Sadly, Barbara Neely passed away in early March 2020. We lost a great woman and artist, but we are blessed by her works. I am so happy she was able to receive the Mystery Writers of America's 2020 Grand Master Award before her death. True to her spirit, when she heard that she won the award she said: “MWA Grand Master! I hope this doesn't mean I have to relinquish my position as Empress Regnant of the Multiverse.”

Barbara Neely is the author of the Blanche White mystery series. Her series features Blanche White, a smart and brave black woman who works as a maid who takes on the role of amateur detective to solve murders that occur in the homes she is working in.

Set in a time when the main work that was available for black people and especially black women was to work as domestic servants. Blanche lives in a world where safety and meeting your basic needs is always a challenging trek. Plus, Blanche must deal with other difficult issues and on top of all that, she must help solve a murder. Blanche is the classic amateur detective who is often the smartest person in the room who everyone overlooks and underestimates.

Barbara Neely's four books in this wonderful series will easily feed your need for a good cozy / amateur sleuth mystery. The books in the series are:

1. Blanche on the Lam
2. Blanche Among the Talented Tenth
3. Blanche Cleans Up
4. Blanche Passes Go

Barbara Neely is a lifelong activist. She designed and directed the first community-based corrections facility for women in Pennsylvania and was the director of Women for Economic Justice, a Boston-based women's advocacy organization. She also produced radio programs for Africa News Service and was the host of Commonwealth Journal, an award-winning weekly interview program on the radio station of the University of Massachusetts, Boston.

Ms. Neely also wrote many other short stories that were published in various anthologies and magazines.

I reviewed Blanche on the Lam and I am including a link to that episode here. It was a wonderful read and for audio book fans, all the books in the series are available as audio books.

So, we celebrate the life and work of our Empress Regnant of the Multiverse and creator of the Blanche White mystery series, Barbara Neely.

Here is a link to a great interview of Barbara Neely conducted by mystery writer Kellye Garrett from May 2019.
https://crimereads.com/barbara-neely-the-activist-turned-crime-writer-who-inspired-a-generation/

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