Who Killed Blanche DuBois?

Witty, wry, laugh-out-loud in places--what more could a reader of mystery novels want? This one has it all--plot, characterization (and then some!) and wonderful writing. As the first of a series, it helps to be read first, also, as the second book in the series has some spoilers, just in case you mess up. But that's okay, really, as once you're into this book, you won't really care, anyway.On the other hand, the characters are so well drawn that you'll be happy to become better acquainted with them. This first book should hold your interest quite nicely, I think. Claire Rawlings is an editor at Ardor House, and has two best-selling authors under her wing. Willard Hughes specializes in promoting himself and his mystsery novels, while the other, Blanche DuBois, practically has to be forced into promotion, for her very well-done, best-selling mysteries.When Blanche decides to stray from her usual fiction, and write a straight-forward history of the Ku Klux Klan, Claire is astonished, both by the idea and the excellent manuscript turned in by the author. But before any decision can be made about publication, Blanche is found dead. A homicide? Almost simultaneously, the next two most important characters enter Claire's life; the wonderful Meredith Lawrence, 13 going on 52; and the widower Police Detective Wallace Jackson. Of course, there are other characters as well, and--running through the book like an distant memory, lines from Goethe's famous poem 'Erlkönig' which was later set to music by Schubert. Fortunately, there is a translation at the beginning of the book, affording those of us not fluent in German the ability to follow the tale of the frightened child. Meredith is, however, anything but a frightened child, and eventually finds the missing clues to help Detective Jackson solve the murders. Oh, yes, by this time there are more of them, and Claire herself is dangerously close to being a victim, too. The plot is so complex, yet simple to understand, and the characters many and so multi-faceted in themselves, it's difficult to write a brief yet comprehensive review of this book. I'll say only that I truly enjoyed it, savoring the lyricism of the writing, and will now go back and read the second book--again. Then, on to the third, and so on. I don't think you'll regret doing the same thing.

"Who Killed Blanche DuBois?" is the first in Carole Bugge's well-written, very entertaining series. I happened to read the second book ("Who Killed Dorian Gray?") before this one, and it contained many spoilers for the first, including the murderer's identity. No problem, though: I had great fun watching for the clues and red herrings. Of course, I spotted them easily, but it would have been much more difficult had I not already known who the villain was. In any case, it's a delightful whodunit with three intelligent detectives: the thoughtful mystery editor Claire Rawlings; the alarmingly precocious 13-year-old Meredith Lawrence, whose role model is Sherlock Holmes; and the affable, attractive police detective Wallace Jackson, a widower and former schoolteacher. Running through the story as a sort of background theme is Goethe's poem (and Schubert's song) "The Erl King."

Several years ago, Carole Bugge announced to her circle of friends that she wanted to be a poet. She hadn't written anything before, to the best of our knowledge, so we who knew her just looked knowingly at each other and smiled. Meanwhile, Carole wrote her poem, submitted it somewhere -- and won a prize. Then it got published in an anthology, and then a short story got published, and then a book ("The Star of India") and then a three-book deal from Penguin. And that is when I decided that I should hate her.I suppose I am biased, but "Who Killed Blanche DuBois?" filled all of my murder-mystery requirements. It had atmosphere, some interesting characters, and a solution which actually surprised me. There was one main character who I found acutely annoying at first, but I eventually warmed up to her. And even though I picked up on some fairly arcane clues right away, I somehow didn't add them up correctly -- but then I never dreamed the Carole Bugge I knew would become a writer, so there you are. I would definitely recommend this book to any fan of Agatha Christie, as I am, even down to the fact that everyone's reaction to tragedy seems to be to sit down and have a proper cup of tea. One big difference, however, is that Carole develops her characters with a really lyrical prose. None of that clunky Christie type-casting and cliche.I suppose that one problem I had was that, as the former owner of the upstate house Carole uses as one of her principal settings, I have to say -- my house was never that clean.

I enjoyed this book very much. The mystery is gripping and moves at a snappy pace, though the book is mostly character-driven. Claire Rawlings is a realistic, complex heroine who is easy to relate to. Also, the depictions of New York City and the landscape of the Hudson River were both vivid and beautiful. This promises to be the beginning of a gread series.

Though "The Star of India" was published first, "Blanche Dubois" is actually the first mystery novel Carole wrote, and a remarkable debut it is. Meticulously plotted and sensitively, even poetically written, it is one of a diminishing breed of whodunits that manage to be both a fair puzzle and an engaging work of fiction with memorable characters, graceful and gracious scene painting, and an engaging balance between melancholy and humor. Her vulnerable protagonist, Claire, is nicely offset by her precocious child prodigy friend (and would-be sleuth) Meredith, who you sometimes want to spank, but mostly want to hug. I predict "Blanche Dubois" will be one of the finalists for this year's Nero(Wolfe)Mystery Novel Award.