugitive from the law. – Publishers Weekly.A unique literary creation. . . . an independent black woman who doesn’t feel incomplete without a man; a maid unapologetic about her profession; and a deeply spiritual woman who finds solace speaking to the Ancestors. – The Boston Globe. It’s hard enough making ends meet on the pittance Blanche White earns doing day work for genteel Southern families. But when her fourth bad check lands her a jail sentence, Blanche goes on the lam. She finds work at the summer home of a wealthy family with plenty of secrets of their own. When a dead body is discovered, Blanche is at the top of the suspect list. Determined to save herself, Blanche decides she must find the killer herself.