Jennifer Kincheloe

I read The Secret Life of Anna Blanc in the beginning of this year and I loved the book. It's one of those historical mystery books that really had it all, interesting mystery, humor and a romantic side story that worked. The big question was, would the sequel, The Woman in the Camphor Trunk, be as good? I'm glad to say that this book also was a great read, although I found that I was more captivated by the story in the first book. But, that doesn't mean that this one is in any way bad. It just that the first book had so much hilarious moment with Anna trying to work as a police matron and keep this as a secret from her father. Now in this book is the cat out of the bag and she's thrown out and living on crumbles.

Still, how can you not love a book that starts off with Anna sprinting from a police officer with a stolen Chinese head? Then, we have the small problem with Anna having to work with Detective Joe Singer who loves her, but whom Anna determent to not marry since she wants to be a free woman. Which has meant that Joe is starting to look to find love with another woman to Anna's consternation. Then, we have the white women stuffed in a trunk in Chinatown that has to be kept a secret so that it won't turn out into a riot since the finding of a dead white woman in Chinatown could have serious repercussions. So, now Joe and Anna have to try to find who killed the woman and why as well as keeping everything hush hush. Anna also has to fight to keep her jealousy in check every time she sees Joe with a woman that she suspects he's courting.

The Woman in the Camphor Trunk is a worthy sequel to The Secret Life of Anna Blanc. If you haven't read the first book do I really urge you to do so, especially if you love historical mystery books. And, of course, I also recommend this book. And, I'm looking forward to reading book three!

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through Edelweiss for an honest review!… (plus d'informations)

The Secret Life of Anna Blanc, what a splendid book! This is one of those times when I struggle to write down my feelings towards the books. I mean it's so bloody good and I loved listening to it. It's one of those books that draw you from the beginning and then not let you go.

Anna Blanc is a plucky and yes a bit naive character. She has grown up quite sheltered from the world and several times during the book is she reminded of that when she sees how those less fortunate are treated. At the beginning of the book is she trying to break free from her father grip by eloping, but it doesn't end that well and now is she stuck with a chaperone that will not let her out of her sight. However, the temptation to apply for the job as a police matron (She has long dreamed of solving crimes like Sherlock Holmes) may make her take drastic methods to ensure that she gets the job.

I found the story to be very engaging and I loved how Jennifer Kincheloe managed to write a story that's both funny and serious. I especially liked how she portrayed the women in the book and men's attitude towards them. How they are not taken seriously and often being downright patronized. I often went from happy to angry will listening to this book.

The Secret Life of Anna Blanc is such a wonderful book, and it has a perfect mix of action and romance. Yes, I'm the pickiest person when it comes to romance is loving the more light part of the story and there are several scenes that almost made me laugh when and a certain gentleman friend get a bit frisky with each other.

In the end, I just want to say that Moira Quirk is a perfect narrator. I especially loved how she skillfully voiced the different characters from. There is a fellow called Joe Singer in the book, and he often sings and she does the lines so perfect!

All right, there is so much to say about this book, but I honestly don't want to spoiler anything so I'm going to end it here with telling you all that it's a brilliant book and you should read it!

I got this audiobook from The Audiobookworm as part of a blog tour for the book!… (plus d'informations)

This is a tough one to quantify my feeling about. On the one hand, I found the main character problematic and the story a bit rambling, but on the other hand, it was the first story I've been able to lose myself in for any length of time in recent memory, and I found the plotting very well done.

Kincheloe adeptly captures the lack of agency women in the US had in the early 1900's; indeed it's the first time I've read anything historical that made me feel a modicum of the frustration independent minded women of the age must have felt. Though if I'm being objective, I do gravitate towards stories I know are about women who plowed their way through the obstacles that stood between them and their goals, so my claim may not sit on the broadest of foundations.

But while Anna certainly plowed through the obstacles in her path, and was certainly intelligent enough to accomplish her goals and be an investigator. she was also terribly bubble headed and naive. I found it a little hard to swallow, and a little irritating. I also balked at her desecration of books - I don't care how big an ass her father was, she should have found a better way of hiding her reading.

There were a few throwaway lines about animal death and cruelty that I found gratuitous too, although they were truly only throwaway lines; no details (which makes them even more unnecessary, but better than entire scenes). The book's focus is on crimes against women (trigger warning btw), so if the author was going for 'atmosphere' with the animal lines, I'd argue she went overboard; the scenes in the brothels and the back alleys and stables lend plenty of gritty atmosphere already.

And finally, while I found the 'romance' completely unbelievable, I still found it entertaining. Go figure. I also enjoyed most of the characterisations a lot - especially the rogues. Kincheloe is very talented at bringing life to all her characters, even the secondary ones.

All in all, I think it's a first that is not without a lot of promise. There's a lot of talent evident in this book, but I think I'd have enjoyed it even more if the story had been a little tighter, the main character not quite so naive. She's definitely an author I'll keep an eye out for, even if I don't rush madly out and pre-order.

This fits the category for my current space on Snakes and Ladders.… (plus d'informations)

I spent much of this book shaking my head and sometimes laughing at the antics of one Anna Blanc, who dreams of being a detective and manages to get herself into quite a bit of trouble. Anna is a privileged young woman in early 20th-century California, and she desperately wants to escape her father. After an attempt to elope fails, Anna bribes her chaperone to cover for her when she manages to find a job at the local police station. While there, Anna learns of the suspicious deaths of prostitutes and soon finds herself on the trail of a murder. I found Anna to be an incredibly annoying and frustrating character. For example, she often complains no believes her, and yet she also rushes to judgment and often makes mistakes (some of which are incredibly spectacular). She's makes for an amusing book character but she's also the kind of character who could never exist in real life. Overall, this book made for a good enough read, but I found Anna annoying enough that I likely won't continue her story.… (plus d'informations)