A good review!
Here's the first review of Death and Hard Cider, the next Benjamin January mystery, from Kirkus Reviews! Hambly continues her series of mysteries about Benjamin January, a free man of color in 1840s New Orleans. Educated as a physician, Benjamin makes a living as a piano player and teacher, and he’s in constant danger of being taken by slave traders. The miasmic city is abuzz with the arrival of former Secretary of State Henry Clay, who’s campaigning for Whig candidate William Henry Harrison against the Democrat Martin Van Buren. January and a few fellow musicians are playing at big campaign events for both parties. Trouble arrives in the form of Marie-Joyeuse Maginot, a beautiful, heartless flirt who has already occasioned several duels. Unfortunately, Clay’s son James is in love with her. So is her cousin Damien Aubin, who already has a wife and mistress. Neither Henry Clay nor Damien’s older brother Melchior approves of a romantic connection. When Melchior is called out by the